Travellers from Indonesia who booked a COVID-19 swab test with VFS Global will receive Accredify’s validated HealthCert to travel to Singapore

• Travellers from Indonesia who booked a COVID-19 swab test with VFS Global receive Accredify’s validated HealthCert to travel to Singapore
• Saves time for airlines and immigration authorities on health status verification and provides exclusive access to the fast lane facility at the airport
• To be extended to other locations like Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam in the coming months

JAKARTA, 23 March 2021 – As travel restrictions gradually ease, many countries looking to implement a convenient and reliable testing solution that reduces the pressure of on-arrival testing. Travellers are required to undergo a pre-departure or on-arrival test for entry into Singapore as well as for outbound travel. The new service by VFS Global and Accredify offers travellers a hassle-free experience of the mandatory pre-departure COVID-19 swab results online via VFS Global’s network of accredited laboratories using Accredify’s HealthCert solution.

Effective 23 March 2021, VFS Global will commence the issuance of HealthCerts for Singapore bound travellers from Indonesia by leveraging on its extensive network of 19 accredited laboratories across all the major cities. In partnership with Accredify, the service will be extended to other locations like Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand in the coming months to effectively cater to cross-border entry health requirements.

HealthCerts issued by Accredify are recognised by Singapore Airlines (SIA), Scoot and Changi Airport as a reliable and efficient method to verify an individual’s COVID health status. Travellers flying Singapore Airlines and Scoot can show their secure COVID-19 swab report, also known as a HealthCert, for verification at the airline’s check-in counters prior to boarding. Through Accredify’s partnership with Singapore-based firm Affinidi, upon arrival in Singapore, travellers can show their unique HealthCerts QR code, to be scanned by Affinidi’s universal verifier, at any immigration counter.

Without the HealthCerts tamper-proof swab result, airline staff and immigration authorities will have to manually verify the document which otherwise would have made it a time-consuming process. In addition, Accredify is a government-authorised service provider for the issuance of HealthCerts which are verifiable COVID-19 swab results that were recently mandated by the Singapore government. As such, travellers can be assured that COVID-19 swab results issued by Accredify will be recognised by immigration authorities upon their arrival in Singapore.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr Jiten Vyas, Regional Group COO, VFS Global, “A convenient and reliable pre-departure COVID-19 testing solution will be a catalyst in the recovery process of international travel. VFS Global is pleased to partner with Accredify to provide a seamless booking system to get a reliable COVID swab result that is accepted by authorities to verify an individual’s COVID health status. We now offer ease of access to a much-needed and verified solution and also support a safe restart of international travel by expanding this service across more locations in Indonesia in the coming months.’’

Added, Mr Quah Zheng Wei, CEO & Co-founder, Accredify, “Following IATA’s announcement that personal travel could return in the second half of 2021, there is a need for services which provide travellers with a seamless process of pre-travel preparation and authorities with an efficient solution to facilitate the regulated health screening of travellers. We’re delighted to partner with VFS Global to realise this solution for both travellers and authorities, beginning with the Southeast Asian and East Asian region.”

For greater convenience, users of Accredify’s Digital Health Passport, a free mobile app, can now travel paperless by displaying their digital HealthCert’s QR code in the app which is then verified by the concerned authorities at the airports and airlines.

Get your HealthCert in four simple steps:
• Visit https://www.vfsglobal.com/en/individuals/covid-test.html to book your PCR/Antigen test appointment
• Select your location and provide your contact as well as travel details online
• On confirmation, proceed for your swab test as scheduled at the clinic or hospital opted for
• Get your Accredify HealthCert with the QR code via email after your result is uploaded
HealthCerts was co-developed by Accredify to resolve the issue of fraudulent COVID-19 swab results that is prevalent across the world as well as black markets selling COVID-negative swab results. There are multiple incidents of COVID-positive travellers doctoring fake COVID-negative swab results to travel overseas. As a government-authorised service provider, Accredify has partnered with VFS Global- the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist and a trusted partner to 64 client governments to offer a reliable solution for immigration authorities, airlines and travellers to tackle this challenge by leveraging on the latter’s COVID-19 testing solution launched last year across multiple locations worldwide.

About VFS Global
VFS Global is the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide. With 3500 Application Centres, operations in 144 countries across five continents and over 228 million applications processed (since inception in 2001) as on 28 February 2021, VFS Global is the trusted partner of 63 client governments. The company manages non-judgmental and administrative tasks related to applications for visa, passport and consular services for its client governments, enabling them to focus entirely on the critical task of assessment.

VFS Global is majority owned by the global investment organisation EQT. The Swiss-based Kuoni and Hugentobler Foundation holds a minority stake in VFS Global. EQT is a global investment organisation with offices in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific and with a 25-year track-record of consistent investment performance across multiple geographies, sectors, and strategies. EQT AB Group is listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange. EQT manages and advises a range of specialized investment funds and other investment vehicles that invest across the world with the mission to generate attractive returns and future-proof companies. EQT funds’ investors do not influence portfolio companies’ decision making or strategies. Nor do they have access to private and confidential business assets or client and customer data.

About Accredify
Headquartered in Singapore, Accredify provides clients with an end-to-end solution for the creation and issuance of tamper-proof documents. By leveraging blockchain technology, all digital documents issued by Accredify’s system are tamper-proof and traceable back to the source. To verify documents, users simply have to drag and drop the digital document into an online verifier portal or scan a document’s unique QR code; results are instantaneous.

Media Contact
Sukanya Chakraborty
sukanyac@vfsglobal.com
communications@vfsglobal.com