Singapore Has Allowed Travellers from India and 5 Other Countries to Enter the Country

On Saturday, 23rd October, Singapore announced that it will reopen its borders to some travellers from India and five other South Asian nations, as well as loosen testing and stay-home notice restrictions for several other countries, including Malaysia and Indonesia.

“Wednesday onwards, all travellers (excluding short-term visitors) with a 14-day travel history to Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be allowed to enter or transit through Singapore from 11.59 pm on Oct 26th,” Singapore’s Strait Times quoted its health ministry.

The ministry said in a release that it has reviewed the Covid-19 situation in the six South Asian countries it was previously closed off to. Ong Ye Kung as the health minister said that the situation in these countries has stabilised for some time. However, the ministry also stated these travellers from India and the five other countries will be undergoing the tightest of the quarantine rules. They will be subject to Category IV border measures and still be required to serve their 10-day stay-home notice (SHN) at dedicated SHN facilities.

For all travellers in Category III which consists of Malaysia, Cambodia, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Mongolia, Qatar, Rwanda, Samoa, Seychelles, South Africa, Tonga, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Vietnam will be able to serve their 10-day stay-home notice at their declared place of residence or accommodation – regardless of the vaccination status and travel history of the traveller and their household members.

Category III travellers currently have to apply to opt-out of serving their stay-home notice at dedicated facilities, subject to certain restrictions.

“By default, they will not be allocated accommodation in any dedicated SHN facilities,” said MOH on Saturday.

The authority said that these travellers must remain in their declared place of residence or accommodation throughout their stay-home notice period, and wear an electronic monitoring device.

“Action will be taken against those who breach their SHN requirements or make a false declaration,” said MOH.

In addition, most travellers will undergo fewer tests from 11.59 pm on Oct 26th. All travellers from Category II (Non-Vaccinated Travel Lane Destinations), III and IV countries will no longer need to undergo an on-arrival PCR test. Category III and IV also no longer need to undergo additional ARTs on the third and seventh days of their arrival, during their stay-home notice period.

Authorities had also announced that the country will allow necessary workers and students to enter Singapore in a “safe and calibrated manner” from Nov 1st, as long as they are fully vaccinated before arrival.

“As part of this move, we will facilitate the entry of more domestic, workers, to meet urgent domestic and caregiving needs of local households, while regulating the numbers carefully as the global situation evolves,” said the release.