Singapore: Officials to reduce COVID-19 quarantine for arrivals from high-risk locations to 14 days from 23:59 June 23 /update 45

Event

Officials will allow arrivals from high-risk locations to serve a shortened stay-home notice (SHN) for 14 days at designated facilities from 23:59 June 23 amid ongoing attempts to stem the spread of COVID-19. The high-risk areas include all locations other than Brunei, Hong Kong, Macau, New Zealand, most of Australia, and most of China. Authorities will also allow arrivals who have spent the previous 21 days in Taiwan or Israel to opt for a 14-day quarantine at their residence from 23:59 June 23 if they fulfill some protocols, including occupying the facility alone or with other arrivals serving SHN with the same travel history and quarantine duration.

Authorities continue to enforce gathering and capacity restrictions as of June 23. Gatherings are capped at five. Live performance, sporting, and religious events may involve up to 250 attendees with pre-event testing or a maximum of 50 without pre-event testing. Workers must continue to telecommute as much as possible. Staff who are on-site must adhere to protocols, like staggering their working hours; essential services can continue to operate on-site with full staffing. Food establishments have resumed serving dining-in customers with a cap of two people in each group since June 21.

The government maintains its Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) at Orange, the second-highest level, indicating some human-to-human transmission in the country. Authorities continue to require people to practice health protocols, including wearing facemasks in public.

The Johor Causeway, which links Singapore to Malaysia, is open 07:00-19:00 daily. State carrier Singapore Airlines (SQ) and its subsidiaries, Scoot (TR) and SilkAir (MI), continue to suspend most flights and are resuming operations to several locations gradually. Foreigners flying from select cities with several airlines, including SQ, TR, and MI, can transit via Singapore Changi Airport (SIN).

Travel Restrictions
Most short-term visa holders, including work pass holders who do not provide essential services, remain banned from entering Singapore. Long-term visit pass and student pass holders must apply for official approval before traveling. People authorized to enter Singapore must submit online health declarations up to three days before arrival and obtain a negative PCR test result within 72 hours before departure. Exceptions from the pre-trip test requirement are in place for travelers who have been in a lower-risk location for 21 consecutive days before the trip; lower-risk locations include Brunei, Hong Kong, Macau, New Zealand, Australia except for Victoria State, and China except for Guangdong Province. Officials may deny entry for returning citizens and permanent residents (PRs) who arrive in Singapore without a negative PCR test result.

Arrivals who have exclusively been in Brunei, New Zealand, Australia except for Victoria, or China except for Guangdong within the past 21 days are exempted from any SHN requirement if they test negative for COVID-19 upon arrival. Entrants who have been exclusively in Hong Kong or Macau in the previous 21 days are to serve a seven-day SHN at their residence. Singaporean citizens, PRs, and holders of long-term passes with travel history in Guangdong or Victoria within the previous 21 days must serve a seven-day SHN at their residence upon arrival, while short-term visa holders who have been in Guangdong or Victoria in the preceding 21 days are barred from entering Singapore. Long-term pass holders and short-term visitors with travel history to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka within the previous 14 days remain barred from entering Singapore.

Officials allow people from Brunei, New Zealand, Australia except for Victoria, and China except for Guangdong, to apply for an Air Travel Pass (ATP) for travel to Singapore for all purposes. Reciprocal Green Lanes (RGL) schemes with Brunei, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Vietnam remain suspended indefinitely. The programs allow people to travel to and from Singapore for business and official reasons. People who have obtained approval to travel to Singapore under the programs can continue to do so. A similar scheme is currently in place with Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and Chongqing, Shanghai, and Tianjin municipalities in mainland China. Travelers entering Singapore under the programs must have a sponsoring Singaporean entity, seek prior approval from Singaporean authorities, and test negative for COVID-19 48-72 hours before departure. Travelers must test for COVID-19 upon arrival, remain at their accommodations until the test returns negative, and adhere to controlled itineraries for the first 14 days of their visit. People applying to enter Singapore under the ATP and RGL schemes must have a minimum of SGD 30,000 travel insurance.

Advice

Consider postponing travel if affected by travel restrictions. Confirm flight status before checking out of accommodation and departing for the airport. Follow all official instructions. Abide by national health and safety measures. Reconfirm all travel arrangements. Consider delaying traveling if experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19, as they may prompt increased scrutiny and delays. Liaise with trusted contacts for further updates and guidance. Maintain contact with your diplomatic representation. Ensure contingency plans account for further disruptive measures or extensions of current restrictions.

Resources

Ministry of Health Singapore
TraceTogether Mobile Application
Immigration and Checkpoints Authority
Safe Travel Portal