General travel to New Zealand, Brunei allowed from Sept 1, as authorities partially ease Singapore’s border restrictions

• General travel will be allowed to New Zealand and Brunei from Sept 1
• Travellers coming in from these two countries will not need to serve a stay-home notice
• Students will be allowed to travel overseas for studies
• The stay-home notice period for travellers from low-risk regions will be reduced from two weeks to one

SINGAPORE — Singapore’s border restrictions will be partially eased from Sept 1, with people allowed to travel to New Zealand and Brunei for general purposes including leisure, and students allowed to travel overseas for studies.

At the same time, travellers entering Singapore and who have remained in either Brunei or New Zealand in the two weeks before their entry will also not be required to serve a stay-home notice. Instead, they will undergo a Covid-19 test upon arrival at the airport. They may only continue with their activities in Singapore after receiving a negative test result.

Singapore currently allows only official and business travel from selected places, including Malaysia and some provinces in China. The city-state has also agreed to resume essential business travel with Japan, with details expected to be finalised by early September.

The updated border control measures were announced on Friday (Aug 21) by the multi-ministerial task force tackling Covid-19. 

Education Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the task force, said that with this updated travel advisory, Singaporeans will be allowed to travel to Brunei and New Zealand for leisure, but this would also depend on the border measures imposed by the two countries.

“These are still early days,” he said. “We are making a very cautious first step towards reopening, and doing so on the basis of the evidence and our risk assessment in these different countries.”

He added that Singapore is in talks with the two countries to work out reciprocal arrangements for travellers.

Prior to travelling to Singapore, visitors from Brunei and New Zealand will need to apply for an air travel pass between seven and 30 days before their intended date of entry into the Republic. Application for the pass will start from Sept 1 for travel from Sept 8 onwards.

Visitors will be responsible for their own medical bills if they require treatment for Covid-19 while in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health in a press release on Friday.

Returning Singapore citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders will not require an air travel pass.

Currently, New Zealand and Brunei only allow their own citizens and residents to enter their countries. Foreign travellers who wish to enter these countries must apply for exemption with the respective governments and isolate themselves for two weeks upon arrival.

A New Zealand tourism official told travel website TTG Asia earlier this month that the government is currently exploring safe travel zones with Singapore. New Zealand also announced last week that it plans to set up a travel bubble with Cook Islands by the end of the year.

Whether Singaporeans can travel to the two countries will also depend on the demand for airlines to open up flights to Brunei and New Zealand, Mr Wong said.

“I really do not expect travel volumes to resume in a very significant way at this stage, precisely because of this huge uncertainty in the outlook in the coming months,” he said.

“But we will take these initial steps and hope that these steps will go some way in facilitating travel and, if that happens, I think our airlines will be able to mount more flights.”

Singaporeans will be allowed to travel to even more places without border restrictions in the future if the Covid-19 situation improves there, though he warned that the reverse might happen if the situation worsens.

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong encouraged Singaporeans who wish to travel to these two countries to check the requirements of the destination countries before flying over and to comply with the country’s safe distancing measures.

STAY-HOME PERIOD HALVED FOR SOME COUNTRIES

The duration of the stay-home notice for travellers coming in from low-risk countries and regions will also be reduced from two weeks to one, the task force said.

These are Australia (excluding the state of Victoria), mainland China, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Currently, incoming travellers from these regions have to serve a two-week stay-home notice at their place of residence or a suitable accommodation such as a hotel.

Regardless of the duration of stay-home notice, the Government will continue to administer a Covid-19 test towards the end of their stay-home notice, Mr Wong said.

He explained: “We know that some places have been able to control the infection effectively and the risk of importation is low. Our assessment is that there is no need for stay-home notice for travellers from these low-risk places, and a Covid-19 test will be sufficient.”

With the updated travel advisory, overseas students and those travelling to New Zealand and Brunei will be eligible for government subsidies and insurance coverage for treatment if they return and end up being infected with Covid-19. 

However, such travellers remain subject to prevailing border measures, including the payment of their stay at dedicated facilities for their stay-home notice and any test that has to be administered if and when applicable. 

All changes will take effect on Sept 1 and more details will be provided in the coming days, Mr Wong said.

Professor Leo Yee Sin, executive director of the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, said a “balanced and risk-managed” approach is needed for Singapore to progressively regain connectivity with other parts of the world.

At the same time, she stressed that preventive measures currently adopted and in place within the local community must continue to ensure that community transmission is contained.