Singapore to lift travel restrictions on visitors from Taiwan from Dec 18

SINGAPORE — Singapore will lift border restrictions to visitors from Taiwan from Dec 18, subject to a Covid-19 test upon arrival, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said on Friday (Dec 11).

Visitors travelling from Taiwan can now apply for a single-entry Air Travel Pass (ATP) to enter Singapore from next Friday. They must have remained in Taiwan for the two weeks prior to them entering Singapore.

Upon arrival at the airport, they will take a Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.

If the result is negative, they will be allowed to go about their activities in Singapore without a need to serve a stay-home notice.

Taiwan has a “comprehensive public health surveillance system and has displayed successful control” over the spread of Covid-19, CAAS said in a statement.

It noted that over the past 28 days, Taiwan has had zero local Covid-19 cases. “The risk of importation from Taiwan is low,” it added.

Visitors from Taiwan will bear the cost of the test as well as for isolation or any additional medical treatment should they require them.

They must also download the TraceTogether contact-tracing mobile application and must not delete it for 14 days after leaving Singapore.

After taking their PCR test, they must take private transportation, taxi or private-hire car from the airport to their accommodation, where they must stay isolated until the test result is confirmed to be negative.

CAAS said the PCR result will be out within 48 hours, typically within 12 hours.

From Dec 18, Singapore citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders returning from Taiwan will similarly take a PCR test upon arrival.

They will no longer need to serve a mandatory seven-day stay-home notice and can go about their activities in Singapore if the test result is negative.

The authorities will also update the travel advisory to allow travel to Taiwan, although travellers will still be subject to the entry requirements imposed by Taiwan.

The move to ease restrictions on visitors from Taiwan follows the earlier lifting of border restrictions for travellers from Australia, Brunei, mainland China, New Zealand and Vietnam.

CAAS said that as of Dec 10, 4,050 visitors from these places have arrived in Singapore since border restrictions on them were lifted.

As of Dec 9, none of those who came here under the ATP has been found to be infected with Covid-19.