Singapore-China business travel starts from June 8 with strict curbs

Singapore

TOUGH conditions set for Singapore- China travel to resume will likely see only the most essential trips being taken.

On the plus side, as Singapore moves to ease border restrictions, business and official travellers who tap the Singapore-China fast lane will not have to serve a two-week quarantine when they travel between the two countries - but they must take swab tests at their own cost.

Under the fast-lane agreement to be launched on June 8, travellers will also have to be sponsored by a company or government agency of the destination country, as well as cover their own cost of medical treatment if they test positive for Covid-19.

The swab tests must be done in both countries - the first one within 48 hours of departure and the second, on arrival. Travellers also have to stay isolated for one to two days on arrival, pending the test results.

As countries slowly work towards restarting international travel, Singapore and China are enabling essential business and official travel between the city-state and six Chinese provinces/municipalities for a start - Chongqing, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Tianjin and Zhejiang. The number of travellers will be capped.

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The arrangement will eventually be expanded to include other Chinese provinces and municipalities.

Under the arrangement, a Singapore resident who needs to travel to China must first be sponsored by a company or government agency in China, which will file an application with the authorities on his or her behalf. If the application is approved, the applicant proceeds to apply for a visa from the Chinese Embassy in Singapore, in addition to having to submit a health declaration to the Chinese authorities.

Where domestic travel in China is concerned, Singapore-based travellers will be able to travel beyond the six fast-lane regions only two weeks after their arrival in the country.

Travellers from China coming to Singapore will follow a similar process: They must also remain in any of the six fast-lane regions for at least seven days before going to Singapore.

During their trip, travellers from both countries will be expected to stick to a prior-approved itinerary, supervised by the company or the government agency for the first two weeks. They must also use tracing apps - the Health QR code in China or the TraceTogether app in Singapore. Travellers are also barred from public transport for the first two weeks, but may use taxis and private-hire cars.

Business or official travellers coming to Singapore who are sponsored by government agencies can submit an application via their sponsor from June 8, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Wednesday.

Applications for company-sponsored travellers will be opened under a later phase, they added.

In a Facebook post, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said: "As Singapore contains the Covid-19 situation on the health front, we must maintain our global connectivity to sustain our economic capacities and capabilities."

Where essential travel is concerned, "priority will be for essential business people, technical personnel for critical operations and government officials."

In a Facebook post, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan wrote that Singapore Airlines (SIA), with European, north-east Asian and Middle Eastern carriers, are starting to increase their passenger capacity at Changi Airport. However, "recreational travel will have to take a back seat for now", he added.

Singapore is in talks to start similar fast-lane arrangements with countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and South Korea as the Republic progressively re-opens its economy and eases border restrictions after a two-month circuit breaker.

In response to queries from The Business Times, an SIA spokesperson said: "SIA welcomes all arrangements that allow more passenger traffic to flow to and through Singapore. We will work closely with the relevant regulators and authorities on this, especially in relation to the health and safety of our customers and staff members." The spokesperson added that the airline group would release details about reinstating flights later.

Scoot also welcomed the fast-lane development, saying that it will work closely with the authorities.

In the wake of the pandemic, foreign airlines have been allowed to run one flight a week on any route in China. SIA, regional wing SilkAir and budget carrier Scoot are operating flights to Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou respectively.

As countries tightened borders to fend off the pandemic, the SIA Group had made sweeping capacity cuts in late March, grounding most of its combined fleet. This month and the next, SIA and SilkAir will reinstate flights to a number of cities and ramp up frequencies for some existing services.

Shares in SIA jumped 20 cents, or 4.87 per cent, to close at S$4.31 on Wednesday.