Singapore to sharply reduce non-essential foreign worker arrivals amid pandemic

SINGAPORE is cutting down on its inflow of foreign workers indefinitely, in a new round of pandemic-related curbs unveiled on Friday night.

The restrictions will affect an unspecified number of work-pass holders and their dependants - even those who had been granted prior approval to enter the country.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said: "We regret that we will not be accepting new entry applications from higher-risk countries/regions with immediate effect, except for workers needed for key strategic projects and infrastructural works."

The ministry cited the fresh outbreaks of the deadly novel coronavirus "in several countries", as well as the rise of mutant strains, as the reason for its decision.

Meanwhile, most work-pass holders who had earlier gained approval to enter the Republic will no longer be allowed to do so from May 11, although there is leeway for domestic workers and labourers in the construction, marine shipyard and process (CMP) industries.

CMP work-pass holders and foreign domestic workers with prior approval to enter the country can come in as planned, except for some CMP workers who were scheduled to arrive in June, as well as some domestic workers who were entering before June 7. The arrival of these affected contingents will be pushed back to later weeks.

Other work-pass holders who had been cleared to arrive in Singapore before July 5 can no longer enter the country. The MOM said that it would communicate with employers and prioritise these workers for entry approval "when the situation has stabilised".

But the Singapore authorities are otherwise reducing entry approvals for work pass holders - except for those from Australia, Brunei, mainland China, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, which are deemed lower-risk countries and regions.

The latest restrictions do not affect arrivals from lower-risk areas or those using approved travel lanes, such as Reciprocal Green Lanes and the Periodic Commuting Arrangement with Malaysia.

The MOM said in a statement that it was unable to state how many work-pass holders will be affected, "as the situation is fluid".

"The Singapore government is closely monitoring the local and global Covid-19 situation and will review the measures in place periodically," it added, in lieu of giving an end-date for the reduction in entry.

The ministry asked for the understanding and cooperation of foreign workers and employers, saying that the changes "are necessary to enable workers to enter in a safe and calibrated manner, and mitigate the risk of Covid-19 importation".