Singapore, Brunei establish reciprocal green lane for essential travel: MFA

SINGAPORE and Brunei have agreed to establish a reciprocal green lane (RGL) to facilitate essential business and official travel for residents from both countries.

"Both sides have agreed on an arrangement to allow the safe resumption of cross-border movement of a limited number of people, with the necessary safeguards in place to ensure that public health concerns of both sides are addressed," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a press statement on Tuesday.

APPLICATION

For applicants travelling from Brunei to Singapore, the receiving enterprise or government agency in Singapore shall apply for a SafeTravel Pass on their behalf to enter Singapore using the RGL. Applications begin on Sept 1.

Following the successful application of a SafeTravel Pass, the receiving enterprise or government agency in Singapore will need to log onto the SafeTravel Pass portal within 72 hours before the traveller's scheduled departure to submit the traveller's negative Covid-19 test result and controlled itinerary in Singapore for the first 14 days, MFA added.

A letter will be issued once the SafeTravel Pass is approved. With the approval letter, an applicant who is a visa-required passport holder can proceed to apply for a visa for travel to Singapore through the usual channels.

If an approved applicant already has an existing valid visa, the visa suspension that was in place due to Covid-19 will be automatically lifted when the SafeTravel Pass is approved and he or she need not apply for a new visa, MFA said.

Similar procedures apply to applicants travelling from Singapore to Brunei, where the receiving enterprise or government agency in Brunei will have to file an application for an Entry Travel Pass on behalf of the traveller for RGL travel.

PRE-DEPARTURE HEALTH MEASURES

Approved applicants travelling to both countries must have remained in the country they are departing from for at least 14 days prior to departure, MFA said.

They must also undertake a Covid-19 RT-PCR swab test at least once 72 hours before departure, and obtain a certificate of having tested negative for Covid-19 from the relevant health authorities. The costs of these tests will be borne by users of the RGL.

Among other things, applicants travelling from Singapore to Brunei will have to produce a valid return air ticket, a valid proof of payment for post-arrival swab test, proof of installation of the BruHealth app on their phone, and submit a pre-trip health and travel history declaration. They must also ensure that they are in good health before boarding the flight.

Similar requirements are applicable to those travelling from Brunei to Singapore.

POST-ARRIVAL HEALTH MEASURES

Travellers utilising the RGL are required to take a Covid-19 RT-PCR test while in isolation at their pre-declared accommodation upon arrival. They must remain within their declared accommodation, such as a hotel or serviced apartment, in isolation until they receive the test results.

Transportation from the airport to declared accommodation locations will have to be provided by the receiving enterprise or government agency subject to prevailing health measures, MFA noted.

Travellers will bear the costs of these post-arrival Covid-19 tests and their stay in the declared locations. They will also have to bear the cost of medical treatment should they be tested positive for the novel coronavirus, MFA said.

Last month, Singapore said it was lifting travel restrictions for visitors from Brunei, with travellers subject to a Covid-19 test upon arrival in lieu of a stay-home notice.

Separately, at a media doorstop on Aug 21, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said Singapore's unilateral move to welcome visitors from Brunei and New Zealand is an invitation to the world to bring business back to the city-state.

Mr Ong noted that Brunei and New Zealand were selected based on their control of the epidemic situation, with incidence rates well below 0.1 infections per 100,000 population. This reduces the likelihood of a case entering Singapore from either country.

The flight capacity from the two countries also remains low at 500 weekly for flights between Singapore and Brunei, and 1,200 weekly for flights between Singapore and New Zealand.