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SINGAPORE – Visitors from Taiwan will be allowed to enter Singapore for all forms of travel and will not be quarantined starting next Friday (December 18), provided they test negative for Covid-19 upon arrival.
The same applies to Singapore citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders returning from Taiwan, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said on Friday (December 11), announcing the decision to the Republic to unilaterally open its borders to Taiwan.
“Taiwan has a comprehensive public health surveillance system and has demonstrated successful control over the spread of the Covid-19 virus,” the CAAS said.
“During the last 28 days, Taiwan has not registered local cases of Covid-19. The risk of importation from Taiwan is low.”
Visitors to Taiwan can apply for an air pass to enter Singapore starting December 18. They will need to meet some requirements, such as flying to Singapore on direct flights, using the TraceTogether app, and paying their Covid-related medical bills. -19, if applicable.
CAAS will also update Singapore’s travel advisory to allow travel to Taiwan.
The opening is unilateral, as restrictions in Taiwan remain in effect, and social and leisure visits by foreign nationals are currently prohibited.
Taiwanese citizens who want to travel outside the territory can do so. But they will need to obtain a certificate proving that they are free of the Covid-19 virus within three days of their flight back to Taiwan.
They will then be retested upon arrival in Taiwan, and will need to be quarantined for 14 days afterward.
Taiwan is the sixth place Singapore has unilaterally opened, after Australia, Brunei Darussalam, mainland China, New Zealand and Vietnam.
The CAAS said that as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, it had approved 9,284 requests for visitors to these sites and received 4,050 visitors.
At 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, all visitors arriving in Singapore under the air travel pass scheme tested negative for Covid-19.
Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said in a Facebook post that opening the borders to Taiwan was another step towards opening the borders of Singapore.
He noted that Taiwan had also recently classified Singapore as a low-risk country. As such, the territory had reduced the quarantine for essential and business travelers from the Republic to five days.
Mr. Ong added, “With the holiday period, I hope the reopening arrangements will be helpful for families and loved ones to reunite.”
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