Singapore reopens borders to more destinations

Pack your bags! Singapore is reopening its borders to more destinations

The city-state has announced travellers from Hong Kong, Macao, Germany and Brunei will soon be able to enter without having to serve quarantine.

Singapore will also be opening a so-called vaccinated ‘travel lane’ with Germany and Brunei in September meaning Singaporeans can travel to those countries.

Singapore will pilot such quarantine-free travel lanes for vaccinated passengers in its first big move yet to lift border restrictions that have been in place since early in the pandemic.

In what are the highly anticipated first steps of the city’s reopening, travelers from Germany and Brunei can enter Singapore from September 8 without a valid reason or exemption for their visitation – so pretty much a holiday.

According to reports, while Singapore is easing restrictions on inbound travel from Hong Kong, the two financial hubs won’t go ahead with plans for an air travel bubble.

Their strategies for containing COVID have diverged Hong Kong is still pursuing a Covid-zero eradication path, while Singapore seeks to reopen with a backstop of one of the world’s best vaccination rates.

Germany and Brunei were chosen as places where Singapore could test its confidence in vaccinated travel lanes, with Covid infections in both places at manageable levels. Though Brunei limits foreign tourism, travelers from Singapore were already allowed to enter Germany with minimal restrictions.