SINGAPORE: A new business travel pass for senior executives with regional or international responsibilities is being piloted, announced the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday (Sep 23).
Travellers on this pass will need to keep to a strict itinerary, the Health Ministry said in the press release.
Upon returning to Singapore, they will be given the option of having a COVID-19 test in lieu of a stay-home notice, and self-isolate until the results are released.
“We are piloting a new business travel pass for senior executives in Singapore with regional or international responsibilities who need to travel regularly for official and business purposes,” said MOH in a press release.
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Speaking to reporters at a multi-ministry task force press conference on Wednesday, Education Minister and co-chair of the task force Lawrence Wong said that senior executives on this travel pass will be able to “travel to quite a wide range of countries”.
“It’s not going to be country specific,” said Mr Wong.
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Noting that travellers will have to comply with all travel restrictions or measures that are in place in the other countries that they are visiting, Mr Wong also said that reciprocal bilateral green lane conditions would also apply.
“The travel pass cannot supersede these restrictions that are in place in the countries that they are visiting, they have to comply,” he said.
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The number of passes distributed will be “strictly limited” in the initial phase in order to monitor the public health outcome of the pilot, said MOH in the press release.
“If the pilot is successful, and public health measures are fully abided by, we will consider expanding the scheme in a safe and calibrated manner,” it added.
Singapore has cross-border travel arrangements with China, Malaysia, Brunei, Japan and South Korea.
It has also said it will begin discussions on a reciprocal green lane with Indonesia.
“The idea is to be able to allow senior executives who are based in Singapore with extensive regional or international responsibilities to have a bit more flexibility to travel for work reasons. So we are starting with a small number, and then we will distribute them out through our economic agencies,” said Mr Wong.
Watch the full press conference:
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