Brunei temporarily suspends reciprocal green lane with S'pore

Brunei has temporarily suspended its reciprocal green lane arrangement with Singapore from 7pm yesterday until further notice.

Travellers who had already been approved to enter Brunei under the arrangement could continue to do so until the 7pm cut-off time, the kingdom's Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Wednesday.

After that time, all travellers from Singapore will be required to undergo self-isolation in a hotel for a period determined by Brunei's Health Ministry.

This latest suspension means that just one of seven reciprocal green lanes established between Singapore and other countries remains open - that with China.

The first reciprocal green lane to be suspended was the arrangement between Singapore and Indonesia. This came after Indonesia temporarily banned the entry of all foreign nationals for two weeks between Jan 1 and 14. The green lane has not been re-established.

Japan suspended its reciprocal green lane arrangement with Singapore from Jan 14 after it declared a state of emergency last December. Then, in February, the Republic suspended the arrangements with Germany, Malaysia and South Korea.

Reciprocal green lanes are meant to facilitate short-term essential business and official travel. Travellers must be sponsored by a company or a government agency here, and are tested before departure and on arrival. They must self-isolate on arrival until they receive a negative Covid-19 test result. They must also adhere to a pre-submitted 14-day itinerary, commute using only private-hire cars, taxis or cohorted company transport, and download the TraceTogether app.