Stranded overseas, foreigners await return

When Ms Isha Chaudhari travelled out of Singapore in February, she did not think that she would not see her husband again for more than four months.

Her sister in India had suffered a stroke and she went to visit her, taking her two young children along.

"My daughter, who is in K2 now, has been missing her pre-school for months.

"My husband is alone in Singapore and he has lost some weight because he has been struggling with eating," said Ms Chaudhari, 32, a dependant's pass holder who has been staying with her family in Singapore for the past five years.

Her husband Kapil Saxena, 37, is a vice-president at a bank here.

Ms Chaudhari and her two children, aged two and six, have been unable to return without the required approval from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Re-entering Singapore is not easy with travel restrictions put in place during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Work pass holders and their dependants say they have been stuck abroad for months because their applications to return have been repeatedly rejected.

Some found themselves separated from their families in Singapore with no idea as to when they could return, after the country closed its borders.

Others lost their jobs and have not been able to return for their belongings or to try and find new jobs.

The Ministry of Health said in a press release on Monday that more long-term pass holders who are still outside Singapore will be able to return, as the country reopens to international travel.

But prior approval before entering Singapore will still be required.

No official figures have been released on how many people have been affected in this way due to travel restrictions.

However, a private social media group called "Getting back home to SG" has about 6,000 members.

In the past two weeks, several group members have posted that their applications for entry have been approved and some are back in Singapore serving their stay-home notice.

On Feb 7, MOM announced that all work pass holders with recent travel history to mainland China would have to obtain approval from the Singapore Government before returning.

By mid-March, these restrictions were extended to those travelling from other countries. On March 23, Singapore closed its borders to all short-term visitors.

Mr Manish, 32, who asked that only his first name be used, will have his Employment Pass (EP) cancelled at the end of this month because the IT company he is working for is closing its operations here.

He had flown to India with his family in February and has been stranded there since.

"Since my EP will be cancelled, I won't be able to come back to find a job or even vacate my HDB flat that I am currently renting.

"I plan to continue to apply for new jobs in Singapore while I stay overseas and also wait for flights to open up," said Mr Manish, who is in Hyderabad with his wife and two-year-old child.

He has been living in Singapore for the last eight years.

Companies are trying to hold on to their foreign workforce despite cost pressures, but if push comes to shove, this group could be the first to go, said employers and human resource experts in an earlier Straits Times report.

Such workers are a mainstay of the economy, with around 1.15 million EP, S Pass or work permit holders working here. The number excludes foreign domestic workers.

Applications for entry into Singapore are usually handled by the human resource department of the EP holder's company.

However, a common complaint from applicants is the lack of clarity and transparency in the approval process.

This has also been pointed out in the Law Gazette published by the Law Society of Singapore.

Lawyer Leo Zhi Wei wrote in an article published last month that "minimal explanation or guidance" has been given over the scope of the restrictions and criteria to be fulfilled for applicants seeking entry approval into Singapore.

While there appears to be leeway of entry in exceptional circumstances, "these exceptions have not been set out clearly".

French IT business owner Clement Nedelcu, 32, and his Chinese wife Zhu Min, 30, are in a bind.

They have not seen their three-year-old son Daniel for 51/2 months because the couple and Leo, their seven-year-old son, flew back home to Singapore from China on Jan 2.

Daniel had stayed back with his maternal grandparents over the Chinese New Year period.

He is now stuck in China without his parents.

"Our son cannot travel alone to Singapore. I cannot fly to China as the borders are closed to foreigners," Mr Nedelcu said.

"If my wife goes to China, she may not be able to come back as she will be 'deprioritised for re-entry'.

"But we have decided she will go soon. After months of waiting, we have found no other possibility."

In response to press queries, MOM said Singapore has managed to successfully control the importation of Covid-19 cases through strict controls on inbound travel.

"Any work pass holders or his or her dependant can choose to travel back to their home countries any time as long as there are flights out to their home countries," said the MOM spokesman.

"However, those who leave Singapore from March 27 will be deprioritised for entry approval and could see significant delays before they are allowed to return to Singapore.

"We seek the understanding and patience of those affected. These restrictions will be adjusted when conditions allow," he added.

MOM did not answer questions about how many entry applications from work pass holders have been approved so far and which criteria were used to assess them.

But some have had their applications approved recently.

Ms Ramya Kancharla, 36, whose Indian husband left Singapore in March for a family get-together in Britain, said: "Since March, we have been applying for his entry every other day, but kept getting rejected.

"We received the approval on the night of his birthday on June 10, so it feels like a birthday gift from Singapore."

Her husband, who works for a Singapore-based technology start-up, arrived on Monday and is serving out his quarantine period.

"This is such a huge relief after being alone during these stressful times and I hope others will be able to reunite with their loved ones soon too," she said.