SINGAPORE - Fully vaccinated travellers from Batam and Bintan in Indonesia will be allowed to enter Singapore from Feb 25 without quarantine, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) announced on Wednesday (Feb 16).
Indonesia currently operates a travel bubble that allows visitors from Singapore to enter Batam via the Nongsapura international ferry terminal, and Bintan through the Bandar Bintan Telani ferry terminal, without the need for quarantine.
MPA said that as parts of efforts to restore connectivity, Singapore will now offer a similar arrangement to facilitate quarantine-free travel by sea both ways.
Travellers from Indonesia can already fly into Singapore under a vaccinated travel lane (VTL) arrangement with no need for quarantine.
MPA said fully vaccinated travellers from Batam and Bintan can apply for a vaccinated travel pass from 10am on Feb 22 (Singapore time).
For a start, 700 vaccinated travellers will be allowed quarantine-free travel by sea weekly - 350 each from Nongsapura terminal and Bandar Bintan Telani terminal to Singapore's Tanah Merah ferry terminal.
The designated ferry services will be operated by regional ferry operators, Batam Fast and Bintan Resort ferries.
All travellers entering Singapore under the arrangement must comply with prevailing VTL requirements under air travel.
Among other things, they must have remained only in (including any transit stops) one or more of the VTL countries including Indonesia, or a country/region in Category I of the Singapore Ministry of Health's country/region classification for border measures in the last seven consecutive days prior to departure for Singapore.
If the traveller has been in Singapore within those last seven days, the stay in the Republic can be counted towards fulfilling this seven-day travel history requirement.
All vaccinated travellers by sea from Batam and Bintan must obtain a negative result through a pre-departure test - which must be a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test or professionally administered antigen rapid test (ART) - within two days prior to departing for Singapore.
They must also take an on-arrival supervised ART test at quick test centres or combined test centres within 24 hours of arrival, and remain self-isolated until their test result is confirmed to be negative.
Children aged two years and below in the calendar year are not required to undergo these tests.
Fully vaccinated Singapore citizens, permanent residents, long-term pass holders, and children aged 12 years and below in the calendar year do not need to apply for a vaccinated travel pass to enter Singapore by sea under the VTL.
Short-term visitors who require a visa for travel to Singapore must separately obtain a visa. These travellers are advised to apply for their visa after receiving their vaccinated travel pass approval and before departing for Singapore.
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