Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on the Number of Monthly Visitor Arrivals into Singapore Since the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic, by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law

Question:

Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, how many monthly visitor arrivals have there been into Singapore; and (b) of these, how many entered Singapore via (i) the Reciprocal Green Lane scheme and (ii) Family Ties scheme, each as broken down by month.

Answer:

1. Between January 2020 and January 2021, 4.9 million Short-Term Visit Pass (STVP) holders entered Singapore, of which 4.1 million entered before April 2020. The breakdown of STVP holder arrivals by month since January 2020 is provided in Table 1.The arrival volume declined significantly following the imposition of border restrictions on 23 March 2020 on all short-term visitors entering or transiting through Singapore. Since the second half of 2020, Singapore has reopened its borders in a gradual and calibrated manner with the implementation of Safe Travel Lanes such as the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL).

2. The RGLs facilitate short-term essential business and official travel between Singapore and RGL counterpart countries/regions, where individuals who play important and essential roles in the Singapore economy are allowed to enter Singapore under the established health protocols. The RGLs provide businesses a means to travel to other countries for their business activities and operations. They also provide a critical avenue for key overseas personnel to continue to provide essential services to local companies, reducing the impact caused by the potential disruption in manpower supply. Without the RGLs, many businesses may be in jeopardy should Singapore lose its competitiveness as an international hub for investment, trade and talent. The first RGL was launched on 8 June 2020. In addition to STVP holders, Long-Term Pass (LTP) holders can apply for entry into Singapore via RGLs. As of 31 Jan 2021, 3,092 STVP and LTP holders have arrived via the RGLs. The Government closely monitors the evolving public health situation worldwide and will balance economic needs with public health considerations. For example, RGLs with Germany, Malaysia and the Republic of Korea have been suspended for three months starting 1 February 2021.

3. The Familial Ties Lane (FTL) facilitates the entry of individuals with familial ties to a Singapore Citizen (SC) or Permanent Resident (PR) into Singapore. This includes reuniting SCs and PRs with their foreign family members or spouses-to-be who may otherwise be stranded overseas. Non-residents may also seek entry to Singapore for compassionate reasons such as family bereavements. The FTL was implemented since 30 March 2020. Similar to the RGLs, both STVP and LTP holders can apply for entry into Singapore via the FTL. As of 31 Jan 2021, 16,395 STVP and LTP holders have arrived via the FTL.

4. The breakdown by month for arriving STVP and LTP holders via RGLs and the FTL is provided in Table 2.

Table 1: STVP Holder Arrivals by Month (Source: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority)

Table 2: STVP and LTP Holder Arrivals Via RGLs and FTL (Source: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority)