Singapore and Hong Kong finally announced the most anticipated travel bubble in Southeast Asian region (again). Mark your calendar people, the bubble will start on 26 May 2021. Due to spikes in Hong Kong, Singapore called off the travel bubble and we have no news other than bad news until now.
There’s no doubt a lot of excitement about the prospect of leisure travel for both countries. Specifically, due to both countries are city-state countries.
In this article, I will summarise a FAQ based on the official sources. Here are the links. This FAQ here is updated as of Wednesday, 28 April 2021.
- Singapore: https://safetravel.ica.gov.sg/hongkong/atb/visitinghk
- Hong Kong: https://www.tourism.gov.hk/travel-bubble/en/index.html
FAQ
This means travelling without requirements for a controlled itinerary or sponsorship.
Additionally there won’t be any quarantine requirements for both countries under this agreement.
Hong Kong residents traveling under the travel bubble must be fully-vaccinated for COVID-19.
This defined as 14 days after the second vaccine dose.
Exceptions:
• Aged below 16
• Not suitable for COVID-19 vaccination due to medical grounds
• With less than 90 days’ stay in Hong Kong before departure
• Using non-Hong Kong travel documents for departure
Singapore residents do NOT need to be fully-vaccinated.
Yes. All travelers, regardless of vaccination status, will need to take up to 4 COVID-19 tests. For example, a Singapore resident should expect the following:
• Pre-departure PCR Test in Singapore
• Post-arrival PCR Test in Hong Kong
• Pre-departure PCR Test in Hong Kong*
• Post-arrival PCR Test in Singapore
*This test is not required if your return flight from Hong Kong is within 72 hours of your second test
From our estimate, you will pay around S$425-S$780 for those tests.
You can visit this link and click “list of clinics approved to conduct PCR Pre-Departure Tests”:
https://go.gov.sg/covid19pcrtestproviders
One thing to note, PCR test must be done within 3 days / 72 hours before the time of departure. Afterwards, you need to Notarise this document.
Your need to register here:
https://web.prenetics.com/
List of private facilities here:
https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/pdf/List_of_recognised_laboratories_RTPCR.pdf
or community testing here:
https://www.communitytest.gov.hk/en/
There is only 1 link for now here:
https://safetravel.changiairport.com/
The suspension will take effect after two days (including the day on which the criteria was met) for a two-week period.
The travel bubble will be suspended for at least 14 days if the seven-day moving average of the daily number of unlinked local COVID-19 cases is more than five in either Singapore or Hong Kong.
Conclusion
This is a step to right direction for Air Travels. Not long ago we have the good news of the Trans-Tasman Travel Bubble
Other than Hong Kong, Singapore also opens its arms to Brunei, China, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand for more travel bubble. We hope for more good news in time to come.
