What is Fast lane travel and how can it affect me?
As we have been anxiously waiting for the world to be ”normal” again, you may have heard or read that Singapore and China have agreed to create Fast Lane Travel to facilitate essential business and official travel between both countries back in June.
Since then, Singapore has had travel discussions with multiple countries to establish the same or a similar Fast Lane travel agreement to allow eligible travelers into their respective countries while safeguarding public health.
Unsure about what travel agreements have been made or how it’ll affect you?
Read on as we have done some research to give you a quick overview of Singapore’s Fast Lane Travel.
What travel lanes and schemes have been introduced?
So far, the Fast Lane Travel, Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL), Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA), and the Air Travel Pass has been introduced to bring back essential travel to Singapore.
The definition of the mentioned schemes is mentioned below according to safetravel.ica.gov.sg which is the official Singapore Government agency website.
Fast Lane Travel
On 28 May 2020, Singapore and China agreed to create a Fast Lane to facilitate essential business and official travel between both countries.
Reciprocal Green Lane
The Reciprocal Green Lane travel scheme (RGL) enables its residents to travel for essential business and official purposes between both countries, up to a maximum of 14 days’ stay.
Air Travel Pass
An Air Travel Pass has also been implemented as a mandatory document for short-term foreign visitors from approved countries/ regions seeking to make leisure travel to Singapore.
Periodic Commuting Agreement
The Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA) is a scheme agreed between Singapore and Malaysia to allow work and business-related travel between the two countries via the land border crossings at the Johor-Singapore Causeway and Malaysia-Singapore Second Link.
Which countries is Singapore open to?
As of 8th October 2020, Singapore is open for Fast Lane Travel to China and the Republic of South Korea.
The Reciprocal Green Lane Travel is open to Malaysia, Brunei, and Japan.
The Air Travel Pass is open to travelers from Australia, Vietnam, Brunei, and New Zealand.
Lastly, the Periodic Commuting Agreement is open to Malaysia only.
More discussions and negotiations are still on-going with other respective countries to slowly allow for essential and safe travel between the countries.
What does this mean for you?
Some may think that having travelers back in Singapore may jeopardize the well-being of Singaporeans and have safety concerns about an increase of COVID-19 cases in Singapore. However, fret not as the Fast Lane Travel arrangements mainly cater to essential business travelers and for those with official purposes only.
One mandatory document is the SafeTravel Pass which according to sources from the ICA, is defined as “a mandatory document for inbound travelers from approved countries/regions seeking to make essential business and official travel to Singapore under Green/ Fast Lane arrangements.”
There are also other mandatory documents, requirements, and strict testing and checks which they would need to adhere to before they can apply and utilize Fast Lane Travel.
As leisure travel has not begun just yet, having essential business travelers will help to revive and restore life to our airports and the economy disrupted by COVID-19.
With more countries reaching an agreement for these travel arrangements, we will be working together to look forward to more essential business travel between the countries.
Sooner or later, fingers crossed, we might even be flying to our holiday destinations once again.
Till then, we can only plan and stay organized! So, let us help you plan your next holiday destination with the help of our travel agents!
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