SINGAPORE – From next Monday (Nov 29), Singapore and Malaysia will allow quarantine-free travel at the Woodlands land checkpoint. This comes after nearly 20 months of border restrictions since last March.
The authorities said on Wednesday that up to 2,880 people will be able to travel each day, with 1,440 travellers in each direction.
Here is how it works:
1. Who can make the trip
Travellers have to be citizens, permanent residents or long-term pass holders (work permit, employment pass, student’s pass or long-term visit pass) of the country that they are entering.
This means that those coming into Singapore must be Singapore citizens, permanent residents or long-term pass holders. The same rules apply for Malaysians in Singapore who want to go home.
This is to give priority to those who have been working in either country to visit their families. More than 100,000 Malaysians continue to work here despite the border restrictions.
The scheme could be progressively expanded to include general travellers, depending on the public health situation in both countries.
2. No self-driving, only buses
Travellers must use one of the 64 daily designated Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) bus services between the two countries to avoid quarantine.
Those who walk or drive will still be subjected to prevailing border control measures, which currently include a seven-day stay-home notice.
The bus services are split evenly between Transtar Travel going between Woodlands temporary bus interchange and Larkin Sentral bus terminal in Johor Baru, and Handal Indah going between Queen Street Terminal and Larkin Sentral bus terminal.
Buses will run from 7.30am to 9.30pm every day. People are encouraged to turn up about an hour early to facilitate clearance.
3. Only the Causeway at Woodlands will be open
The two countries are working…