SG Arrival Card to Become Permanent Due to Health Benefits

SINGAPORE – The SG Arrival Card, which travellers, including Singaporean residents, must submit before entering Singapore, will become a permanent feature to help guard against the importation of infectious diseases like yellow fever, Middle East respiratory syndrome, and Ebola, according to Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung. He made this announcement in Parliament on Monday (Feb 6).

“We don’t want them to become endemic diseases in our part of the world,” Mr Ong stated, highlighting that the SG Arrival Card will serve as a crucial measure to prevent such diseases from entering Singapore. However, he noted that all features of the system would be reviewed from time to time.

Mr Ong explained that the card gathers dynamic information about a traveller’s health and travel history—data not captured by current government systems. He added that the information required is submitted digitally, with travellers answering just three questions to assess their risk of carrying diseases of concern.

The health minister was responding to a question from Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang) about whether the Ministry of Health (MOH) would review the necessity of the SG Arrival Card.

Currently, all travellers entering Singapore via air and sea checkpoints must complete the SG Arrival Card within three days prior to arrival. The card can be submitted via the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) website or the MyICA Mobile app, free of charge.

Singapore citizens, permanent residents, and long-term pass holders returning via land checkpoints are exempted from the requirement due to the high volume of daily commuters for work and study, ICA explained last December.

Mr Ong also mentioned that travellers from regions with yellow fever risk who do not have valid vaccination certificates may face quarantine to prevent the disease’s introduction into Singapore. The presence of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Singapore, which can spread yellow fever, makes this a critical concern.

Symptoms of yellow fever include fever, muscle aches, and vomiting. The SG Arrival Card asks travellers to declare if they have symptoms such as fever or cough, and whether they have visited Africa or the Middle East within the 14 days before their arrival in Singapore.

“Travellers suspected of being infected can be referred for further medical assessment and isolation if necessary,” Mr Ong added, stressing that all travellers are subject to the risk of infectious diseases and thus required to submit a health declaration.