As travel restrictions prevail, a petition has popped up on Change.org urging the Singapore government to allow vaccinated individuals from India to enter the country.
The petition, titled “Ease Travel Restrictions for Vaccinated ‘Indian’ with Singapore“, has garnered over 4,300 signatures at the time of writing.
Specifically, the petition seeks to have Indian travellers with valid work, student, or dependent visas or holders of other passes to be allowed to enter Singapore if they can provide a government-issued vaccination certificate on the Indian government’s end.
“Singapore has continued to (tighten) the border restrictions which have severely affected many Indian (travellers) in multiple ways.
“The renewal of work permits and other passes are at risk, in some cases, they were cancelled. Students are unable to resume education and [pose] huge uncertainty in their progression.
“Working from India is disallowed by SG-based companies, which directly affects livelihood (salary cut) of stranded Indians, which in turn negatively impacts our lives and family,” the petition read.
The situation in India, the petition claimed, has “improved a lot” as new daily COVID-19 cases have been “significantly reduced” recently, coupled with the “accelerating” drive to vaccinate the population.
“While we perfectly understand the SG situation and respect their protocols, we would also like them to know what we are going through tough times, so that at least some of the issues could be remotely resolved if not all, until the situation gets better,” the petition said.
In April, the COVID-19 pandemic started to spiral out of control as the country faced a new wave of infections, with new cases being reported at over 300,000 each day.
The worsening situation in India had prompted the Singapore government to announce in April an entry ban on all non-citizen and non-permanent residents inbound travellers who have been to India.
This includes those who had already obtained entry approval.
Since then, however, the number of new cases being reported by India has decreased dramatically to fewer than 100,000 each day.
The number of daily COVID-19 fatalities have also dropped to below the 1,000 mark.
The drop in numbers coincides with India’s ramped up vaccination efforts.
The Indian government even halted the export of COVID vaccines that it produces—Covishield, an AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India—in order to prioritise vaccinating its population.
The vaccine has been recognised by 15 European countries so far.
In the comments left by signatories of the petition, many have shared how they have been separated from their families for months, some for even over a year, due to travel restrictions.
Some have noted that they’ve already secured jobs in Singapore but are at risk of losing them if they can’t enter the country.
Others have found themselves stuck in India after travelling there to attend to family emergencies, funerals, or even to give birth.
Many are in favour of the government allowing existing pass holders who have been fully vaccinated to return, even if it means adhering to additional safety measures if necessary.
One person emphasised the improving situation in Singapore, noting that it is only “fair” to allow families to reunite, thus providing some relief to the mental and emotional trauma they have faced.
