Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble partnership with Singapore is seen to be the best possible solution to our travel-depraved brain. With this agreement in place, the possibility to travel for both business and leisure purposes without mandatory on-arrival quarantine and controlled itinerary sounds delightful.

Too bad it was postponed for the second time again on May 18th, 2021.

The wait continues...

COVID-19 brought a lot of nightmares to the world - a lot of death, sadness, fear, and definitely mental stress. Although, we are still hopeful that things will get better and stay better. That is one of the reasons why we have this series plan for our readers. Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble is not in the history books yet.

We have created a detailed travel guide to prepare you for your future travels to Hong Kong. Be sure to bookmark this page for future use. Don’t forget to visit the Safe Travel pages that we created specifically to update our audience on the travel status around the worldas well. Also, do subscribe to our newsletters and social channels to keep up-to-date with things happening in travel and Traveloka.

Let’s get to it!

P.S: Please be informed that the eligibility requirements from Hong Kong to Singapore are different. This article is solely for travelers from Singapore to Hong Kong.

Although Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble is open to all residents in Singapore, it is with a clause:

You may only be eligible for Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble if you remain in Singapore for 14 days prior to your date of departure. This period does not include “quarantine time” or Stay-Home Notice (SNH) that might occur from their last return to Singapore from other countries.

Consider it a clean slate of 14 days before you can go to Hong Kong under the air travel bubble arrangements.

Pre-departure COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test is mandatory to be taken within 72 hours before the scheduled departure of their ATB flight and they must receive a negative test result to be allowed to continue with the ATB arrangements. This is also applicable to children aged 6 years and younger.

However, if you plan to return to Singapore within 72 hours of your post-arrival COVID-19 PCR test at Hong Kong International Airport, you will not be required to take the same test before your return flight to Singapore.

Do bear in mind that the COVID-19 test will not be subsidized or borne by the Government of Singapore, thus it is under your own finances. You might have to double-check on the latest prices in case they are different from certain medical facilities/laboratories.

And for the love of God, please manage your time well for your test appointment and your departure date. Early and proper planning is the key here. Ensure you have the items below ready when you want to make an appointment:

Speaking of planning, you can register and pay for the post-arrival COVID-19 PCR test at Hong Kong International Airport in advance via Project Screen by Prenetics. You will receive a QR Code once your booking has been completed where you will present it to the airport authorities during check-in.

Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific are the only airlines (at the moment of this publishing) that provide direct flights to/from Hong Kong. There are only direct flights available from these two airlines. Transit passengers are not allowed on ATB flights.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you will only be required to apply for a visa if you are staying more than 90 days in Hong Kong. If your stay is up to 90 days or less, a visa won’t be necessary for you. However, if the purpose of your travel is for work or study, you will need to obtain a visa before departing to Hong Kong. The Ministry of Foreign Affair is at Tanglin, Singapore 248163 and can be reached via telephone at (65) 6379 8000 or email at mfa@mfa.sg.

LeaveHomeSafe is a Hong Kong mobile application system that records all your visits to any premises in Hong Kong. The sole purpose is to have a sophisticated contact tracing management system to maintain the safety of both visitors and their people from another unwanted wave of the pandemic.

The primary functions of the app are:

Insurance has always been important, but with COVID-19 terrorizing the world, it added another layer of importance on why you - we, should prep ourselves with some insurance coverage. Certain health insurance such as MediSheild will provide subsidies for COVID-19 testing for some insurance holders. Travel insurance on the other hand will cover medical expenses, trip cancellations, lost or stolen items, or even travel delays. Considering how unpredictable things are now, a lot of flights can be canceled unexpectedly, thus, one needs to always have a backup plan.

Things are different now compared to how it was back in 2019. Even though there are no rules applied when you are traveling under the air travel bubble arrangements, the regular health and safety measures still apply when you roam the streets of Hong Kong.

Keep your mask on at all times whenever you go out and about. Make sure the type of mask you wear are the ones that are approved by the nation. Keep your distance from any walking, living, and breathing human being by at least 1 meter apart when interacting with them. When you see crowded places, try your best not to be in the middle of them.

Maintain personal hygiene by having a pocket hand sanitizer in your person whenever you go out. Wash your hands regularly and always clean yourself once you are back in your place of residence after spending the day outside.

We are here again for another round of testing. Every air travel bubble traveler must be submitted to an upon arrival testing that is pre-booked ahead of time before departing from Singapore to Hong Kong. As mentioned earlier, Prenetics provide a room for you to book your upon arrival test with ease.

According to their official site, the price you are looking at is around HKD 499 for the test. Before you can book your spot for the upon arrival test, you will have to register an account first on the site. It’s a simple register-your-email-and-create-a-password process to get your account rolling before you can proceed to make your bookings.

Ensure the mobile telephone number you use for the registration is correct because the system will send you a 4-digit verification code for, well, verification before you can proceed.

Segue to travel in general, knowing where the embassy is located is important because when you are in a foreign land, anything could go wrong (cross our fingers it will not come to that). In cases where a sudden disaster, protest, or violence occurs, or even for incidents as small as losing your passport during a wild night out, the embassy is your safe bet to help you out.

Don’t panic. Go to your embassy and take it from there, and then panic. The Embassy of Singapore in Hong Kong is located at Units 901-2, 9th Floor, Admiralty Centre Tower 1, 18 Harcourt Road, Hong Kong. Their contact number is +852-2527-2212 or +852-9466-1251 (for emergency or after hours), and their email is singcg_hkg@sgmfa.gov.sg. Keep ‘em handy at all times.

Overall, the whole shebang is the same as when you are preparing to depart from Singapore to Hong Kong, albeit, there are some things to take note of.

What is similar is that a pre-departure test is mandatory for all travelers except for children at the age of 6 or younger at the time of the departure date. The test result is only valid if it is taken via the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and must be conducted by accredited and authorized health care providers. The Ministry of Health in Singapore has prepared a full list of accredited COVID-19 testing centers in Hong Kong for your reference.

Always request a copy of the PCR test result in English to be shown to the local authorities, airline officials, so on and so forth. But not to worry, a digital copy of the test result is also acceptable.

Air Traveler Bubble or not, the Government of Singapore has decreed that it is mandatory for all travelers to submit their health declarations to ICA via this SG Arrival Card e-Service system prior to their arrival in Singapore; 3 days to be exact. You will then have to present the card to the assigned officials upon arrival at Changi International Airport.

Failure to abide by the rules below will cost a fine nobody wants to pay after a trip to Hong Kong. This is taken verbatim from the site to avoid any misrepresentation of the meaning:

Yikes!

If you are found to be negative, you still have to abide by the self-isolation measures put in place by the Government of Singapore. There are three categories of segregation measures in effect; 1) Stay Home Notice (SHN), 2) SHN-Dedicated Facilities (SDF), and 3) SHN Electronic Monitoring Device.

The duration of SHN is not standardized; there are 14 days, 7 days, 14+7 days, or 21 days you would have to submit to and it depends on your travel history. The period will be stated in your Entry Approval Letter or Safe Travel Pass after it has been issued.

So, while you are spending creative ways to kill time in self-isolation to keep your sanity intact (link to mental health article), there are still specific things you have to adhere to during your self-isolation period:

Another verbatim passage took from the official health advisory issued by the Ministry of Health on February 26, 2021, in regards to those who violated the self-isolation order:

“Individuals who breach their Stay-Home Notice may be prosecuted under the Infectious Diseases Act and/or the Infectious Diseases (COVID-19 – Stay Orders) Regulations 2020. First-time offenders can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.”

Again, yikes!

Traveloka not only plays its part as a Lifestyle SuperApp that provides transportation and accommodation bookings, but we also play our part to keep our audiences updated with the latest travel regulations from around the world; one country at a time.

Our Safe Travel webpage will be your true source to get the news you need on travel restrictions, travel requirements, and many more. Hong Kong is also listed on the page as well, thus, if you need another outlet to get your travel information updates for Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble, you may find the information you need there.

Until next time, stay safe and stay hopeful for future travels!