Updated Protocols: Going Home from Singapore to the Philippines [as of October 13, 2021]

There's been many updates the past few days from the IATF. The good news is they're removing quarantine requirements for those coming from green lane countries. Unfortunately, Singapore isn't a green lane country, it's yellow. The most important update I gathered is you need to get a negative RT-PCR test 72 hours before your flight and have a copy of your vaccination certificate. 

What this means for me as a vaccinated OFW:

1. Get a RT-PCR test 72 hours before flight. (Required for green lane, I'm trying to find info if this is required for yellow lane countries). 

2. Since I'm vaccinated, I must book 5 nights hotel or follow the OWWA Singapore process if you want to use the OFW benefit for quarantine hotel facility for OWWA members. [Note: I'm traveling with my husband who is a foreign national.]

3. Register for One Health Pass at least 3 days before your flight. 

4. Day before flight register for e-HDC.

5. On the day of your flight, update your One Health Pass registration for your seat number, health declaration and other details. Print or screen capture the QR code. This will also be sent to your email address. Post arrival process is available here from OWWA Singapore.

I am currently checking with POLO if they will be validating the vaccination certificate. You can get a copy of your vaccination certification from MOH through the Health Hub. You will need your SingPass account to be able to log-in. Once you log-in you will be able to download a PDF copy of your vaccination certificate.

*Unvaccinated/unverified/partially vaccinated individuals are required to do 8 days quarantine (7 nights hotel stay)

It's certainly good news that the requirement to quarantine has been shortened! I will update this post if there are any changes announced. I have a fuller process on the preparations I'm doing to go back home  here. Drop a comment below if you have a question. 

If you want to track what we'll be doing as we transition back home please follow my FB page and I'll also vlog our travel on my YouTube channel. We're just very busy right now sorting and packing our things. 

Resources:

Advisory for Travellers to the Philippines (link provided by POLO Singapore)

One Health Pass

Arrival Process (from OWWA Singapore)

News: Shortened quarantined days

News: Protocols for green, yellow states

And for what it's worth (this info has been very hard to find, thanks to a friend who's a GM of a hotel who sent me this information). 

Green Lane Countries: American Samoa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China (mainland), Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Hungary, Madagascar, Mali, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, New Zealand, Niger, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of Netherlands), Saint Pierre, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Taiwan, Algeria, Bhutan, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nicaragua, Niue, North Korea, Saint Helena, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. (Source: PNA)

Yellow Lane Countries: All other countries not listed. (Source: DOT MM FB)

Red Lane Countries: Bermuda (Source: DOT MM FB)

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Preparations, Going Home from Singapore to the Philippines

I could now feel our time in Singapore slipping away like sand in an hourglass. I originally wanted to visit our favorite spots before going home. We're just staying home since there's a surge of cases (almost 4k per day now). Just focusing now on sorting stuff, packing and preparing documents. 

Yup, our home is a huge mess right now. The mover required us to make an inventory of what's going to be packed. It's hard! It's challenging, but it's a good exercise to do since it forces you to take into account what you own. I have finally been able to collate all my supplies and realized I do own too many pairs of scissors! This week I'll pack up my Yoda collection once my arm isn't sore anymore from the vaxx. 

The biggest challenge is figuring out what you need to complete for paperwork. We booked our flight and hotel two months ago. I was hoping that they would be able to provide updated guidelines, but they're not updated. There was a huge announcement last Friday by the IATF and I had to scour through different government websites to get answers. 

Here's what we've done so far:

1. Book flight and check airline policies on swab requirements. Philippine government does not require a negative RT-PCR test, but your airline might require it (source).

2. Book hotel - check list of Bureau of Quarantine accredited hotels here. Go through the multitude of PDFs the hotel will send you. Pre-print everything and make sure they get your names right.

3. Get a mover - you can either ship it via a company like Asian Tigers or do piece-meal via LBC or Jolly-B.

4. Register on One Health Pass. 

5. Two days before your flight get a PCR test at an accredited center (we'll probably go to Raffles for this). 

6. Day before your flight register for e-HDC.

The question I had a hard time getting an answer to is whether I needed to get my vaccination certificate by Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) validated. The Philippine Embassy's page on validation of vaccination certificate was inaccessible. Luckily I found the email of POLO and got an auto-responder. The answer is NO, you don't need to have your vaccination certificate validated. I hope the Philippine Embassy in Singapore will update their guidelines soon. 

It's quite overwhelming! I'm only able to do physical activities an hour or two a day, so Sweetie's the one getting a huge work-out with packing. I've been the one taking care of the documents and bookings. This is reminding me of the months we prepared for our wedding haha. And when we get home I'll need to find new doctors and prepare for Christmas! Whew!

For updates about our trip back home, follow me on my FB page and YouTube channel :)

Happy Sunday everyone! 

**Updated blog post at http://aileenapolo.blogspot.com/2021/10/updated-protocols-going-home-from.html

Important sites for OFWs:

One Health Pass

Philippine Embassy Singapore

Advisory for Traveling to the Philippines (watch out for updates)

Process upon Arrival by OWWA Singapore

POLO Singapore email - polosgvaccinationverif@yahoo.com

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