Debated in Parliament on 4 Oct 2021.
Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui asked the Minister for Manpower in view of the higher COVID-19 vaccination rates in Singapore, whether the Ministry can prioritise the entry of migrant domestic workers who have been fully vaccinated at their source country.
As recently announced, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will start accepting applications for entry approval for migrant domestic workers (MDWs) on 15 October 2021, for entry into Singapore from 1 November 2021. These MDWs will be required to be fully vaccinated before they arrive in Singapore. To manage the risk of COVID-19 importation and protect public health, the entry approval quota for vaccinated travellers will continue to be managed tightly for those from countries where the COVID-19 situation remains worrying.
For overseas MDWs who are not vaccinated and for those who need to enter Singapore urgently, their employers may consider the on-going industry-led pilot programme by the Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore), AEA(S), to facilitate the safe entry of MDWs into Singapore. As additional safe management measures are done prior to the MDWs’ entry into Singapore, we will not apply the vaccination condition on them. However, those who are unvaccinated will have to go through full vaccination after arriving in Singapore.
As we resume entry approvals for MDWs, MOM will do our best to facilitate their entry within the parameters set by the Multi-Ministry Taskforce to safeguard public health.
PAPERCUTS