回”家“ 疫情之下的回坡日记 Going "Home": An Expatriate's COVID-19 Travel Diary
国内疫情刚刚发展起来的时候我刚从新加坡回到沈阳过年。当时新加坡疫情还不太严重，虽然二月份开始收紧对短期游客签证的发放，不过政策整体上还是比较佛系。再加上我拿的是较长期的工作签证，所以并没有很担心回坡入境的问题。没想到后来回新加坡的计划经历了一波三折，折腾了好几个星期才顺利回坡。
I was on vacation in my hometown in Shenyang, China when COVID-19 began spreading through China around the Lunar New Year.
At the time there were only a handful of confirmed cases in Singapore, where I’ve lived and worked for the past four years. Back then, the Singaporean government had adopted a rather hands-off approach towards the virus, which had yet to be declared a pandemic. I was not worried about my trip back to Singapore, as I hold a work visa in a famously business-friendly country.
在计划回新加坡的前两天晚上，新加坡突然出台了政策，要求所有入境十四天前在中国境内逗留过的工作签证持有者都要通过所在单位向人力部（MOM）提交申请，收到批复后才可以入境。我记得特别清楚，政策是周五晚上出台的，而我原定的航班在周日。周末MOM不接受和审批申请材料，我当下就明白自己肯定是无法按照计划回坡了。
But two days before my scheduled return, the Singaporean government announced a new policy regarding the re-entry of residents holding work visas. hose seeking to enter the country now needed to apply, via their employers, for entry approval from the Ministry of Manpower, in whose hands the fate of travellers now lie.
Immediately, I had to cancel my flight, then scheduled on a Sunday, as the MOM did not process applications on weekends.
这项申请并不是单纯填张表那么简单，除了在职证明，还需要我在新加坡的房东同意书，表示同意我落地新加坡之后的14天在他的房子里自我隔离。了解了这一系列要求之后，我就开始连轴转了：一边联系公司和房东收集材料，一边还得联系航空公司改签机票。那个时候，从沈阳直飞新加坡的航班都已经停飞。经停首尔或者东南亚其他国家也不可行，因为基本所有海外机场已经开始禁止过去14天在中国逗留过的人中转或过境了。万幸的是，当时国航还剩下一班经停成都的航班，我在庆幸之余，立即着手办理改签。
The application process was itself a labyrinthine endeavor. In addition to an application form, I had to provide a reference letter from my employer and an approval letter from my landlord in Singapore demonstrating his willingness to let me stay for the 14-day quarantine upon my return.
而改签机票的过程也是多舛。国际机票改签只有打电话这一个途径。那段时间因为疫情改变旅行计划的旅客太多，国航的服务电话每天都爆满，我只好挑人最少的半夜试试运气。一直到了周日凌晨五点终于打通。总算在原定航班起飞前将机票改签到了下周四。
Facing this bureaucratic bombardment, I had no time to chafe. I immediately busied myself with phone calls and emails to the relevant parties, taking pains to change my flight as well.
Booking the flight was another palpitating endeavour -- especially when flying from Shenyang, a city with limited flight options to Singapore. It took awhile, but finally, I got the documents and flights settled -- I was ready to leave, or so I thought.
当时直接定了下周四的机票有两个原因。一是出国的航班每天都在收紧，美国禁止中国护照入境航班停飞的例子就在眼前，总怕哪天仅剩的几条新加坡航线也要彻底停飞，所以很着急地想要敲定新的行程。二是当时还天真地以为申请只是走个过场。毕竟材料齐全，预留MOM官方宣布的两天工作日审核时间，我应该会在周四之前收到申请的批复。
Without hesitation I booked the next flight available, scheduled for the following Thursday. I was afraid that if I delayed my return I may not be able to fly back as flights were being cancelled by the day. Also, I was quite confident (or naïve, in retrospect) that I could get approval on Monday because I had already prepared the required documents.
但2020好像从不按常理出牌，做好准备周四要回新加坡了，却在周三收到公司邮件说我的入境申请没有通过。MOM拒信没有说明哪个条件不符合或哪个材料需要补交，只是单方面告知结果并且没有提及对此结果的疑问或上诉。
But 2020 never fails to surprise! When I was getting ready for the rescheduled flight on Wednesday, I was informed that my application was rejected without further explanation.
收到拒信的我一头雾水，赶紧上网去查了一下，据说确实有大量的申请未被批准。新加坡政府声明说这是为了控制回坡的人流，被拒绝者可以再次申请。从政府的角度考虑，也许这是一种行之有效的限流方法，但是对于我们这样“被限流”的申请者，一种束手无策感油然而生，不知道要怎么修改自己的申请才能增加一些通过的筹码。
I could not make sense of it at all. The Singapore government then clarified that this was to split the returnees into smaller groups for better monitoring and management. Those who were rejected could apply again. Perhaps this did achieve its objective in downsizing the streams of people returning, but for rejected applicants like myself, it left us feeling lost and helpless. I could not figure out what I should do to increase my chance of getting approved for my second (and god forbid third or fourth) application(s).
即使幸运通过了申请，这项审批结果也只有三天有效，这意味着申请者如果不在收到批准邮件的三天以内进入新加坡的海关，入境许可就会自动失效。可是就像第一次改签一样，即使不考虑最后一分钟订机票的成本问题，在像我所在的非一线城市买到一张符合三天内入境时间的机票难度也远远大于平时。
Even if I had gotten approval, it would only have been valid for three days. This means the applicant may not be able to return if they fail to book a flight within that window. Amidst the flight cancellations and soaring prices of the pandemic, the three-day rule added fuel to the fire of my anxiety.
但是神奇的2020年里真的什么事情都可能会发生，基本不太抱希望的第二次申请竟然毫无预兆地通过了。虽然机票再次改签已成奢侈，我也非常幸运地在三月份中国新加坡全部航班停飞前，买到了最后几班的机票。但是看着新加坡几个微信公众号的读者留言，大部分人没有我的这种幸运，好几次申请无法通过或著无法在规定时间内返回新加坡的居民大有人在。
