Malaysia Grants Visa-free Entry for Indian and Chinese Passport Holders
NEW DELHI, Nov 27: Joining Thailand and Sri Lanka in offering such a facility to foreigners to promote tourism, Malaysia has announced granting of visa-free entry to citizens of China and India for stays of up to 30 days with effect from December 1.
The Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim made the announcement late on Sunday during a speech at his People’s Justice Party congress and did not say for how long the visa exemption would remain in force. China and India are Malaysia’s fourth and fifth-largest source markets respectively.
Mr Ibrahim said the waiver was an additional facility to the existing visa exemptions currently enjoyed by Gulf nations and other West Asian countries, including Turkiye and Jordan. However, Mr Ibrahim, who is also the Finance Minister, said the visa exemption was subject to top security screening. “Initial screenings will be conducted for all tourists and visitors to Malaysia. Security is a different matter. If there are criminal records or the risk of terrorism, they will not be allowed to enter,” the Prime Minister said.
That comes under the authority of the security forces and immigration,” the Premier said. The 30-day visa-free entry is also currently enjoyed by eight ASEAN countries for the purpose of social visits, tourism and business. India remains to be among the top countries to contribute tourist arrivals to Malaysia.
Malaysia is currently targeting 16.1 million international tourist arrivals with RM 49.3 billion in tourism receipts. According to government data, Malaysia recorded 9.16 million tourist arrivals between January and June this year, with 498,540 from China and 283,885 from India. That compared to 1.5 million arrivals from China and 354,486 from India in the same period of 2019, prior to the pandemic. Currently, Chinese and Indian nationals must apply for visas to enter Malaysia.
The move follows similar measures implemented by neighbouring Thailand to boost its vital tourism sector and stimulate its sluggish economy, with Chinese and Indian nationals among those exempted this year. Currently, there are 158 flights with 30,032 seats offered weekly between India and Malaysia through Malaysia Airlines, Batik Air, AirAsia and IndiGo, said the agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia.
Malaysia’s decision follows a similar visa waiver implemented by Sri Lanka and Thailand. Sri Lanka has introduced a visa-free entry initiative for visitors from India and six other countries, encompassing China, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand.
This initiative will remain effective until March 31, 2024, and aims to boost tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka, with the Tourism Ministry setting a target of attracting five million tourists in the coming years. Thailand has also lifted visa requirements for visitors from India and Taiwan. Indians can travel to Thailand without a visa and stay for up to 30 days, the government announced recently.
(Manas Dasgupta)
