Visa policy of Malaysia

The visa policy of Malaysia consists of the requirements for foreign nationals to travel to, enter, and remain in Malaysia. Most visitors to Malaysia are granted visa-free entry for a period of 90, 30, or 14 days respectively. However, nationals from some countries must first obtain a visa from one of the Malaysian diplomatic missions around the world before being allowed into the country.

Entry requirements

All visitors to Malaysia must: ^[1]

• hold a passport, passport replacing document or a travel document valid for at least 6 months ^[3] upon arrival; ^[1]
• hold a return ticket; ^[1]
• not be an illegal immigrant; ^[1]
• have sufficient funds for the duration of stay in Malaysia; ^[1]
• have a visa ^[1] and/or a yellow fever vaccination certificate ^[4] (if applicable).

Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC)

Before entering Malaysia, all travellers, except

• citizens of Singapore; and
• diplomatic and official passport holders, regardless of nationality; and
• residents (Malaysian citizens, Permanent Residents and Long-Term Pass holders); and
• holders of a Bruneian General Certificate of Identity (GCI); and
• users of the "Brunei-Malaysia Frequent Travel Facility"; and
• holders of a border pass issued by Thailand; and
• holders of an Indonesian cross-border travel document (PLB);

are required to submit a Malaysia Digital Arrival Card online to Malaysia Immigration within three days before the date of arrival in Malaysia. ^[5]

However, Malaysian authorities have warned that visitors should be vigilant against fraudulent websites that impersonate the official MDAC website, as such fraudulent websites may lead to scam and personal data breach. ^{[6] [7]} The registration for MDAC is completely free of charge. ^[8]

Visa policy map

Visa policy of Malaysia

  Malaysia

  Visa not required (90 days)

  Visa not required (30 days)

  Visa not required (14 days)

  eVisa (30 days)

  Visa required in advance

  Visa required in advance + enter by airport only

  Admission refused

Visa exemption

According to Timatic, holders of passports issued by the following jurisdictions can enter Malaysia without a visa for up to the duration listed below. ^[9]

90 days

Holders of passports issued by the following jurisdictions are granted visa-free entry to Malaysia for 90 days: ^[9]

All European Union member states All European Free Trade Association member states All Gulf Cooperation Council member states Albania Algeria Argentina Australia Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil Canada Cuba Egypt Hong Kong Japan Jordan Kyrgyzstan Lebanon Maldives Morocco New Zealand Peru San Marino South Africa South Korea Sudan Syria Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan United Kingdom United States Uruguay Yemen

30 days

Holders of passports issued by the following jurisdictions are granted visa-free entry to Malaysia for 30 days (unless otherwise stated): ^[9]

ASEAN member states (except Myanmar) Andorra Antigua and Barbuda Armenia Azerbaijan Bahamas Barbados Belarus Belize Benin Bolivia Botswana Cape Verde Chad Chile China 1 Comoros Costa Rica Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Eswatini Fiji Gabon Gambia Georgia Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Honduras India 2 Iraq Jamaica Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Lesotho Libya Macao Madagascar Malawi Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Namibia Nauru Nicaragua North Macedonia Palau Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Russia Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Solomon Islands Somalia South Sudan Suriname Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Zambia Zimbabwe

_{1 - Limited to a maximum cumulative stay of 90 days within any 180-day period.
2 - Temporary measure until 31 December 2026.} ^{[10] [11] [12]}

According to Timatic, nationals of Brunei and Singapore "may apply to extend their stay upon arrival" in Malaysia. ^[9] Whilst the Immigration Department of Malaysia states that these nationals may stay more than 1 month without a visa, ^[4] the legal procedure for these nationals to extend their stay has not been publicly disclosed, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore maintains that nationals of Singapore may only stay in Malaysia for a maximum stay of 30 days. ^[13]

14 days

Holders of passports issued by the following jurisdictions are granted visa-free entry to Malaysia for 14 days: ^[9]

Iran

In addition, holders of Macao Special Administrative Region Travel Permits are granted visa-free entry for 14 days regardless of their nationality.

APEC Business Travel Card

Holders of passports issued by the following countries who possess an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) containing the "MYS" code on the reverse, which indicates that it is valid for travel to Malaysia, can enter Malaysia visa-free for business trips for up to 60 days. ^[9]

ABTCs are issued to nationals of: ^[14]

Australia Brunei Chile China Hong Kong Indonesia Japan South Korea Mexico

New Zealand Papua New Guinea Peru Philippines Russia Singapore Taiwan Thailand Vietnam

Non-ordinary passports

Holders of diplomatic or official / service passports of European Union member states, ASEAN member states, Andorra, Albania (90 days), Algeria (90 days), Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belarus (90 days), Barbados (90 days), Belize (90 days), Botswana, China, Dominican Republic, Georgia, India, Iran (15 days), Jordan (90 days), Kazakhstan, Libya, Monaco, Moldova, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia (90 days), San Marino (90 days), Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, ^[15] Taiwan, Timor-Leste, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, United Kingdom (90 days) and Vatican City do not require a visa for up to 30 days (unless otherwise stated).

Eligible international organizations

Individuals holding the following travel documents are not required to obtain a visa for visits of 90 days or less when entering Malaysia:

• United Nations Passport Holders
• Interpol Passport Holders

Electronic Visa (e-Visa)

Sample of ENTRI

On 1 March 2017, Malaysian government set up a new online application system to accept applications for Electronic Visa (eVISA) and Electronic Travel Registration and Information (ENTRI) to facilitate tourism.

eNTRI program is good for Chinese and Indian passport holders and lasts until 31 December 2020 while e-Visa is good for citizens of more countries and is still available so far. ^[16]

E-Visa application also applies to those seeking student or expatriate visas for entering Malaysia, although they must report to immigration authorities upon arrival in Malaysia in order to obtain their immigration passes.

Citizens of the following countries can apply for an e-Visa:

Afghanistan Angola Bangladesh Bhutan Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Colombia Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Ghana Guinea Bissau Ivory Coast Liberia Mali

Montenegro Mozambique Myanmar    Nepal Niger Nigeria Pakistan Rwanda Serbia Sri Lanka

In addition, holders of Hong Kong Document of Identity for Visa Purposes are eligible for applying e-Visa regardless of their nationality.

• Place of application: all countries and territories in the world except Israel, Malaysia and North Korea
  • As of 22 February 2023, Single Entry Visa (SEV) and Multiple Entry Visa (MEV) applications are now available in Singapore for all nationalities that require an eVISA.
  • The application website contains IP address detection, applicants out of designated countries (see above) will be blocked from the application.
• Fee: varies by nationality and applicant's location
• Place of departure: no restrictions
• Port of entry and exit: any port of entry
• Valid for: 3 months (multiple entries for Indian nationals, single entry for others)
• Duration of stay: 30 days for single-entry eVisa holders, 15 or 30 days for multiple-entry e-Visa holders
• Visa review: 2 business day after application submitted, visa interview or extra proof materials may be requested

Direct airside transit

Nationals of non-visa-exempt countries can transit through Kuala Lumpur International Airport for a maximum of 24 hours in the transit area; however, they are not permitted to switch between the terminals of the airport unless they hold a valid visa. ^[9]

Mandatory yellow fever vaccination

Nationals of the following countries require an International Certificate of Vaccination in order to enter Malaysia: ^[4] The vaccination requirement is imposed by this country for protection against Yellow Fever since the principal mosquito vector Aedes aegypti is present in its territory. ^[17]

Angola Argentina Benin Bolivia Brazil Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Colombia Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo Ecuador

Equatorial Guinea Ethiopia French Guiana (France) Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) Kenya Liberia Mali Mauritania

Niger Nigeria Panama Paraguay Peru Senegal Sierra Leone South Sudan Sudan Suriname Togo Trinidad and Tobago Uganda Venezuela

Admission restrictions

• Citizens of Israel are required to obtain visa along with approval from the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs in order to enter Malaysia. In addition, they are banned from participating in Malaysia My Second Home programme. ^{[18] [19]}
• Citizens of North Korea are visa required since 6 March 2017 due to the diplomatic tensions caused by assassination of Kim Jong-nam. ^{[20] [21]}
• Citizens of Western Sahara are visa required and may enter by air only. ^[22]

Statistics

This section is transcluded from Tourism in Malaysia. (edit | history)

Yearly tourist arrivals in millions ^{[23] [24]}

In 2016, Malaysia recorded 26,757,392 tourist arrivals, a growth of 4.0% compared to 25,721,251 in 2015. The table lists the top 15 arrivals to Malaysia by their origin countries.

—	Denotes that the country was not within the top 15 arrivals for that year

Foreign tourist arrivals in Malaysia

Country	Visitors (6/2025) [25]	Visitors (2024) [26]	Visitors (2023) [27]	Visitors (2022) [28]	Visitors (2021) [29]	Visitors (2020) [30]	Visitors (2019) [31]	Visitors (2018) [32]	Visitors (2017) [33]	Visitors (2016) [34]	Visitors (2015) [35]
Singapore	4,401,890	9,099,727	8,308,230	5,222,991	16,308	1,545,255	10,163,882	10,615,986	12,441,713	13,272,961	12,930,754
Indonesia	1,933,010	3,651,668	3,108,165	1,481,739	11,025	711,723	3,623,277	3,277,689	2,796,570	3,049,964	2,788,033
China	1,852,505	3,287,362	1,474,114	211,363	7,701	405,149	3,114,257	2,944,133	2,281,666	2,124,942	1,677,163
Thailand	875,190	1,639,211	1,551,282	715,528	59,607	394,413	1,884,306	1,914,692	1,836,522	1,780,800	1,343,569
India	638,456	1,133,331	671,846	324,548	3,916	155,883	735,309	600,311	552,739	638,578	722,141
Brunei	490,197	1,142,134	811,833	301,757	773	136,020	1,216,123	1,382,031	1,660,506	1,391,016	1,133,555
South Korea	230,503	475,815	400,853	146,384	3,028	119,750	673,065	616,783	484,528	444,439	421,161
Philippines	196,921	400,912	339,282	159,442	2,317	66,051	421,908	396,062	370,559	417,446	554,917
Taiwan	196,724	385,415	283,380	48,132	563	60,090	382,916	383,922	332,927	300,861	283,224
Australia	196,458	382,628	343,438	152,265	1,321	72,680	368,271	351,500	351,232	377,727	486,948
United Kingdom	188,542	345,438	272,297	134,667	2,676	63,868	346,485	361,335	358,818	400,269	401,019
Japan	154,002	307,883	229,892	83,309	3,114	74,383	424,694	394,540	392,777	413,768	483,569
Vietnam	146,139	330,189	344,361	173,763	583	64,184	400,346	375,578	248,927	216,877	229,926
United States	144,979	271,809	229,476	108,141	2,030	48,810	269,928	253,384	198,203	217,075	237,768
Bangladesh	135,310	143,919	142,748	59,033	1,509	17,634	179,000	150,053	111,836	114,607	147,152
France	93,676	160,637	115,145	55,087	843	28,237	141,661	139,408	131,668	134,257	151,474
Germany	89,890	155,848	125,987	57,780	824	27,458	130,221	128,895	109,816	130,276	144,910
Myanmar	75,219	114,551	86,298	36,765	377	9,745	46,257	38,513	42,314	49,175	66,553
Russia	68,118	112,806	109,689	33,003	399	28,694	79,984	72,785	67,564	50,893	55,263
Pakistan	61,015	102,570	107,657	60,535	2,043	17,777	105,757	74,458	53,453	58,388	69,112
Canada	49,006	86,882	71,981	30,656	471	16,631	87,568	84,705	67,056	72,337	79,557
Netherlands	37,932	82,964	68,448	31,070	466	14,486	82,110	81,651	75,885	72,200	84,584
Sri Lanka	30,404	58,015	55,050	24,906	385	8,142	26,058	28,376	43,738	33,340	51,337
Italy	28,915	69,781	48,440	18,866	300	8,971	54,710	52,055	44,638	42,747	51,946
Spain	26,882	60,527	40,762	20,474	147	6,367	43,616	42,267	35,149	28,018	36,692
Cambodia	26,581	63,964	72,627	39,823	250	16,548	97,097	90,113	42,004	61,844	75,059
Poland	24,513	36,821	21,472	8,472	161	7,539	27,033	24,364	20,067	19,768	19,920
New Zealand	23,854	47,961	42,955	18,238	196	8,794	50,140	50,698	55,923	53,352	60,846
Saudi Arabia	22,929	62,764	51,375	35,980	687	23,390	121,444	112,263	100,549	123,878	99,754
Kazakhstan	17,935	30,730	8,298	2,836	141	6,065	18,138	13,861	12,577	10,717	15,410
Turkey	15,576	23,986	17,275	7,169	286	3,152	15,290	15,406	14,594	13,029	15,395
Switzerland	15,372	28,035	23,312	10,486	197	5,263	25,659	25,680	20,775	26,628	28,141
Sweden	11,902	21,242	18,006	8,083	253	9,292	29,592	32,665	34,304	32,861	35,586
Ireland	11,858	21,170	18,127	8,739	137	3,735	25,659	19,687	20,854	18,208	22,746
Laos	11,581	18,886	16,781	7,010	425	5,424	26,955	23,782	39,460	31,061	24,448
Belgium	11,510	25,234	17,726	7,543	122	3,734	22,082	20,624	17,327	14,283	18,789
Egypt	11,262	22,859	20,783	11,117	652	6,204	29,831	27,909	23,760	30,231	25,637
Iran	10,982	24,710	19,908	7,570	314	7,078	46,559	67,094	59,023	47,102	65,066
Nepal	10,642	20,091	18,488	11,379	198	5,067	20,437	19,914	20,553	60,476	93,159
Denmark	10,248	19,242	16,053	7,717	214	6,061	22,314	23,566	23,219	21,612	24,113
Iraq	8,699	18,884	12,562	6,008	452	3,628	21,421	22,291	18,555	22,533	20,098
South Africa	7,643	16,979	15,155	7,937	168	3,876	22,674	21,977	21,560	20,053	20,625
Ukraine	7,294	13,511	11,129	4,381	298	6,326	16,019	14,529	13,068	12,971	10,672
Norway	6,801	13,250	9,981	4,960	136	3,552	14,585	15,202	14,121	14,709	18,622
United Arab Emirates	2,832	6,836	7,877	3,230	86	679	11,174	9,386	8,555	14,150	15,769
Grand Total	12,851,221	25,016,698	20,141,846	10,074,964	134,728	4,332,722	26,100,784	25,832,354	25,948,459	26,757,392	25,721,251

See also

• Malaysia portal

• Visa requirements for Malaysian citizens
• Malaysian passport

Further reading

• Countries that require visa/do not require visa to visit Malaysia (PDF) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia

References

1. "Entry requirements into Malaysia". Immigration Department of Malaysia . Ministry of Home Affairs (Malaysia) . Retrieved 7 June 2024.
2. "Malaysia Automated Clearance System (MACS 2.0)". Malaysia Digital Arrival Card. Immigration Department of Malaysia . Retrieved 7 June 2024.
3. Citizens of Singapore using the "Malaysia Automated Clearance System (MACS 2.0)" may enter Malaysia with a passport valid for at least 3 months. ^[2]
4. "Visa Requirement by Country". Immigration Department of Malaysia . Ministry of Home Affairs (Malaysia) . Retrieved 5 February 2025.
5. "Malaysia Digital Arrival Card For Foreign Visitors". Malaysia Digital Arrival Card. Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia . Retrieved 7 June 2024.
6. "Immigration Dept warns tourists of fake MDAC website". Malay Mail . BERNAMA. 4 Jan 2025. Retrieved 25 Feb 2025.
7. Zack, Justin (4 Jan 2025). "QuickCheck: Are there fake Malaysia Digital Arrival Card websites?". The Star . Retrieved 25 Feb 2025.
8. Rao, Ch Sushil (11 Feb 2025). "Fraudulant sites charging $100 for free Malaysia digital arrival card". Times of India . Retrieved 25 Feb 2025.
9. "Visa and passport". Timatic . International Air Transport Association through Emirates . Retrieved 8 June 2024.
10. BERNAMA (2024-12-21). "Visa Exemption For Indian Nationals Extended Until Dec 2026 - KDN". BERNAMA. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
11. Reporters, F. M. T. (2024-12-20). "Govt extends visa exemption for Indian nationals to December 2026". Free Malaysia Today | FMT. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
12. "Good news for Indian travellers: Malaysia extends visa exemption to 2026". The Times of India. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 2024-12-22.
13. "Malaysia - Travel Page". www.mfa.gov.sg. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Singapore). 31 January 2025. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
14. "ABTC Economy Entry Information" (PDF).
15. JOINT STATEMENT between Malaysia and Turkmenistan
16. "eVISA FAQ" (PDF).
17. "Vaccination For Yellow Fever". iamat. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
18. "About MM2H Programme". Malaysia My Second Home. 9 January 2014. Archived from the original on 25 July 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
19. "Visa Requirement by Country". Immigration Department of Malaysia . Retrieved 20 January 2017.
20. "North Koreans Need Visa To Enter Malaysia From Monday". Bernama. 2 March 2017. Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
21. "Kim Jong-nam death: Malaysia scraps visa-free entry for North Koreans". The Guardian. Associated Press. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
22. "Visa requirement for foreigner" . Retrieved 2023-12-29.
23. "Malaysia: International tourist trips". Our World In Data. August 17, 2024.
24. "Global and regional tourism performance". www.unwto.org. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
25. "Malaysia Tourism Statistics - Tourist Arrivals to Malaysia (2025)" . Retrieved 29 August 2025.
26. "Malaysia Tourism Statistics - Tourist Arrivals to Malaysia (2024)" . Retrieved 28 February 2025.
27. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2023)" (PDF). Retrieved 7 June 2024.
28. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2022)" (PDF). Retrieved 7 June 2024.
29. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2021)" (PDF). Retrieved 28 December 2022.
30. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2020)" (PDF). Retrieved 28 December 2022.
31. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2019)" (PDF). Retrieved 25 March 2020.
32. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2018)" (PDF). Retrieved 21 February 2019.
33. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2017)" (PDF). Retrieved 18 April 2018.
34. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2016)" (PDF). Retrieved 4 March 2018.
35. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2015)" (PDF). Retrieved 4 March 2018.

External links

• List of Malaysian missions
• Immigration Department of Malaysia
• Malaysia Digital Arrival Card
• eVisa application