Home minister: Malaysia will move to prevent overstaying by visa-free tourists from China, India

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 — While Malaysia will let tourists from China and India enter without a visa from December 1 onwards for trips lasting a maximum of 30 days, the Malaysian government will monitor their exit from the country and require airlines to ensure such visitors have return tickets home.

With Malaysia’s Visa Liberalisation Plan to kick in on December 1 with policies such as the 30-day visa-free entry for China’s and India’s citizens, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the government will enhance and enforce integrated control and enforcement measures through enforcement agencies to prevent issues such as the country being “flooded” with unauthorised foreigners.

He said the Home Ministry through the Immigration Department and the police would ensure security and public peace in Malaysia by retaining the preliminary security screening on all tourists to Malaysia, especially on those with criminal records or risks of terrorism.

“The Immigration Department of Malaysia will establish a special team to monitor the exit movements of China’s and India’s tourists. Monitoring will be conducted on the last date, namely the 30th day according to the period of being in the country. Subsequently, that monitoring will be reported periodically as a control and enforcement mechanism,” he said in a statement here when listing the measures to be taken.

He said airlines will be given the responsibility of “checking and ensuring tourists who enter Malaysia have a confirmed return ticket and confirmed hotel booking throughout the time they are in Malaysia.”

Other measures will include the retaining of strict procedures to issue Not-To-Land orders without compromise.

He said the Malaysian government will also increase inspections at areas identified to be hotspots for foreigners such as at the Masjid India, Plaza Lowyat, and Bukit Bintang areas in Kuala Lumpur and other such places to remove undocumented migrants, as well as enhancing intelligence activities and enforcement on not just foreign workers but also employers who hire or shelter shelter migrants who lack valid documents.

As part of these control and enforcement measures amid Malaysia’s upcoming visa liberalisation policy, Saifuddin Nasution said the government will also explore the proposal for the mandatory filling up of data at the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) to be integrated with the MyIMMs immigration system to ensure that data on the entry of foreign tourists to Malaysia is recorded.

As a long-term measure, he said Malaysia will also review its Immigration Act 1959/63 and Immigration Regulations 1963 in relation to compound rates, fines, and other penalties.

In the same statement, Saifuddin Nasution listed five initiatives to be carried out under Malaysia’s Visa Liberalisation Plan from December 1, including allowing citizens of China and India to enter Malaysia without a visa for social visits under 30 days, with this policy to be applicable from December 1, 2023 until December 30, 2024.

Saifuddin Nasution also said the implementation of the visa liberalisation plan will be reviewed after one year to assess the return on investment (ROI) to the country, and the effectiveness of the initiatives and to assess security risks on the immigration facilities provided.

He said the visa liberalisation plan would be reviewed and improved if any unexpected incidents occur, in order to prepare for foreign tourists’ arrival in 2025 and 2026.

Malaysia’s visa liberalisation plan comes ahead of the Visit Malaysia Year in 2026, where the country is targeting 26.1 million foreign tourist arrivals and an estimated domestic spending of RM97.6 billion.