immigration to Malaysia | Cstar Overseas consultants in hyde

Malaysia Visa Information for Indian Citizens:

Malaysia is a country with picturesque landscapes, rugged mountains, sandy beaches, mangroves forest and diverse cultures, religions and races. From skyscrapers of Kuala Lumpur to the beaches of Lagkawi Island and from sea-shore of Penang to the cave temples of Batu Caves, Malaysia offers a perfect vacation for the backpackers as well as the luxury travelers. Tourism in Malaysia is very popular among the Indians and this trend is only growing with each year.

Prior to August 2010, Malaysia offered a Visa-On-Arrival for Indian Citizens, but because of increasing cases of illegal immigrants, this facility was scrapped in Aug. 2010 and now, Indian Citizens require a visa in advance to visit this country.

Update on December 10, 2013: Malaysia has re-introduced visa on arrival (VOA) facility for Indians traveling to Malaysia from a third destination country. This facility is mainly available for the tourist arriving directly from Singapore or Thailand for a maximum stay of 7 days. It is available at Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and Penang International Airports only, provided that they hold a valid visa issued by Singapore or Thailand, return flight tickets and at least USD 1000 per person. The visa cost is whopping USD 100 or MYR 330 for 7 days. The visa will be preferably issued to the tourists who are on their return journey to India from the third country. This ease in visa norms came in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia Year 2014 and the Year of Festivals 2015.

Note: Visa is a document that you required to enter in a country. It is not an authorization and solely depends on the discretion of the Immigration Officer at Immigration Desk. So, Malaysia does not issue a Visa-on-Arrival to the Indian Citizens to enter in that country. But, if you are transiting through the Kuala Lumpur Airport and you are arriving and departing from the same terminal at KL, technically you don’t enter in Malaysia. So, you don’t require any type of visa in this case, provided:

1. Your next connecting flight is within 24 hours after your arrival, (Both tickets should be on Malaysian Airlines or on a code-sharing partner only). If you fly using the Fly-Thru programmed of Air Asia, then your onward tickets should be within 6 hours. Air Asia operates from the Low Cost Carrier Terminal of KL.

2. The departure terminal of the connecting flight is same as the arrival terminal.

3. You are not allowed to leave the transit area of the airport.

4. You cannot transit between Main Terminal and Low Cost Carrier Terminal at KL Airport.

Please do not confuse above note with the below description of visas, those entitled you to enter in Malaysia subject to the discretion of Immigration Officer.

Different types of Visas: There are mainly three broad categories of visa available to visit Malaysia. First one is, Visa without reference, in which visa is approved by the Consulate General of Malaysia for social, tourist or business visits.

Second category is, Visa with reference, in which visa is approved by the Department of Immigration Malaysia or the Ministry of Home Affairs for the purpose of working, study or social visits for a stay more than the allowed period under visa without reference.

Third category is, Transit Without Visa (TWOV), which is available only to the citizens of certain Indian sub-continent countries and allow a short 5 days stay in Malaysia .

From a backpacker’s point of view, only first and third categories of Visa is required. So, in this post, I will provide a complete information on the visa requirements of first and third categories for an Indian Citizen.

Note: The most important thing is that Malaysia does not offer an Visa-on-Arrival facility to the Indian Citizens we’ve. Aug., 2010.

Available Visa in Malaysia for an Indian Tourist:

Transit without Visa (TWOV): This facility is available to the visitors from Indian Sub-continent who wish to travel in transit through Kuala Lumpur Airport of Malaysia in order to proceed to some specified country of destination. This facility allows a visitor to stay in Malaysia up to 5 days without a visa. TWOV is subjected to certain terms and conditions imposed by the Malaysian Government. The important points to note are:

1. Transit without Visa (TWOV) facility is available only to the citizens of Indian Sub continental Countries i.e., India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. This facility is also available to the citizens of Myanmar, Bhutan and Nepal.

2. To use this TWOV facility, visitors must have a long-term* valid visa for any of these countries: USA, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, China, South Korea, New Zealand. (For citizens from India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka a valid visa does not mean a tourist visa to this country. They must have a long-term visa. The definition of a long-term visa of a 3rd country is employment/work permit, expatriate card, student pass or permanent resident card. It is worth noting that a permanent multiple entry visa (MEV) above does not fall under this category.)

3. This facility is available for up to 120 hours (5 days). It means, a visitor must have confirmed onward tickets to third destination country (specified in point 2) within 5-days of arrival in Malaysia.

4. If your onward ticket is for any other country rather than specified in point 2, but you have a valid visa for any of specified country at the time of entry in Malaysia, then also you are not eligible for this TWOV facility.

5. TWOV facility is available only at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Low Cost Carrier Terminal of Kuala Lumpur Airport. No other entry point in Malaysia offers this facility. And within 5-days limit your departure must be also from Kuala Lumpur International Airport or Low Cost Carrier Terminal of Kuala Lumpur Airport.

6. TWOV is available only for the passenger of Malaysian Airlines and Air Asia. If you are traveling by any other airline, this facility will not be available. Your departure ticket must be booked with any of these two airlines only. But if you are arrive by Malaysian Airlines, then departure ticket should be on Malaysian Airlines only. (Remember Same Airline Same Airport)

7. Passport or internationally recognized travel document must have at least 6 months validity from the date of entry.

8. There is no extension for TWOV facility. It means 5 days limit cannot be extended at all.

9. This facility is available free of charge.

10. If transit is more than 8 hours it is permitted to leave the transit area provided:
A). traveling to or returning from the country which has issued the visa; and
B). traveling on a tour/package arranged by company registered in the third country.

11. Transit between Main Terminal and Low Cost Carrier Terminal is also permitted. When leaving the airport transit area, passports must be valid for at least 6 months from date of arrival.

12. Many travelers reported a lot of confusion on this facility among the airline staff, consulate etc despite of meeting all the criteria of TWOV.

Tourism Visa for Malaysia i.e. Visa without Reference: For the purpose of tourism , an Indian citizen needs a valid visa to enter in Malaysia prior to the departure from India. Without a proper visa, you will not be allowed to board your departure flight from India. However, if your plan to stay in Malaysia is not more than 120 hours (5 days) and you meet the criteria of TWOV, you can also avail that facility.

Getting Malaysia Visa in India:

In India, Malaysian Visa Application process is outsourced to VFS Global. In Delhi, VFS center for Malaysian Visa is located at International Trade Tower, Nehru Place. VFS Center remains open throughout the year except on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays. If a public holiday falls on Sunday, then next working day will be the closure day of the center.

For the Visa Application Center timings and contact numbers of all VFS Center in India, follow this link: http://www.vfsglobal.com/malaysia/india/contactus.html