Malaysia joins Thailand and Sri Lanka in granting visa-free entry to Indians

Kuala Lumpur, November 27

Malaysia will grant a 30-day visa-free entry for Indian and Chinese citizens from December 1, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has announced, joining Thailand and Sri Lanka in recent weeks to offer such a facility to foreigners to promote tourism.

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, Ibrahim, who is also the Finance Minister of the country, said the visa exemption was subject to top security screening, the official Bernama news agency reported.

"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.

Malaysia is currently targeting 16.1 million international tourist arrivals with RM 49.3 billion in tourism receipts.

India remains to be among the top countries to contribute tourist arrivals to Malaysia.