Malaysia is a diverse country with many attractions to offer for foreign nationals visiting the country. The wilderness experience of Malaysia is like no other country. The food, culture, beaches and the lush jungles are all mind-blowing.
To visit Malaysia either for tourism or business purposes, you must be aware of what the visa guidelines are. You may not know but is is possible that you won't need a visa to travel to Malaysia! There are certain countries who are allowed visa free travel to Malaysia!
This article aims to help you understand which
countries are allowed visa free travel to Malaysia and in case you do need a visa, how can you apply for it? Read further to gain knowledge about the visa policies.
Countries That Do Not Need a Malaysia Visa
There are many countries whose nationals are allowed visa free travel to Malaysia. The visa free travel is allowed for different days depending on the country you are from.
Some countries are allowed visa free travel for 90 days, some for 60 or 30 days and some for just 2 weeks.
Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Ghana, Hong Kong and many other countries' nationals are allowed to stay in Malaysia for about 90 days without the possession of a visa.
There are some countries whose individuals are allowed to remain in Malaysia for 30 days. This includes countries like Mexico, North Korea, Yemen, Portugal, Russia, Chile, Chad, Somalia, Iraq, Ukraine, etc.
About 5 countries are allowed to stay in Malaysia for 14 days. These countries include Somalia, South Yemen, Sierra Leone, Libya and Macau.
Therefore, check with your embassy first to know whether or not you need a visa to travel to Malaysia. And if you belong to Malaysia visa free countries list then how many days can you stay in Malaysia without the visa.
The nationals of some countries are allowed to travel to Malaysia for up to 60 days but for business purposes. This can be done by acquiring the APEC business travel card. If you have this card, you can travel to Malaysia to attend to business events and activities. Countries such as Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Chile, South Korea, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam can use this card and stay there!
Countries That Do Need a Malaysia Visa
Even though there are quite a few countries whose citizens do not need a visa to travel to Malaysia, there are many countries whose citizens do require a visa.
Countries who need a visa include Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Central African Republic, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Libera, Angola, Colombia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Serbia and many other countries too!
There are about 35-36 countries in total whose countries need a visa to travel to Malaysia. Therefore, if you belong to any of these countries make sure you check the visa requirements.
Transit Visa Policies
Transit visa allows you to pass through a country while your final destination is somewhere else. Therefore, when you transit through any country you must have the valid visa for that country.
However, if your transit period is for a single day only and you will be staying at the Kuala Lumpur international airport only and not step out of the terminal then you will not need a Malaysia visa.
However, if you do plan to step out of the terminal then you will be required to acquire a visa.
Nationals of China, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan can get a 120 hour pass for transit at Malaysia. But they can only get this pass if they are simply transiting at Kuala Lumpur international airport, have a proof of flight ticket which will leave in the next 120 hours and the flight is operated by either Malaysia Airlines or Air Asia.
Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan citizens do not need a transit visa if they have a visa or residence permit from Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan or New Zealand or they are travelling from either of these countries or to them.
How to Apply for the Malaysian Visa?
To apply for the Malaysian visa you must either visit the Malaysian embassy or apply at the visa application center. You will have to apply for the visa if you are not eligible for visa free travel.
However, when applying for the visa you can also complete the visa process by applying online. You can do this by visiting a third-party site called VisaHQ. This site allows individuals to apply for any visa online conveniently. You choose the place you want to travel to along with the place you belong to and all the specific details are showed on your screen. After analyzing which type of visa you want, you can choose the visa you want to apply to and fill the visa application form online. Then you will upload the documents and you're good to go! Wait for the visa's processing time and receive it by mail!