Visas for Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Remember your passport, cash and drivers licence
Tourists coming from the majority of Western countries including USA, Canada, UK, Australia and most of the EU do not need a pre-arranged visa for stays in Malaysia of less than 90 days. Nationals of Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia and Portugal who may stay visa-free for up to one month.
Visitors are required to have sufficient funds to support their stay and a return or onward ticket already booked before entering the country, although the latter is not strictly enforced in practice. And the holder’s passport should be valid for at least six months after the date of entry and have at least two clean pages.
Commonwealth nationals (other than India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan), British protected persons or those from Switzerland, Netherlands, Ireland, Liechtenstein or San Marino also do not require a pre-arranged visa to enter Malaysia.
Upon arrival visitors are required to fill out an arrival card which is handed to the Immigration Officer along with their passport. A section of this is retained by the traveller as the departure card and must be surrendered upon leaving the country. It is a good idea to staple this in place as losing this card can cause problems when leaving the country.
Single Entry Visa
Can be issued to foreigners that require to enter Malaysia for a business or social visit. These are normally valid for three months from the date of issue.
Multiple Entry Visa
Can be issued to foreigner that require to enter Malaysia for a business visit or government-related task. They are normally valid from three months to one year although may require a hop over the border to renew periodically.
Work Permits
For expats entering Malaysia for work then the host company will normally make all necessary visa and work permit arrangements. For English teachers who want to work in Malaysia, a bachelor’s level degree is normally required to be eligible for a work permit and maybe a TEFL qualification as well. Legitimate language schools will be able to arrange work permits otherwise contact the Malaysian Department of Immigration for further details.
Citizens from these countries must have a pre-arranged visa to enter Malaysia:
Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo Democratic Republic, Congo Republic, Cote D’ivoire, Djibouti, Equat. Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong (C/I or D/I), India, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Serbia & Montenegro, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Western Sahara.
Citizens of these nations need a visa for stays exceeding two weeks:
Iraq, Libya, Macao (Travel Permit/Portugal CI), Palestine, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Yemen and Syria
Citizens of these nations need a visa for stays exceeding one month:
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile, Costa Rica, Equador, El Savador, Estonia, Gabon, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong SAR, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macao SAR, Macedonia, Madagascar, Maldova, Mauritania, Mexico, Monaco, Mongalia, Nicaragua, North Korea, North Yemen, Panama, Paraguay, Portugal, Russia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Slovenia, Sudan, Surinam, Tajikistan, Togo, Ukraine, Upper Volta, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, Venezuela, Zaire and Zimbabwe.
