Good news for the ones who are planning to visit Malaysia super-duper soon! Malaysia has officially eliminated entry visa requirements for citizens of India and China, effective from December 1, 2023, according to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. This move allows Indian and Chinese nationals to stay visa-free for up to 30 days, as highlighted in Anwar’s speech during the People’s Justice Party’s annual congress. Nonetheless, the issuance of visas will be contingent upon security screening. He also added that it would be subject to security screening. Anwar Ibrahim had previously unveiled plans to enhance visa facilities in the upcoming year, particularly targeting tourists and investors from India and China.
To increase the number of tourist arrivals and subsequent economic growth, Malaysia becomes the fourth country to announce visa-free entry after Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Thailand. Malaysia is counting on extra tourist arrivals — and their spending — to support economic growth. Anwar last month announced plans to improve visa facilities next year to encourage the entry of tourists and investors, “especially from India and China.”
Earlier this month, Nguyn Van Jung, Vietnam’s Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, called for short-term visa waivers for major markets like China and India to shore up the recovery of the country’s tourism sector, Vietnamese news agency VnExpress reported. At present, nationals of Germany, France, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Denmark, and Finland can travel to Vietnam without a visa.
In October, the Thailand government announced that it will allow visa-free entry for tourists from India and Taiwan for a period of six months from November 10 this year to May 10, 2024. “We will provide visa-free entry to India and Taiwan because a lot of their people like to travel to Thailand,” Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavision was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
