Malaysia will lift visa requirements for Chinese and Indian nationals from December 1, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced at the People's Justice Party congress on Sunday. The move is in line with similar policies implemented by other countries such as Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Under the policy, Chinese and Indian nationals will have a 30-day visa-free stay, subject to security checks. This decision is part of Malaysia's strategy to stimulate economic growth by attracting more tourists and encouraging their spending.
Although most tourists coming to Malaysia are from Singapore and Indonesia, the largest groups of visitors from outside the ASEAN region are Chinese and Indian tourists.
Malaysia recorded 9.16 million tourist arrivals between January and June this year, of which 498,540 were from China and 283,885 from India. This is a significant drop compared to the same period in 2019 before the pandemic when there were 1.5 million tourist arrivals from China and 354,486 from India.
The visa-free decision comes shortly after China announced on Nov. 24 that it would allow Malaysians and citizens of five European countries to enter the country for 15 days.
Meanwhile, in September last year, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing announced Malaysia's plan to introduce visa waivers for Chinese tourists. The aim is to increase the number of visits by Chinese nationals to Malaysia. At the same time, a similar move is being considered for travelers from India.
