Malaysia will abolish visa requirements for residents of China and India from December 1, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on the People’s Justice Party congress on Sunday. The move is in keeping with similar policies implemented by other countries equivalent to Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Under the policy, Chinese and Indian residents might be allowed to remain visa-free for 30 days, provided they pass security checks. The decision is an element of Malaysia’s technique to stimulate economic growth by attracting more tourists and inspiring their spending.
Although most tourists coming to Malaysia come from Singapore and Indonesia, the most important group of tourists from outside the ASEAN region are Chinese and Indian tourists.
9.16 million tourists arrived in Malaysia between January and June this yr, of which 498,540 got here from China and 283,885 from India. This is a big drop in comparison with the identical period in 2019 before the pandemic, when there have been 1.5 million tourist arrivals from China and 354,486 from India.
The visa-free decision was taken shortly after China announced on November 24 that it will allow Malaysians and residents of 5 European countries to enter the country for 15 days.
Meanwhile, in September last yr, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Tiong King Sing announced Malaysia’s plan to introduce visa waiver for Chinese tourists. The aim is to extend the variety of visits by Chinese nationals to Malaysia. At the identical time, an analogous move is being considered for travelers from India.
