Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has recently announced that, beginning December 1, 2023, Indian and Chinese nationals are allowed to stay up to 30 days visa-free in Malaysia. This decision was influenced by the fact that Malaysia is expecting a possible large influx of tourists next year in hopes of bringing about greater economic development. Since Malaysia is a country with many cultural influences, it makes it a unique tourist destination spot, especially for Chinese and Indian nationals who are always amazed by the amount of historical impact Indian and Chinese migrants have made upon this nation. It must be emphasised here that China and India are Malaysia’s fourth and fifth-largest tourism source markets, respectively.
The visa exception will be subjected to security screening, so those visiting from either China or India who have criminal records or are at risk of bringing about violence in Malaysia will not be permitted any visa entry. Malaysia currently has visa exemptions for citizens from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Turkey, and Jordan.
Malaysian government records state that there were 9.16 million tourist arrivals between January and June this year, with 498,540 from China and 283,885 from India. Prior to the pandemic, 1.5 million arrivals from China and 354,486 from India were seen in 2019.
Source: South China Morning Post
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