Citizens from 23 countries barred from entering M’sia

Citizens from 23 countries who are long-term pass holders are barred by the Immigration Department from entering Malaysia.

The ban, which took effect yesterday, was imposed as these countries have recorded a high number of Covid-19 cases.

They are the United States, Brazil, India, Russia, Peru, Colombia, South Africa, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Chile, Iran, Bangladesh and the United Kingdom.

Also on the list are Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, France, Turkey, Italy, Germany, Iraq, the Philippines and Indonesia.

The list was published in the Immigration Department’s official Facebook last Friday.

While tourist arrivals have been halted since the enforcement of the movement control order (MCO) in March, the latest ban will affect long-term pass holders from the 23 countries.

This includes those holding permanent resident status, participants of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, expatriates and professional visit pass holders.

Also barred from entry are spouses of Malaysian citizens as well as students.

On Sept 3, the government announced that it would impose an entry ban on citizens of countries recording more than 150,000 Covid19 cases starting Sept 7.

Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the government would add more countries deemed high-risk on the list and their citizens would be barred from entering Malaysia.

However, for emergency cases or cases involving bilateral relations, the Malaysian authorities will make an exception and will allow these individuals entry.