Malaysia to launch e-visas next month
To stimulate the Malaysian tourism industry and the national economy, that country’s cabinet has decided to liberalise visa application procedures for foreigners.
The cabinet has also agreed to implement an electronic visa (e-visa) programme beginning on January 2.
The objective of the e-visa programme is to encourage more tourists from countries such as China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the United States and Canada. The visa waiver facility for Chinese tourists originally scheduled for December 1 is also expected to go into effect concurrently with the introduction of e-visas next month.
A cabinet source said Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi would make an announcement on this matter very soon.
The source also said the government hoped the e-visa facility would help attract more foreigners to the country to stimulate the tourism industry as well as the national economy.
The source said the cabinet had appointed a Malaysian company called Ultra Kirana to handle e-visa applications. Applicants are expected to pay only the minimal visa-processing fee. Tourism Malaysia chairman Wee Choo Keong has previously hit out at Ultra Kirana for its one-stop visa application centres in China.
