Malaysia is one of the most beautiful neighbors of India. With dynamic cities, delicious food, fabulous beaches, idyllic islands, and national parks with wildlife-packed rain-forests, Malaysia is a hot destination for travelers across the globe, especially India. And the ease of getting a Malaysia travel visa makes it even more enticing to visit Malaysia.
Malaysia is one of those rare destinations that has something of travellers of all types – family-vacation, honeymooners looking for a romantic destination, solo travel and also for a friends-get-together.
In this blog post you will find the exact steps to get a tourist visa to Malaysia.
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In this post you will find -
Malaysia travel inspiration
Here is our short video to inspire you for a vacation in Malaysia!
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Why Visa Needed For Malaysia?
As of April 2020, a travel visa is needed to visit Malaysia for all Indian passport holders. But since visa rules keep changing from time to time, here is a very easy way to check if you need a travel visa or not.
Simply enter your country of citizenship and the country where you want to visit (in this case, Malaysia) and this easy tool by iVisa will tell you if you need a visa or not.
Visa Types
Traditionally, there used to be 2 types of visa for Indians travelling to Malaysia – 30 days SEV and 30 days MEV. (SEV = Single Entry Visa; MEV = Multiple Entry Visa)
But, from 2018 onwards, the Malaysian government started a new visa system called – eNTRI. Electronic Travel Registration & Information (eNTRI) is an online registration facility provided by the Government of Malaysia to facilitate the entrance of Indian Nationals into Malaysia under the Visa Waiver Programme. An eNTRI Note will be issued as proof of the registration and it is required to be presented upon arrival in Malaysia.
Although, they call it a ‘Visa Waiver Programme‘, you still need to register your details online prior to your visit to Malaysia. And, it’s not free. But, yes, it’s definitely quick, easy, convenient and not very expensive.
An important thing to note here is that an eNTRI holder is entitled to a maximum of 15 days for each visit. Each application can only be used once. No extension is allowed. If you plan to visit Malaysia for more than 15 days, or if you feel that there is a chance that your trip might get extended, I will suggest you go for the regular travel visa (SEV or MEV).
How to apply for Malaysia Travel Visa
You can apply for any of these above-mentioned visas (SEV / MEV / eNTRI) using the Malaysian Government’s WINDOW MALAYSIA website on your own or via a reputed visa facilitator like iVisa.
Registering for eNTRI is a fairly simple process and you can easily do it yourself (we did it ourselves). Please do keep in mind that eNTRI must be obtained at least 48 hours prior to departure. For the 30-day SEV & MEV, it might be a good idea to apply through a visa facilitator to make the process hassle-free.
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Malaysia Passport Visa Requirements For Traveling
Before applying for a tourist visa to Malaysia (SEV / MEV / eNTRI), please keep the following documents ready –
- Passport with at least 6-month validity
- Scanned copy of passport bio-page
- Credit/debit card for payment
- Recent passport-sized photo (details mentioned below)
- Travel itinerary
- To-and-fro flight tickets
- Hotel reservation or invitation letter from your host
- Birth certificate for minors (if applicable)
IMPORTANT – PHOTO
Please pay careful attention to the specifications of the photo that you need to upload while applying online. Many of us take the photo-specs lightly and upload any random cropped photo. But, there is a high possibility that your application might get rejected if your photo doesn’t meet the specs.
Cost of Malaysia tourist visa
In 2018, we paid Rs. 1510 per person for eNTRI application. The total eNTRI fee was US$ 22.3 (processing fee = $20 and convenience fee = $2.3). The processing fee is still the same ($20 in April-2020) and so is the convenience fee. Owing to the fluctuations in conversion rates (USD to INR), eNTRI fee should be around Rs.1600 (Apr-2020).
The cost of a 30-day SEV is Rs.1150 + $50 (Rs. 3800 approx; Apr-2020). And, the cost of MEV is same as SEV. Below, I have added a table summarizing the visa types and their costs.
Beware of visa scams!
We have heard from a few acquaintances that they have been duped of their money by fraudulent visa agents. So, if you are planning to take help while the application, we suggest you go for a reputed visa agent / visa facilitator.
And, if you are planning to process the visa application on your own, please beware of a fake website by the name of windowmalaysia.com instead of windowmalaysia.my. Please take a note of such scam websites.
Get Your Malaysia Travel Visa Now!
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