Malaysia Digital Arrival Card requirement now in force for foreign visitors

PETALING JAYA: Starting from Dec 1, foreigners entering Malaysia will be required to complete the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC), according to the Immigration Department.

The MDAC must be submitted three days before arrival in Malaysia and is applicable to all travelers, with the exception of three categories.

Transit or transfer passengers through Singapore without seeking immigration clearance, Malaysian permanent residents, and Malaysian Automated Clearance System (MACS) holders do not need to submit the MDAC.

Registration and submission for the MDAC can be done on the Immigration Department’s website at https://imigresen-online.imi.gov.my/mdac/main.

Travelers to Malaysia must provide their date of arrival, date of departure, mode of transport (air, land or sea) and last port of embarkation.

Upon arrival, visitors must present both their passports and the completed MDAC to the Immigration officer on duty.

Visitors from 10 countries, including Australia, Brunei, Germany, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United States, and the United Kingdom, will be eligible to use the autogates on arrival and departure from KLIA’s Terminal 1 or Terminal 2, according to an Immigration Department infographic.

To use the autogates at KLIA for Immigration clearance, visitors must have passports with a validity period of six months or more.

First-time visitors are required to submit the MDAC three days before arriving and then enrol and verify their passports manually at Immigration counters and cannot use the autogate.

Subsequent visits will allow visitors to use the autogate, but the MDAC still needs to be submitted three days before every visit to Malaysia.

Singapore ceased using physical white arrival cards at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.