Malaysia Visa 2026: Visa-Free Entry, eVisa, MDAC and the India Exemption to 31 December

Malaysia is one of the easiest countries in Asia to enter. The Immigration Department's list of nationalities that must apply for a visa runs to 31 countries, almost all in Africa and South Asia, and everyone else enters on a social visit pass stamped at the border. The catches are administrative: every foreign visitor files a Malaysia Digital Arrival Card within three days before landing, Indian citizens are exempt only until 31 December 2026, and Chinese citizens have been capped at 90 days in any 180 since February 2026.

Key points about Malaysia entry rules: - Only 31 nationalities need a visa, per the Immigration Department's list dated 8 September 2026: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Colombia, the two Congos, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Serbia and Sri Lanka, plus India in principle. Myanmar is the one ASEAN member excluded from the ASEAN waiver - Indian citizens are visa-exempt until 31 December 2026 for stays of up to 30 days for tourism, business, social visits or transit, with a six-month passport, confirmed return ticket, hotel booking and MDAC checked at the border, per the High Commission in New Delhi - Chinese citizens enter under the 2025 treaty for up to 30 days per visit and no more than 90 days in any 180-day period, a cap the Home Minister said in Parliament on 12 February 2026 would be enforced through passport-scan analytics - British, Canadian, American, Australian, European, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian, Saudi and Turkish visitors are typically given 90 days; ASEAN, Philippine, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, Mexican, Russian and Ukrainian visitors 30 days; Iranians 14 days. The department no longer publishes the stay per country, so those groupings follow the airline Timatic reference and the pass stamped on arrival governs - The eVisa for visa-required nationalities costs a nationality fee (RM 20 for Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Nigeria, RM 15 for Sri Lanka, RM 50 for India) plus the RM 105 processing fee and up to 1.7% payment charge, and is decided in two working days as standard. Applicants must apply from their own country and cannot register from Israel or North Korea - The Malaysia Digital Arrival Card has been mandatory since 1 January 2024 for every foreign visitor except Singapore citizens, diplomatic and official passports, Malaysian permanent residents and long-term pass holders, and holders of the Brunei, Thai and Indonesian border documents. It is free and filed within three days before arrival

Who needs the eVisa: The site's Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Nigerian, Sri Lankan, Nepali, Ghanaian and Ethiopian readers, along with Colombians and, if the exemption is not renewed, Indians from 1 January 2027. The single-entry eVisa is valid for three months from issue and allows a stay of up to 30 days. A multiple-entry visa runs for one year with 30 days per entry and no extension. The Immigration Department also issues a multiple-entry social visit visa specifically for Indian (RM 100) and Chinese (RM 30) citizens who want more than the exemption gives them.

Who cannot enter: Israeli passport holders are barred without written approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs; Malaysia has no relations with Israel, the eVisa portal refuses registrations from Israel, and the Prime Minister said in July 2026 that Israelis found in the country would be deported. Travellers on laissez-passer, certificates of identity and Hong Kong Documents of Identity need a visa whatever their nationality.

At the border: Passport valid for at least six months, MDAC confirmation, return or onward ticket, and proof of accommodation and funds; the New Delhi High Commission lists these explicitly for Indians and immigration officers apply them to everyone. Cash of USD 10,000 or more must be declared. A yellow fever certificate is required from travellers arriving from listed countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Brazil and South Africa, on pain of up to six days' quarantine.

Two dates: The Indian exemption ends on 31 December 2026 unless renewed, as it was in December 2024. Nothing else on the list carries an expiry, and the China treaty runs for five years from July 2025.