Travelling to Malaysia may be a far fetch dream for now as the world is on temporary travel lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Your travel plans may have taken a back seat but you might be wondering, "Can I travel to Malaysia now?". If you're planning to travel to Malaysia for your future getaways, here's everything you should know about the COVID-19 situation in Malaysia.
What is the COVID-19 situation in Malaysia now?
Since March 2020, Malaysia has temporarily closed its international borders to foreign visitors following the surge of COVID-19 in Malaysia. Malaysians are also not allowed to leave the country to reduce the spread of COVID-19 outbreak.
To manage the COVID-19 situation in Malaysia, Malaysia has implemented a nationwide lockdown that are categorised into three stages, depending on the number of COVID-19 cases in each state in Malaysia:
- Movement Control Order (MCO): A controlled lockdown that limits mass movements and only allows essential businesses to open.
- Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO): A semi-controlled lockdown that restricts mass movements and allows essential and selected non-essential businesses to reopen.
- Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO): An exit strategy or relaxed lockdown that still monitors mass movements and allows (almost) all economic sectors to reopen
For the latest number of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia, you can refer to the Ministry of Health Malaysia.
Can I travel to Malaysia now?
The answer is no, for now. Malaysia has temporarily closed its international borders to non-essential travel since March 2020. However, essential travel for official, work, medical and educational purposes are allowed with written permission from the Malaysian Embassy.
What are the travel restrictions in Malaysia?
According to Malaysia's travel advisory, foreign visitors are not allowed to enter Malaysia for non-essential travel. However, essential travel for official, work, medical and educational purposes are allowed with written permission from the Malaysian Embassy.
For domestic travel, interstate travel in Malaysia is temporarily banned due to the current COVID-19 situation in Malaysia. However, interstate travel in Malaysia is allowed for official, work, medical and educational purposes with written permission from the Royal Malaysia Police (Polis Diraja Malaysia).
What are the quarantine requirements in Malaysia?
All Malaysians and non-Malaysians arriving in Malaysia are required to provide COVID-19 RT-PCR test results.
- The test must be conducted 3 days before arrival to Malaysia and presented to health authority at the point of entry.
- The negative test result must be in the form of a certified laboratory report or a report issued by a registered medical practitioner
- The test result must be written in English or Bahasa Malaysia
Upon arrival, all travellers are required to undergo a mandatory quarantine in Malaysia. You'll be assigned to a hotel or government-designated quarantine centre.
- 7-day quarantine if the RT-PCR is shown at the point of entry or
- 10-day quarantine if the RT-PCR was unable to be provided at the point of entry
Patients would also need to undergo a 10-day mandatory quarantine if they're showing symptoms of COVID-19. Read more about quarantine regulations and requirements in Malaysia.
What is the latest update on the COVID-19 vaccination in Malaysia?
On 16 February 2021, the Malaysian government has launched the National Immunisation Programme that covers the government's plan for the vaccine roll-out, types of vaccines available and steps for the public to register for the vaccine. Provided for free to all citizens and non-citizens in Malaysia, the vaccine rollout will be executed in three phases. For more information, read the important things you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccine in Malaysia.
First phase (February to April 2021)
- Target: 500,000 people
- Priority group 1: Frontliners comprising of public and private healthcare personnel
- Priority group 2: Frontliners consisting of essential services*, defense and security personnel
- *Will be updated from time to time by JKJAV
Second phase (April to August 2021)
- Target: 9.4 million people
- Priority group 1: Remainder of healthcare workers as well as those in essential services and defense and security personnel
- Priority group 2: Senior citizens (those aged 60 and over), high-risk group with chronic diseases such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure and people with disabilities (OKU)*
- *The information will be reviewed periodically
Third phase (May 2021 to February 2022)
- Target: 13.7 million people
- Priority group 1: Adults above 18 years old (both Malaysians and non-Malaysians). Priority will be given to citizens residing in the red zone, followed by yellow and green zones.
What are the latest developments on hotels and attractions in Malaysia?
If you're staying in a hotel in Malaysia, all guests are required to wear a face mask at all times (except when you're inside the room), download and scan with MySejahtera app (download for free on iOS or Android) and adhere to temperature checks upon entry. Some hotels also require guests to fill in a Health Declaration form with details on whether they returned from a country with high number of COVID-19 cases. All hotels in Malaysia are also stepping up their hygiene and cleanliness by ensuring all rooms are sanitised, high touch surfaces are disinfected, setting limited capacity in elevators for physical distancing measures and more.
If you're visiting an attraction in Malaysia, all visitors are required to wear a face mask at all times, download and scan with MySejahtera app (download for free on iOS or Android) and adhere to temperature checks upon entry. Visitors are also required to practice one-meter distance in public areas.
What are the available direct flights to Malaysia?
Here are the following airlines with direct flights to Malaysia. Depending on flight routes, most flights will land at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) or Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) which is situated in Kuala Lumpur.
- Malaysia: Malaysia Airlines, Malindo Air, Firefly
- Singapore: Singapore Airlines, SilkAir
- Japan: Japan Airlines
- India: Vistara
- Nepal: Nepal Airlines, Himalaya Airlines
- New Zealand: Air New Zealand
- Denmark: Scandinavian Airline
- Iran: Mahan Air
- United Arab Emirates: Emirates Airline
- Oman: Oman Air
- Qatar: Qatar Airways
- Turkey: Turkish Airlines
What else I should know before travelling to Malaysia?
Travelling to Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic will be different from the way it used to be. To prepare yourself before your trip, here are some important articles you should read.
- Things You Should Know About MCO, CMCO & RMCO In Malaysia
- Things To Know About Interstate Travel And Inter District Travel In Malaysia
- Things You Should Know About COVID-19 Vaccine In Malaysia
- How To Register For COVID-19 Vaccination In Malaysia?
- Things You Need To Know About The State Of Emergency In Malaysia
It may be a while before we can travel safely to Malaysia again, but as long as we band together against the COVID-19 pandemic, better days will arrive sooner than we think.