BEIJING, 1 March 2016: The Minister of Tourism and Culture Malaysia Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz officially launched Malaysia’s e-Visa programme today.
The visa exemption and e-Visa programme is introduced by the Malaysian government to facilitate tourists from China travelling to Malaysia. Implementation of the e-Visa system is the key initiative to help accomplish the goal of further expanding and developing the tourism industries of both Malaysia and China.
The implementation of the e-Visa system will be carried out in three phases starting with Chinese nationals residing in Mainland China, followed by the second phase that includes Chinese nationals residing outside Mainland China, and eventually with the final phase, which incorporates other countries such as India, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
The e-Visa is for the purpose of travelling and visiting relatives and friends only, with the length of stay limited to 30 days and for a single entry to Malaysia within three months from the date of issuance of the e-Visa.
Applicants will be alerted via email on their visa approval within 24 hours during working days. Starting from today, Chinese tourists can visit www.windowmalaysia.my/evisa, the official website for Malaysian e-Visa application, to submit relevant documents, pay a processing fee of USD25 and print the e-visa on their own.
In addition, the Malaysian government has also announced visa-free entry from 1 March to 31 December 2016 for Chinese tourists staying in Malaysia for a period not exceeding 15 days, subject to certain conditions.
In the launching ceremony, Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri also announced the appointment of Shila Amzah, the famous Malaysian singer, as Malaysia’s Tourism Ambassador in China. Shila received wide attention after her appearance on the Chinese TV show Asian Wave and has become a household name after her participation in “I Am a Singer”. She has performed at various Sino-Malaysia diplomatic events and contributed greatly to Malaysia-China friendship. Through this appointment, Malaysia hopes more Chinese people will learn more about Malaysia and travel to the country.
