KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 – The Malaysian government is very ‘pro-business’ and welcomes the entry of business travellers to carry out business operations amid the pandemic.
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In this regard, Malaysia’s Safe Travel portal which contains information and advisory services to facilitate business travellers’ entry into Malaysia is fully operational effective 3 March 2021.
Both Short and Long Term Business Travellers may apply for entry permission through the dedicated portal at URL: https://safetravel.mida.gov.my. Short Term Business Travellers are required to submit the online application 14 days in advance of planned travel.
The portal is a critical component of the One Stop Centre (OSC) initiative that has been set up by the Malaysian Government effective 2 October 2020 to ease the movement of Business Travellers by expediting their entry to do business in Malaysia.
The Centre assumes a vital role in ensuring that Malaysia remains steady on economic recovery and growth; while balancing public health and livelihoods, and strengthen Malaysia’s position as a competitive and preferred investment destination in Asia.
The One Stop Centre is represented by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Ministry of Health (MOH) and Immigration Department of Malaysia (IMI) to ensure the legitimacy and health status of business travellers before they enter into Malaysia.
This initiative is also a joint collaboration between MIDA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Wisma Putra), Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) and Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (TalentCorp).
Short Term Business Travellers
Short Term Business Travellers are business travellers who are not holding any passes, and intend to stay in the country for 14 days or less.
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They may be considered for exemption from mandatory quarantine subject to the approval of the OSC Committee and adherence to strict Standard Operating Procedures. Short Term Business Travellers are categorised as follows:
1. Potential investors seeking to do business in Malaysia
2. Existing investors, namely business owners, board members, executives and associates of companies in Malaysia (without Employment Pass)
3. Business customers for product qualification and validation before commercial production
4. Technical experts for ad-hoc emergency cases to serve single or multiple customers across Malaysia
Business Travellers from the above four (4) categories may also apply for Social Visit Pass under Long Term Business Travellers, should they plan to stay for more than 14 days in the country.
Long Term Business Travellers
Long Term Business Travellers are business travellers who hold valid passes and intend to stay in the country for more than 14 days.
They will be subject to mandatory quarantine as per the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) guideline, Malaysia. The Long Term Business Travellers are categorised as follows:
1. New/Existing expatriates stranded abroad, namely active holders of Employment Pass (EP) and Resident Pass-Talent (RP-T).
2. New/Existing foreign technical experts stranded abroad with Professional Visit Pass (PVP) to serve multiple customers across Malaysia.
3. Frequent foreign business travellers (Exit & Return), including Regional Establishments (RE), Regional Operations (RO) and Principal Hubs (PH) representatives.
4. Permanent Resident (PR) Pass Holders.
5. Malaysia My 2nd Home (MM2H) Social Visit Pass Holders.
6. Frequent Malaysian business travellers (Exit & Return).
7. Social Visit Pass Holders.
Business Travellers must obtain relevant visas (if applicable) from the respective Malaysian Embassy or High Commission/ Consulate General Offices abroad before their departure to Malaysia.
For more information, please contact the OSC Secretariat at osccom@mida.gov.my.- BERNAMA