When Can Tourists Visit Malaysia After Covid-19?

Tourist Visiting Malaysia After Coronavirus Covid-19

If you are planning to travel to Malaysia soon, you should note that because of the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic, Malaysia has closed its borders since the 18th of March 2020.

For those planning to travel here, you would want to know when tourists visit Malaysia after the Covid-19 so you can start making your plans.

When Can Tourists and Travelers Visit Malaysia After Covid-19?

Update 25th March 2021 - Malaysia's international borders are still closed for a year now, and at the rate, things are moving, it may be mid or year-end of 2021 that the borders may open to tourism.

Update Nov 2020 - Seems like the Conditional Movement Control Order or CMCO has been extended to 9th December 2020, and all borders around Malaysia remain closed to visitors. Interstate travel has also been blocked for all states except Terengganu, Kelantan and Perlis.

Update 7th June 2020 - The Prime Minister of Malaysia has issued an RMCO or Recovery Movement Control Order for Malaysia dating from 10th June to 31st August 2020. 

Interstate Travel: This is NOW allowed within Malaysia only. This means that after the 10th, Malaysians, or anyone in Malaysia can travel to other states.

International Travel: Is NOT allowed, and this applies to outgoing and incoming, which means no tourist are allowed to enter Malaysia till August 31.

To read the full announcement, visit the RMCO Announcement article by NST Malaysia.

Update 6th May 2020: The Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had clarified that the Malaysian government is still maintaining its policy of not allowing foreigners to enter the country.

Currently, the only permission given is to Malaysians arriving back into the country, and those entering will have to undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine process.
 
This means that any foreign nationals or non-Malaysians who arrive will be denied entry into Malaysia and will have to hop on the next flight back or to any other country that is open to accepting foreigners.

For some reason, the news was going around claiming that AirAsia Indonesia planned to restart flights from Surabaya to Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru from the 18th of May, but this was debunked by AirAsia when they were contacted.

This means that you do not simply believe what you read online on social media platforms, as there is a lot of fake news out there. People will say and do anything nowadays, and it is always best to double-check with the actual source.

Post Coronavirus Travel to Malaysia
Tourists washing their hands in Kuala Lumpur.

Travel To Malaysia After Covid-19 - What To Know

Since the 4th of May 2020, Malaysia is undergoing a Conditional Movement Control Order or CMCO, which is slated to last until the 12th of May, and if it extends or is lifted, this will only be known after the 10th or 11th of May.

Updated: 10th of May - The prime minister announced that the CMCO will be extended till the 9th of June 2020. This means that the Malaysian international borders will remain closed until 9th June. No tourists or visitors will be allowed into Malaysia.

Under the CMCO, there is a countrywide ban on interstate travel, which includes international borders. This means that even local Malaysians are not allowed to travel from state to state unless they have a special pass from the authorities for work and so on.

Under the new normal lifestyle, face masks, temperature checks, and sanitization will be compulsory when travelling. Social distancing in Malaysia will also be highly observed in all public areas with the mandatory 1-meter spacing.

Airlines in Malaysia have recently opened up domestic routes only and with limited flights, and it is available for those who are required to travel for work or special cases. Travel permits and documents are required by the airlines and also the immigration department.

Trains to KLIA and KLIA2

There has been an update on 4th May 2020 where the KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit train services have started operating again but will introduce a limited-service schedule for a month.

Trains will run every 20 minutes during peak hours on weekdays, and every 30 minutes during off-peak hours, weekends, and national public holidays.

There will be no train services before 6.00 am and after the last train departs at 11.00 pm.

Any passenger whose body temperature is 37.5⁰C or higher will be denied entry while passengers have to keep a safe distance of at least 1m apart at all times, including on the platform and onboard the train.

Visiting Kuala Lumpur after Covid-19
The Petronas Twin Towers at the back of the Saloma Link Bridge in KL.

Are Tourism Attractions and Destinations Open in Malaysia?

The government has imposed a full halt to the entire tourism industry since the beginning of this pandemic. This has been followed through until the EMCO period, which is supposed to end on the 12th of May 2020.

There are actually some tourists who has been in Malaysia before the nationwide lockdown took place, and they are still here awaiting news as to when they can leave the country. But they are also categorized under the MCO and CMCO, meaning they have to be indoors.

Below is a list of what is closed in Malaysia for tourism;

  • All general tourism attractions
  • All tour operators and services
  • All tourism transportation services
  • All theme parks and man-made attractions
  • All ecotourism, outdoors, nature and wildlife-related tourism
  • All beach, watersports activities
  • All bazaars and night markets
  • All events, conferences, and festivals have been postponed or cancelled.

Basically, as long as anything is related to travel and tourism, it is closed to locals and foreigners.

For your future planning on visiting Malaysia, you can also visit the official Tourism Malaysia website in English and other languages.

Post-Covid19 Visiting Malaysia

Who is Allowed to Enter Malaysia during the Covid-19?

There are only a select group of individuals that are allowed to enter Malaysia during the Coronavirus or Covid-19 pandemic, and they include;

  1. Diplomats
  2. Permanent residents
  3. Expatriate pass holders working in essential services sectors

Anyone else is not allowed to enter Malaysia, especially for leisure, medical, business, or studies. 

For detailed information about visiting Malaysia and other requirements, you can visit the official Malaysia Immigration website as it is available in English and 23 other languages.

Malaysia Travel After Covid19
Kuala Lumpur International Airport or KLIA

So, When can Travelers Visit Malaysia? 

Right now, there is no clear indication or a date set by the government; therefore, you are advised to wait for the official news on when they will allow visitors back to the country.

In reality, we can assume by August or September, but then again, we have to wait for the official announcement by the relevant authorities on this matter. These means do not simply go and book your flight tickets as you may end up having to cancel or retime your flights, which will, of course, be a hassle.

Update 10th May 2020 - The Malaysian prime minister announced today on national TV that the CMCO has been extended until the 9th of June 2020. State and international borders will remain closed till that date.

Update 25th March 2021 - International borders are still closed for a year now, and at the rate, things are moving, it may be mid or year-end of 2021 that the borders may open to tourism.

Post-Covid19 Visiting Malaysia
The domestic departure gate at KLIA2

Conclusion

This is the worst tourism disaster that has hit Malaysia and the entire world, and because of the Coronavirus or Covid-19 pandemic, no one has come up with a cure or vaccine to date.

And due to that, many countries around the world has closed their doors to tourism, while some fully depend on tourism and are already planning to open up as soon as August.

Right now, there is no indication or speculation on when can tourists start visiting Malaysia after the Covid-19 pandemic, but from what I gather, it could be after July or August.

There would also be many restrictions for foreigners entering Malaysia, namely from countries that have been affected badly. Right now, I cannot even imagine what the tourism ministry is going through in terms of post-Covid-19 travel.

When there is more solid information available, I will surely edit my posting to include what has been stated for visiting Malaysia.

Malaysia Asia

Blogging since 2007, but writing online since 1997. I belong to the 1st generation of worldwide bloggers, which is of course old-school. Since 2008, I created Malaysia Asia and this travel, flood, gadget and lifestyle blog has won numerous physical awards from tourism boards around Malaysia. (Not those online awards). After 12 years of blogging, I have semi-retired and now blog about things I like, do product reviews and enjoy life. My work has been featured in Lonely Planet, CNN Travel, Yahoo Travel, Wall Street Journal, and many other international publications. Find out more about me and thank you.

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