Malaysia's entry process is straightforward once you have done the one piece of paperwork, and unusually punishing on two things visitors routinely get wrong: tobacco and cash. This checklist sets out what the departments publish and, equally important, says where they publish nothing.
The arrival card
The Immigration Department's infographic is unambiguous: "All foreign citizens travelling to Malaysia must complete the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC)", mandatory since 1 January 2024.
Seven categories are exempt: citizens of Singapore; diplomatic and official passport holders; Malaysian permanent residents and long-term pass holders; holders of the Brunei Darussalam General Certificate of Identity; holders of the Brunei–Malaysia Frequent Traveler Facility; Thailand Border Pass holders; and holders of Indonesia's Cross-Border Travel Document.
Submit within three days before arrival. The registration form states the trip "must be within 3 days (including the date of submission)". The official address is imigresen-online.imi.gov.my/mdac/main, and the department has announced that it can also be completed directly through the MyNIISe app. On arrival you show the registration and verify your passport at the immigration counter.
Whether the card carries a fee, and what happens if you do not submit it, are not stated anywhere official. The registration form has no payment step, but no page says it is free.
Visas
The Immigration Department publishes a list of 29 nationalities that require a visa: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Republic, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, India, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Niger, Pakistan, Rwanda, Serbia and Sri Lanka. Several are marked as permitted entry by air only, and Indian citizens are noted as visa-exempt until 31 December 2026.
For ASEAN nationals, the department states that a visa is not required for a stay of less than one month except for Myanmar, and is required beyond one month except for Brunei and Singapore nationals.
The eVISA portal, last updated 8 September 2026, states that applications are now open to all foreign nationals requiring a visa who have diplomatic relations with Malaysia, may be made from anywhere except Malaysia, Israel and North Korea, must be made 14 days before travelling, and are processed in two to seven working days. A single entry visa obtained this way allows one journey within six months of issuance. Payments are non-refundable regardless of outcome, and the portal states that approval "does not in any way guarantee the applicant the right to enter Malaysia".
A yellow fever vaccination certificate must be presented on arrival by travellers from countries at risk, with the list maintained by the Ministry of Health.
Customs, where the tobacco rule bites
The Royal Malaysian Customs traveller's guide, information updated 25 May 2023, gives the allowances.
| Item | Arriving by air | All other modes |
|---|---|---|
| Wine, spirits, beer or malt liquor | Not exceeding 1 litre total | Not exceeding 1 litre total |
| New apparel | Not exceeding 3 pieces | Not exceeding 3 pieces |
| New footwear | Not exceeding one pair | Not exceeding one pair |
| Food preparations | Value not exceeding RM 150 | Value not exceeding RM 150 |
| Portable personal care appliances | Not exceeding 1 unit each | Not exceeding 1 unit each |
| All other goods | Value not exceeding RM 1,000 | Value not exceeding RM 500 |
The last line carries an express exclusion, and it is the one to read twice. The general goods exemption does not cover "tyres and tubes; cigarettes; tobacco products; smoking pipes (including pipe bowls); electronic cigarettes and similar personal electric vaporising devices; preparation of a kind used for smoking through electronic cigarette and electric vaporising device, in forms of liquid or gel, whether or not containing nicotine."
There is no published duty-free tobacco allowance of any kind.
Customs also requires travellers entering or leaving to declare all taxable goods, prohibited items, cash and negotiable instruments, with failure or false declaration an offence under the Customs Act 1967. The green lane is for those with nothing to declare; the red lane for dutiable or taxable goods, and misusing the facility can bring penalties or imprisonment.
On drugs the statement is stark: under the Customs Act 1967 and the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, "the penalty for drug trafficking is mandatory death penalty", and import and export of morphine, heroin, opium and cannabis are strictly prohibited. Prescription drugs may only be imported or exported under Ministry of Health licence.
Cash
Once through, everyday payment runs on QR codes and cards. Bank Negara Malaysia states there is "No restriction for resident and non-resident to carry in and out foreign currency notes up to any amount and ringgit notes up to USD10,000 equivalent", with declaration required above USD 10,000 equivalent in either.
Customs puts the mechanics on it: declaration is made on Customs Form No. 7 at the counters at all entry and exit points, under section 28B(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001. The penalty is a fine not exceeding RM 3 million, imprisonment up to five years, or both. Importing or exporting ringgit notes above the limit additionally requires written permission from Bank Negara through its CN-RM form, and the Customs declaration is still required afterwards.
The two agencies word the threshold slightly differently — "more than" versus "amounting to or exceeding". Declare at USD 10,000 and the difference does not matter.
The autogate
Two versions of eligibility are live on the same official portal. The arrival card landing page lists visitors from Australia, Brunei, Germany, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United States and the United Kingdom. The eligibility checker on the same portal says "Foreign business and social traveller from 63 countries", plus departure-only eligibility for eight Southeast Asian nationalities, with a nationality dropdown running to more than sixty entries.
Rather than choosing between them, check your own status at the department's eGate eligibility page before travelling.
The conditions are consistent across both: passport valid at least six months, arrival card submitted three days before arrival for every visit, and arrivals and departures via KLIA and KLIA2. On a first visit you enroll and verify your passport at a manual counter, after which the autogate is available for departure and on subsequent visits.
What this guide does not cover
No visa-free stay period in days is stated. The department's entry-requirements pages in both languages have a title and no body content, and no other reachable page gives a duration for visa-exempt visitors. The only stay period published anywhere is the ASEAN one-month rule.
The 51-country list on the visa page sits under a "Visa With Reference" heading and carries no stay period. It is not a tourist exemption table and is not reproduced here.
No general passport validity rule for all visitors is stated. Six months is documented for eVISA holders and for autogate users only.
Nothing is stated about Sabah, Sarawak or Labuan immigration for foreign visitors, though the internal border Malaysians cross is documented. The Sarawak immigration site was unreachable and the federal pages are silent on both states.
No Visa on Arrival scheme is described, because none is published. No MyBorderPass system is described, because no official page for one was found; the facility the department publishes is called Malaysia Autogate or eGate.
The duty-free island status of Langkawi, Labuan and Tioman is not stated. The Customs site names no such pages and describes duty-free shops only generically.
Entry rules are consequential and change. Everything above was verified on 17 September 2026, and the issuing department is the authority on the day you fly.