Yes, you read us right, Malaysia is finally reopening her borders on 1st April 2022 as she marks the 2nd anniversary of border closure on 18th March 2022. Malaysia will be open for international travel and no, it is not an April Fool’s joke!
After two years of rigid strict closure, the economy has suffered along with many in the travel industry with over 120 hotels suffering casualty as revealed by the Malaysian Association of Hotels. With that, businesses are waiting for the reopening with bated breath as much as tourists are getting ready to travel and experience Malaysia, Truly Asia.
Citizens from countries whose borders are still shut may still continue to benefit from Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs) Malaysia has commenced with their countries. Currently, Malaysia has a VTL with Singapore and has recently extended it to fully vaccinated travellers from Thailand and Cambodia with effect from 15th March 2022. While a similar travel lane with Indonesia is currently in the planning stages.
For the countries who are open and ready to enter Malaysia when her borders fully reopen, what do you need to know? Firstly, quarantine is no longer required! Is Covid-19 testing still required? This is a hard YES! All travellers are required to take a PCR test within 2 days before entering Malaysia except for fully vaccinated travellers who have recently been infected with Covid-19 within 60 days upon arriving in Malaysia. Recently infected fully vaccinated travellers are only required to take a professionally administered RTK-Ag test 2 days before the journey. Upon arrival, all travellers are required to take a professionally administered RTK-Ag test at a facility or hotel within 24 hours.
There are some differences in testing and potential quarantine for different categories of travellers:
- Fully vaccinated travellers aged 18 years and above (with or without booster dose) and those vaccinated and recently recovered from Covid-19 travellers, will not be required to quarantine or conduct any further testing after the 1st 24-hour testing as mentioned earlier.
- For non-vaccinated travellers due to medical reasons, testing and quarantine requirements are determined on case-to-case basis. Do ensure to check thoroughly with the Malaysian Ministry of Health before proceeding with your travels.
- For partially vaccinated or unvaccinated travellers, you will be required to do an additional PCR test on day 4 or RTK-Ag test on day 5 with quarantine for 5 days upon arrival.
- For children and adolescents aged 17 years and below, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, no additional testing or quarantine are required except for the PCR test 2 days before departure and the RTK-Ag within 24 hours upon arrival in Malaysia. Children aged 2 years and below are exempted from any testing.