How long is the visa-free travel for Indians to Malaysia valid?
Malaysia has become the latest country to extend the advantage of visa-free travel to Indian citizens.
The facility will be extended to Indian travellers till December 31, 2024.
Visa valid for 30 days from the date of entry.
The initiative is aimed at ensuring hassle-free travel for Indians who have emerged as one of the major tourist groups visiting Malaysia in the recent past.
At present there are around 26 countries that extend visa-free entry to Indian citizens for various reasons.
What does the Malaysian decision imply?
Tourism has emerged as one of the key focus areas for Malaysia’s post-COVID recovery strategy.
Malaysia’s tourism sector was hit hard during the COVID period when travel restrictions and visa problems nearly decimated its tourism industry.
But under the Anwar Ibrahim government, Malaysia is taking serious steps to recover its leadership in the tourism sector.
According to the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, 10.7 million visitors chose to visit the country in 2022 bringing in more than $28 billion to the economy.
The visa-free facility to Indian (and Chinese) travellers is, therefore, aimed at making the country a more attractive destination for recreation seekers from two of the major Asian economies.
Categories of visa exemption
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, at least 34 countries across the world, have agreements with India that exempt visas for the holders of Indian diplomatic passports.
That apart there are at least 99 countries with which India has operational agreements for “diplomatic, service/official passport holders”.
According to the MEA, (un-updated list), there are 16 countries that offer visa-free travel facility for a certain period of time to ordinary Indian passport holders.
The list, however, keeps changing as countries keep on experimenting with their visa policy.
According to the latest estimate available in the Passport Index website, there are at least 26 countries at present that provide visa-free facility to ordinary Indian passport holders.
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