Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has announced that Malaysia is reopening its international borders on the 1st of April 2022. Malaysians with valid travel documents can travel overseas freely while foreigners with valid travel documents can enter without applying for the MyTravelPass.
The Prime Minister said fully vaccinated international travellers can enter the country without mandatory quarantine. However, they must conduct an RT-PCR test 48 hours before travel and conduct a professional RTK-Antigen test within 24 hours upon arrival. The RTK-Antigen test can be conducted outside the airport as long as it is done within 24 hours. All incoming travellers must download and install the MySejahtera app and fill up the pre-departure form in the Traveller section of the app.
Ismail Sabri said the Vaccinated Travel Lane arrangement with selected countries provides quarantine-free travel for both ways. He reminded that some countries still require mandatory quarantine upon arrival, such as Indonesia.
The Ministry of Health will provide further guidelines for travellers who are not fully vaccinated or can’t get vaccinated due to health reasons. The ministry will also provide the full SOP for international travel soon. Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has tweeted that he is having a press conference tomorrow to go through the details on Malaysia’s transition to endemicity.
The announcement was made as part of the country’s transition to the endemic phase. According to the Prime Minister, the decision was made based on scientific evidence, consideration of the reopening of borders at neighbouring countries, and to provide convenience to travellers and reduce complications. He said Malaysia is now an open destination and it is open to travellers.
For domestic travel, Ismail Sabri said interstate travel within Malaysia is also permitted regardless of vaccination status. Several other restrictions have been lifted including operating hour limits for businesses and capacity limits for events and religious activities. Wearing a face mask is still required in all public areas.
Although Malaysia continues to record over 25,000 new COVID-19 cases daily, more than 99% of cases had mild or no symptoms which is partly due to high vaccination rates. As of 7th March 2022, 97.5% of adults are fully vaccinated and 64% have received their boosters. Malaysia has also fully vaccinated 91% of teens, while 29.3% of children aged between 5-11 years old have received at least one vaccine dose.
