Malaysia is introducing new visa rules for Bangladeshi and Indian tourists in an effort to curb illegal immigration, The New Straits Times reported yesterday.
Visitors from the two countries will have to obtain a two-week pass and a return ticket before they can enter Malaysia, the report said, quoting Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar.
“The social visit pass replaces the visas-on-arrival (VOA), which was discontinued in April,” Syed Hamid said, adding the social visit pass must be obtained in advance from the tourists’ home country.
Malaysia first introduced the visa-friendly programme, allowing visitors from 24 countries to stay for one month when they arrived, in 2006 to boost its tourism industry.
But immigration officials last year called for the programme to be scrapped after many visitors were found to have overstayed.
Media reports have said that most of the overstayers are Indians who remained in Malaysia to work in restaurants and on plantations.
Categories: Bangla, Bangladesh, Bangladesh Economy, Bangladesh News, Daily Bangladesh News, Economy, News, World News
