Malaysian Students Are Now Allowed to Travel Abroad for Study Purposes?

According to Immigration Department director-general, Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud, this year onwards, students who are leaving Malaysia to study abroad are required to upload their offer letter and apply through “MyTravelPass System”. It is applicable to new students only. For returning or existing students, they are required to display their student card at the immigration exit point.

In 2020, students who were travelling abroad for study purposes were not required to apply through “MyTravelPass System”. However, this year, it has been introduced and made effective starting May 17  to ensure that it goes hand in hand with the government’s effort in ensuring that COVID-19 cases and the infectivity rate decreases. This new policy has been updated in the Immigration department directive and published on their website. 

As the government is taking measures to ensure that the immigration handles the increase of students at the airport, parents are worried that this sudden change in policy may lead to other complications, especially concerning the time duration for the approval process.

Nevertheless, foreign students are allowed to return to Malaysia for study purposes. The government has made the decision to allow entry of foreign students in phases (except students from the UK) as early as January this year.

This decision was made to ensure that Malaysia remains to move forward as a leading player in the global international student market. The Ministry of Higher Education website shows that there were 92,415 foreign students enrolled in private universities in Malaysia in 2019, almost reaching their target of 100,000 students. Unfortunately, the numbers dropped to 17,366 in 2020 due to the pandemic.

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