PUTRAJAYA, Sept 7 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Long-term pass holders from 23 countries which have recorded more than 150,000 COVID-19 cases are barred from entering Malaysia effective today (Sept 7).
According to a list issued by the Immigration Department on its official Facebook account, the countries include the United States, Brazil, India, Russia, Peru, Colombia, South Africa, Mexico, Spain, Argentina and Chile.
Also on the list are Iran, United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, France, Turkey, Italy, Germany, Iraq, Philippines and Indonesia.
On Sept 1, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced an entry ban on long-term visit pass holders from India, Indonesia and the Philippines beginning today due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in these countries.
The ban involves six categories of pass holders, namely those with permanent resident status (PR), Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme participants, expatriates including professional visit pass (PVP) holders and resident pass holders.
Also barred were spouses of Malaysian citizens and their children as well as students from the three countries who wanted to return to Malaysia.
Two days later, Ismail Sabri announced the government’s decision to impose an entry-ban on citizens of countries recording more than 150,000 cases of COVID-19.
However, he said that exemptions would be given for emergency cases or matters pertaining to bilateral relations, but it would require permission from the Immigration Department.
— NNN-BERNAMA