What you need to enter Malaysia with an Australian passport

Sabah and Sarawak: different entry rules

Sabah and Sarawak have kept their own immigration control since the formation of Malaysia, under the Immigration Act 1959/63. Travelling from Peninsular Malaysia you have to carry your passport, pass through immigration control and collect entry and exit stamps, even on a domestic flight. The visit pass for foreign nationals is issued at the immigration counters in the arrival halls of both states.

Source: imi.gov.my, Endorsement of Exemption Section 66; FCDO, gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/malaysia/entry-requirements (comprobado 18/09/2026)

Authorization system

Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC)

A mandatory digital arrival form for every foreign visitor (tourism, business, study, family visits), by air, land, or sea, regardless of length of stay. It's free: the Immigration Department itself warns about copycat sites charging a fake "express approval fee." It must be submitted up to 3 days before arrival and covers a single entry only — exiting and re-entering during the same trip requires a new registration. The former eNTRI system (simplified registration for India and China, stays up to 15 days) has been discontinued and replaced by the MDAC.

Fee

The MDAC is free for all visitors. There is no entry fee for tourist entry for the passports we track.

Processing time

An eVISA is decided within 48 hours, but the clock counts working days only: it excludes weekends and public holidays in Malaysia and in the country you apply from. Nor does it cover incidents outside the process — system maintenance, network or power failures. Some Malaysian missions publish longer ranges, of 2 to 7 working days, depending on the type of application and the country it is filed from.

Required documents

• A Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) completed online up to 3 days before arrival. It is mandatory for every foreign traveller since 1 January 2024
• Exempt from the MDAC are Singapore citizens, diplomatic and official passport holders, Malaysian permanent residents, and holders of certain travel documents from Brunei, Thailand and Indonesia
• A valid passport: it must be presented together with the MDAC to the border officer for validation before you proceed through the immigration counter

Vaccinations

• No mandatory vaccines for general entry. A yellow fever certificate is required from travellers over 1 year of age arriving from —or having transited more than 12 hours through the airport of— a country with risk of transmission.

Health insurance

Not mandatory for this destination.

Transit rules

Visa-free tourist entry for up to 90 days for most passports from the Americas and Western Europe (varies by country of origin).

Customs limits

Cash

Declare to the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (using Customs Form No. 7) if entering or leaving with USD 10,000 or more in cash and bearer negotiable instruments (BNI); there's no limit on the amount of foreign currency that can be imported.

Alcohol

1 litre total of wine, spirits, beer, or malt liquor, duty-free, per adult traveller (not combinable between companions).

Tobacco

Cigarettes and other tobacco products are expressly excluded from the duty-free allowance: any amount brought in is taxable.

Overstay penalties

Under Section 15(4) of the Immigration Act 1959/63: a fine of up to RM10,000, or imprisonment of up to 5 years, or both; in practice the Immigration Department typically settles overstays with a RM3,000 compound (an administrative fine that avoids court proceedings).

Common reasons for denial

• Arriving at the immigration counter without a completed MDAC: the border officer validates passport and MDAC together before letting you through, and since 1 January 2024 it is required of every foreign traveller not expressly exempt.