Ismail Sabri Yaakob: Malaysia Borders To Reopen Fully On April 1st, 2022

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has announced that Malaysia’s international borders will open effective April 1st, 2022 after being officially closed for over two full years.

It will go without saying that the road borders that link us with both Thailand and Singapore will be open, but travellers will be subject to the policies and requirements enforced by the destination country.

The Malaysian government is in the process of finalising the VTL (Vaccinated Travel Lane) between Thailand, Brunei, and Indonesia. Regardless, all those wishing to leave Malaysia will have to undergo a RT-PCR test two days prior to departure and a rapid test (RTK) upon return.

Meanwhile, visitors entering Malaysia - whether foreign or returning citizens - that are fully vaccinated will not have to undergo quarantine. Foreign travellers will also no longer need to apply through MyTravelPass.

However, despite the borders being reopened and the COVID-19 situation classified as entering an ‘endemic’ phase post-April 1st, nearly every ongoing SOP routine will remain in place including the wearing of masks at all times in public venues, registering on MySejahtera, and the like.

The government’s decision to reopen borders at this juncture was motivated by the fact that 98% of the Malaysian adult population is now fully vaccinated while more than 50% have received their booster shot. Though the country has been seeing a surge in new active cases due to the outbreak of the Omicron variant, 99% of infections are mild or asymptomatic.

In addition, the move is also meant to spur the revival of the country’s economy, specifically the tourism industry that has been the most severely impacted by the pandemic.

“The country also wants to provide comfort to travellers and to not complicate their travel process. Most importantly, Malaysia is now a destination that is open and can be visited by all,” said Ismail Sabri at a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday.

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