heliaviator

I arrived at KLIA at 2330 the other evening. There was a notice on the stall that does the e-gate registrations (on the left, around the corner just after immigration and before baggage claim) giving a list of which residence/visitor passes can apply for e-gate registration, and MM2H was on the list. The stall was in darkness with a big "Close[d]" sign, but I noticed there was someone inside. I asked about registering and he said that the system was down, but he was very friendly and said he would give it a try. 30 seconds later I was fully Foreigner e-gate capable!

I believe the e-gates at both KLIA and KLIA2 are now operational. Any news on Penang?

bakedbean

Wow, congratulations....

I travel in and out of Penang a lot these days and no signs of any eGate so far. Just because KLIA is doing this, not necessarily applicable to Penang. But let's hope

As I found out when I did my second MM2H visa, KL immigration and Penang immigration do not coordinate in any way it seems

NeonHippy

If you fly into KLIA from another country and continue to Penang or vice versa you would generally take the transit route (assuming your baggage was ticketed through to Penang) this involves going downstairs through a small set of immigration desks. Coming into MY I have never experienced these desks to be very busy but exiting MY the queue can get quite long. Do eGates also work when exiting MY at KLIA?

When there is a long queue it might be quicker to use the normal exit and then come back into airside.

heliaviator

Yes, I'm pretty sure I have seen the Foreigner e-gates on departure at KLIA too.

I'm hoping this is going to mean no more stamps filling up my passport on every entry and exit. :-)

A

Gunnar45

I have been informed that Malaysia exit and entry stamps may be quite important if one wants to extend the MM2H visa or move the visa to a new passport.

eCdD

Good point. Also for the proof that you spent enough days for the oh so important 183-Day-Rule.

InVinoVeritas

If stamps in the passport were important then I don't think immigration officers would ask if you want your passport stamped? I usually decline because I dont' want to have to get a new passport simply because it's full of Malaysian entry/exit stamps.

As regards the 183-day rule, Malaysia is not taxing MM2Hers so they don't care how many days you are in country.

eCdD

They care a lot when you ask for the residence certificate! And without this at least my european bank will not give you the tax status "Malaysia". With the stamps in the passport they (or actually you, they just check) count if you matched the 183 days.

InVinoVeritas

It's a little more nuanced than that and this is but one way of addressing the issue of European bank's reporting requirements.

Gunnar45

I may need to prove the duration of my stays in MY to my home country tax authority.
I may also need to prove that I legally exited and entered MY to the MM2H authority for visa sticker transfer to a new PP or for MM2H visa renewal.
Therefore I let them stamp my passport as this would be the simplest way to prove this. But there are probably other more complicated ways to prove this.

ssoomro

I did notice ...when I was waiting in what felt like interminable line at immigration at KUL.. right next to the ""foreign Passport" counters was the "MM2H only" line.. and it was moving at blazing speed...compared to mine..

heliaviator

I did successfully exit at KLIA (1) via the foreigner e-gate. Easy process, no queue.

Nakrob

Arriving at KLIA yesterday evening was shambolic. The whole immigration area was full of people,the queues extending back past the mobile phone SIM card stalls towards the escalators.

During my hour wait in the APEC/DIP/MM2H/EXP queue I noticed the auto gates and it obviously piqued my interest as there was no queue for them. I frantically googled how to use them and found very limited information online but it was clear from what I did read that I'd need to register, and that had to be done the other side of immigration.

What I did observe though is how badly they perform. There are 4 gates but there must have been only a dozen successful users whilst I waited. One poor guy had to try multiple machines before one would let him enter! Either the passport scaning or the fingerprinting was causing a problem. Some others just blasted through though so if it works it looks very good.

I'm not sure why the system is not prompted more given the bad rep immigration often get for queues.

heliaviator

Breezed through the Foreigner e-gate on arrival at KLIA this evening. No queue and both the passport reader and fingerprint reader worked faultlessly.

For info, the machine issues a ticket once it has approved the entry showing Name, Passport Number, Nationality, Arrival Date, Validity (of visa), and date permitted to remain until.

ssoomro

Yes, and the ticket actually shows allowed till the date your MM2H expires in you passport. I have used e-gates for both entering and exit to KL and walked away with a 'take this' smirk on my face ...to my fellow plane mates .. its good to be rich.. if not .. at least an e-gate clearance holder