Malaysia travel restrictions
 

Hi everyone,
I'm currently in Johor Bahru with my wife (Malaysian citizen but been living in UK since 2016 on a spouse visa) and son (UK citizen) on holiday. I am a UK citizen.

I had to cancel our flight back to UK (from Singapore) on 27th March because we were unable to make it, due to Singapore entry restrictions and the requirement to self isolate for 14 days.

We would like to fly back to UK together as soon as possible but the current Malaysia restrictions indicate no Malaysia citizens can leave.

I have tried calling the UK consulate in KL but they haven't answered.

My question is: because my wife lives in the UK, is it possible for her to exit Malaysia before 31 March?

How can I get an official answer on this so we can book a new flight without wasting even more money trying to get home?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Many thanks,
Richard

Re: Malaysia travel restrictions
 

The airlines should know who is allowed to fly; suggest speaking to Malaysia Airlines and BA to determine if there's a consensus opinion. It's not 100% as Immigration are the ultimate authority, but it if they both say no you won't get past check-in.

Re: Malaysia travel restrictions
 

I have a friend who is Malaysian with an Australian passport. He is in Malaysia at the moment and entered using a Malaysian passport and therefore cannot leave as deemed a Malaysian citizen. So in your situation, regardless of what another country may say a Malaysian citizen will be covered by the laws of Malaysia over the laws of another country and therefore cannot leave. My friend is financially well off enough that if he cannot find a way out of Malaysia then I doubt that your spouse can. Happy to be corrected if anyone knows of a Malaysian citizen leaving Malaysia and how they did it. Not good new I'm afraid..

Re: Malaysia travel restrictions
 

From the UK Government foreign travel advice website:

Dual nationals - Malaysia doesn’t recognise dual nationality. Technically you can be refused entry if you are found to be holding two passports of different nationality.

Anyone in Malaysia on a Malaysian passport is Malaysian.

Malaysia Airlines' website has the current travel restrictions; it's worth checking regularly for updates.

Re: Malaysia travel restrictions
 

Correct which is why my friend always enters Malaysia using a Malaysian passport. He cannot then try and leave using an Australian passport. The spouse in question here, as I read it, has only a Malaysian passport with a UK visa in it. Stuck in Malaysia.

Re: Malaysia travel restrictions
 

Thanks for the responses guys.

I am currently awaiting a reply from Malaysia Airlines and the UK consulate in KL. It's a bit of a waiting game at the moment.

I've spent many more hours today searching online but seems like my particular question isn't covered in any FAQ sections regarding the restrictions.

Will keep you posted!

Re: Malaysia travel restrictions
 

You indicate she isn't a dual national...

Restrict it to the fact that she is your wife and must accompany your child.

The UK consulate might be more sympathetic and allow her, a UK resident and family member of a citizen, on a flight to evacuate UK citizens if all the flights dry up.

I'd be cautious about mentioning a UK (or any other) passport to Malaysian authorities, if they have one, unless they came in on it.
The major problem is if it gets into the dual-nationality issues they may compel a party to chose and confiscate the UK passport.
Or they may say..."you HAVE chosen" and then prosecute for using a Malaysian passport illegally. The party may then be expelled and lose privileges to return to Malaysia.

Malaysians, particularly those in the political system, consider it tantamount to treason to obtain dual citizenship. How much this is just demagoguery for the masses, how much is jealousy, how much one-upmanship (i.e. "I went to school abroad and I never considered changing MY citizenship!") and how much authentic expressions of insult is hard to gauge.

But best not talk about carrying two passports in front of Malaysian immigration.

Re: Malaysia travel restrictions
 

Just to clarify, she has a Malaysia passport only but lives in the UK on a spouse visa.

Re: Malaysia travel restrictions
 

UK consulate replied initially saying to contact UK immigration but I replied reiterating it's an issue of getting my wife out of Malaysia rather than into UK.

The consulate have replied again saying they can't help and told me to check the FCO advice.

Wondering what the consulate are there for if they can't speak to the Malaysia government on specific issues like this.

Haven't got a reply from Malaysia Airlines either so feel pretty stuck.

The only remaining lead is that apparently a Malaysia minister said yesterday that Malaysians married to foreigners are allowed to leave and we hope to validate that by calling him tomorrow.

Any other thoughts...?

Re: Malaysia travel restrictions
 

The UK Consulates are generally unhelpful; they see their role as maintaining good relations with the host government (macro), not supporting their citizens in need (micro).

From today's newspaper:Long-Term Pass holders of third countries and diplomats are allowed to leave the country during the 14-day Movement Control Order (MCO) period which began on Wednesday, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.

However, he said, the exceptions were only given to the Long-Term Pass holders provided that they do not return to the country before March 31 and must present strong evidence for reference at the inspection counter.

“Malaysians and permanent residents are totally prohibited from leaving the country for social visit (during the MCO period),” he said in a statement yesterday.

As your wife has a spouse visa, it sounds as if she would qualify. Better to get confirmation of course, if anyone will respond to your query. The issue may be the airport check-in staff and Immigration officials having the current information.

Malaysia Airlines is advertising free ticket date changes, so an option is to book a flight, get to the airport early to allow time for any negotiations, and see what happens. If it doesn't work you can change the date of the ticket. Perhaps to 1 April, because if the restrictions do end then (and they might not), the tickets could sell out. Make sure accommodation is available in case you don't get out.

Good luck.

Re: Malaysia travel restrictions
 

Thank you very much for this, sounds more promising to the point where I'll probably book the flights today :)

What's your thoughts on the strength of the evidence we will present:
- one way ticket to UK
- my wife's biometric resident permit for UK
- our UK driving licenses showing the same address in UK

Ideally we'd want to show marriage certificate or my son's birth certificate to make it bullet proof but we haven't got those documents with us. (Lessom learnt - will make sure I have copies on my phone in future!)

Cheers,
Richard

Re: Malaysia travel restrictions
 

I'd say the resident permit, and the driving licence as support. The more you have the better, of course.

Take a copy of the minister's statement (I read it in The Sun Daily), in case the officials at the airport are unaware of the new regulation.

Have your wife check-in for the flight first. You don't want to check-in yourself, be holding a boarding pass, and then they refuse your wife. Might complicate the re-booking, if it comes to that.

If you don't get the flight, immediately go to the ticket desk to change the date of your tickets in case this option expires when the flight departs.

You can get a copy of the marriage certificate online, but it'll take a few days and be posted, so you need someone to scan it and send it on. It's an option if this doesn't work and you need it later, but not now. https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-...ge-certificate

Re: Malaysia travel restrictions
 

Here's the newspaper article that details who are allowed to leave Malaysia.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2...-control-order

Re: Malaysia travel restrictions
 

Thanks guys. I was about to book the flights yesterday but delayed because my wife set up a similar thread on a facebook group... there was a lady on there in exactly the same position and she was told by the police and airline that she can't leave until after the movement control order ends.

I've since messaged a Malaysian politician about our case and she said we can't leave until after the MCO ends.

Really disappointed but at least it gives some clarity now. We will book our flights and pray that the MCO isn't extended.

Thank you again for the help! I'll keep you posted.

Re: Malaysia travel restrictions
 

wait until mid April for flights. They will keep extending until the cases plateau