Visa & i-Kad
FAQ
- Language school students will receive a student pass last for 6 months, renewable thereafter.
- For certain courses and selected universities, you will receive a visa for the entire duration of your studies, provided that passport validity, insurance coverage and other documents are in order.
- For other applicants, you will receive a 1-year visa which will require renewal thereafter. Click here to check how to renew your students pass.
- MYR 1,060 (approximately USD 240) non-refundable visa processing fee, although selected institutions are entitled to rebates.
- MYR 579 for subsequent document processing, refundable in the event of an unsuccessful application.
- You will be required to subscribe to a medical insurance plan. For more information about the insurance plans available, click here.
- You can also calculate your full costs here
- The entire processing time is about 3 -4 weeks.
- You can work up to 20 hours a week during school breaks of 8 days or more.
- Travel around Malaysia.
- You can rent or purchase a house or a car.
- You cannot take up a gainful employment or business venture full-time.
- You cannot take out a loan or have access to public funds.
Note: Once your student pass has been endorsed on your passport, you will be issued with an i-Kad, a biometric residence permit which bears your photo and other information to verify your identity. A valid i-Kad is the only substitute identification document for foreign nationals recognised by the Department of Immigration in Peninsular Malaysia and MUST BE KEPT WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES. With an i-Kad, your passport can now be kept away at a secure place. However, i-Kad is not a replacement document for international travel or travels between Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.
Eligibility
Age Requirement
Candidates applying for language institutes must be between 18 to 45 years of age as of the date of application. Candidates applying to other higher education institutions are not subjected to any age limit. If you are unsure, do contact us here for more information.
Health Screening
To ensure that you have a clean bill of health, you will be required to undergo a medical screening upon arrival in Malaysia (post-arrival) at one of Education Malaysia Global Services’ registered panel clinics or health centres. Effective 01 June 2019, pre-arrival medical screening is no longer required. However, please note the following requirements:
- Students are required to submit a health declaration form for the Visa Approval Letter (VAL) application. If in doubt of anything required in the declaration form, please obtain consultation from your local doctor.
- You must also comply with other requirements with respect to Yellow Fever. More information is available after this section.
- If you are taking any medication or have undergone any major treatment recently, please obtain a letter from your local doctor detailing the medicine(s) you are taking or procedure(s) that you were subjected to. Certain medicines and procedures may have effects on your body that may cause inaccurate results during your medical screening in Malaysia.
- Students are required to undergo the post-arrival medical screening within 7 days of arriving in Malaysia. Please consult with your university as soon as possible.
- Kindly be informed that the panel clinic or health centre perform the medical screening with impartiality, and are indemnified for their findings based on the medical screening. Regardless of the information provided in the health declaration form previously, the findings and opinions by the panel clinic or health centre are final.
- Should any student be deemed as not suitable to study or reside in Malaysia, he/she will be required to leave Malaysia before the expiry of the visa granted upon arrival (i.e. special pass, entry pass, etc). Please note that all costs must be borne by the student.
- Please note that making a false declaration, including in the health declaration form, is an offence under the Laws of Malaysia. Doing so may result in prosecution and deportation i.e. removal from Malaysia.
Yellow Fever
Important:
You are required to submit a valid yellow fever vaccination certificate if you:
- Are coming from a country with a risk of yellow fever transmission.
- Have stayed in transit within these countries for more than 12 hours .
In addition, you will be required to provide your yellow fever vaccination booklet/card before you can clear Immigration at the port of entry.
Countries or areas denoted as ‘a risk of yellow fever transmission is present’, are defined by the World Health Organization as countries or areas where “yellow fever has been reported currently or in the past, plus vectors and where animal reservoirs currently exist”
English Proficiency Test
As most courses at Malaysian universities are in English, a certain level of English proficiency is required especially in speaking and writing. To secure admission, your English competency must satisfy the minimum course requirement as approved by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA). When applying for a Visa Approval Letter (VAL), you must demonstrate your English proficiency by submitting results of one of the following English language tests:
- MUET (Malaysian University English Test)
i) MUET
- IELTS (International English Language Testing System)
i) IETLS
ii) IELTS Online
- TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
i) TOEFL iBT
ii) TOEFL Essentials (Online)
- PEARSON TEST OF ENGLISH PTE
i) PTE Academic
ii) PTE Academic (Online)
- CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH QUALIFICATIONS AND TEST
i) B1 Preliminary, B2 First, C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency
ii) Linguaskill Online
iii) Occupational English Test (OET) – Conventional / Online
- ELS
i) Certified Intensive English Programme Level (CIEP Level)
Important:
To ensure that your VAL application is as smooth as possible, please ensure that your English proficiency test results are legible. Incomplete documents could delay your application. Failure to meet the required score might also affect your eligibility to receive a student pass for the full duration of your course.
Institution Offer Letter
A copy of offer letter from your higher education institution is required in order to apply for a visa to come to Malaysia. When making an online application, you will only be able to submit it once you have received a letter of acceptance or offer letter from your institution.
Special Clearance
No-Objection Certificate (Sudan)
No-objection certificate (NOC) is only required for students from Sudan. This document must be applied by the institution, and can only be collected from the Embassy of Sudan in Kuala Lumpur by the institution’s representatives.
Letter of Eligibility (Iran)
Letter of eligibility (LOE) is only required for students from Iran. The institution must apply for an LOE at the Embassy of Iran in Kuala Lumpur. Once the LOE application is approved, the embassy will provide the LOE to EMGS directly.
6 Steps to Study in Malaysia
Application
Processing Time: 14 business days from the date of submission
- A student can initiate a visa application online with EMGS or delegate it to the university or an agent.
- Please ensure that all remaining documents are in order.
- Complete all relevant/remaining examinations and competency tests to ensure that you meet the eligibility or a Malaysian student visa.
- Ensure your passport has at least 12 months of validity.
- Factor in some time to go for your compulsory medical screening and prepare documents, medical reports or certificates to be uploaded with your application.
- Provide information as accurately as possible.
- You will be required to make an initial payment for visa processing (actual amount varies, please check the fee calculator below). Any unutilised amount will be refunded.
- If your visa application is refused, you will be notified in writing.
For a complete list of all required documents, please click here.
Ensure all documents are updated according to the requirements which can be found here.
Calculate your application fees here.
Upload your passport photo here.
Find out more about medical insurance plans available here.
Basic document required:
- Letter of offer
- Academic results
- Pre-arrival medical report
- Passport pages
Issuance of Visa Approval Letter (VAL)
Processing time: 14 business days from the date of submission
- Electronic VAL will be issued by the Immigration Department of Malaysia for all approved applications.
- Please keep both one printed and one soft copy of VAL accessible at all times as this is the most important document during the whole process.
- You can track your application status here.
- If there were any issue, you can contact us to see if there is any way we can help to address the matter accordingly.
Single Entry Visa (SEV)
Processing time: 1 to 3 weeks for hard copy, 48 hours for e-Visa
- Individuals from qualifying countries can get visa-on-arrival (VOA) upon arrival at the Malaysian border.
- Individuals from countries that require a pre-arrival visa must apply for a single entry visa (SEV) from their home country’s Malaysian embassy or consular office, or if a Malaysian mission is not present there, at the nearest neighbouring country.
- Individuals from visa-required countries on the following list can apply for an e-Visa which takes 48 hours to process.
- China
- India
- Sri Lanka
- Nepal
- Myanmar
- Bangladesh
- Pakistan
- Bhutan
- Serbia
- Montenegro.
eVISA:
You can apply for an e-Visa anywhere around the world except from Malaysia and Singapore.
Apply for eVisa:
https://www.windowmalaysia.my/evisa/evisa.jsp
Travelling to Malaysia
At Immigration, international students must present to the immigration officer:
- A valid national passport or other internationally recognized travel documents. These documents must be valid for at least six (6) months from the date of entry into Malaysia.
- A valid visa (for visa-required travellers). Please present either the previously-obtained SEV or e-Visa; and
- A hardcopy of Visa Approval Letter (VAL) in order to receive the correct Visa On Arrival for Foreign Student (VOAS) stamp.
Note:
- Please click <HERE> for the lists of countries that required Single Entry Visa (SEV) prior to entering Malaysia
- For Visa On Arrival For Foreign Student (VOAS):
⇒ Click <HERE> for the lists of countries without Malaysian Representative; and
⇒ Click <HERE> for the lists of selected commonwealth countries and list of countries with Visa
Waiver Agreements
Please note that this list is subject to change without prior notice based on the requirement by the Malaysia Immigration Department. You are advised to check this page regularly for the latest update/changes
Registration at Institution
- Check in with your international student office and make arrangements for accommodation if need be.
- Look for a Point of Contact (POC) for the duration of your studies to ensure your documents are in order.
- Keep your institution and EMGS informed of any changes to your address or emergency contacts.
Note:
Students must complete a medical screening within 7 days upon arrival in Malaysia at any EMGS-registered (panel) clinic.
Issuance of Student Pass and i-Kad (Student Pass: 10 business days)
- Make photocopies to ensure that all documents are recorded. It is also advisable to keep a soft copy at a secure place.
- When receiving the Student Pass (sticker on passport) and i-Kad (foreign national identity card), please ensure that all your details and documents are in order before accepting as it will take a while to receive a new set.
- For students who have received your i-Kad, you can safely lock up your passport as you can use your i-Kad as proof of identification and study.
Note:
i-Kad is an identity card for non-Malaysian citizens who have a valid resident status in Malaysia. It will only be issued upon the issuance of a student pass.
For more information, click here.
*Students are required to complete Step 4 to 6 within 1 month