Malaysia
As confirmed in 2016 and 2018 by European Union Council’s resolution about the new Visa Waiver System to the EU/Schengen Area, citizens of Malaysia will too from 2025, need to obtain an ETIAS for their short-term visits to the 34 Member Nations of the newly established ETIAS Area.
ETIAS Facts for Malaysians
Malaysia Nationals need to have a valid ETIAS for their journey to thirty-four destinations across Europe
ETIAS applicants must be in possession of a valid passport issued by the State of Malaysia with at least 3 months of remaining validity for the entire stay in the ETIAS Countries
ETIAS suitable for business, tourism, transit and medical treatment travels
Duration of stay in the ETIAS Area must not surpass 90 days out of every 180 days
ETIAS application and outcome available electronically
Applying for ETIAS on a Malaysian passport
Applying for ETIAS Visa Waiver for Malaysian is a simple electronic process that requires each candidate just a few minutes of their time. The main core of the request protocol consists of digital form asking a series of basic questions to assess the identity of the petitioner like: full name, birth date, birth place, passport number, passport expiry date. Subsequently each passenger will also be asked to input their contact details that must include a valid e-mail address. Also, the ETIAS form will ask the citizens of Malaysia details about their first trip towards Europe and verify their eligibility through a brief set of personal history questions.
ETIAS security clearance and Visa Waiver issuance
Once the electronic Visa Waiver application has been completed and paid for, all the data will be automatically cross checked by Europol Data, Interpol and a series of other security international database that will, usually in a matter of a few hours, establish if the applicant poses any kind of security or migration threat to the EU / Schengen Area.
Malaysian travelers whose travel purpose and duration fit in the ETIAS eligibility criteria and do not meet with any of the few exceptions are required to possess a valid Visa Waiver upon embarking on their journey towards ETIAS Area regardless of their age and regardless of the point of origin of the travel.
According to the ETIAS System design plans set by the European Union, once the Visa Waiver application has been submitted the result will in most case be available in no more than 72 hours.
If for any reason candidates need to urgently receive feedback to their ETIAS application they are invited to flag the “urgent procedure” button in the application form.Whether the feedback is positive, like it will in most cases base, or negative the applicant will receive an e-mail notification with the result of the process. Therefore, declaring a valid e-mail address while filling out the contact details section of the form will be of great importance.
ETIAS validity and use
Since the ETIAS Visa Waiver is automatically linked to the Malaysian passport of the applicant there is no formal obligation to print out the received ETIAS document. Although it is advised to print the Visa Waiver to show in case of need at any point during the trip in the 34 ETIAS Member Countries.
A properly issued ETIAS is valid for 3 years starting from the application data although in some cases such expiry date might occur sooner as the passport of Malaysia used for the application has less than 3 years of remaining validity. In any case what matters the most is the passport always has enough validity left to cover for the whole planned stay (with a three months exceeding validity upon leaving from Europe) in the ETIAS Area as a whole and it must be always clear that in order to prove the duration or scope of the travel incoming passengers from Malaysia could be asked to provide a return ticket or other supporting documents.ETIAS standards for purpose of the journey and duration of stay
EU’s Visa Waiver will be suitable to be used for journeys whose purpose is alternatively:
- tourism/family visit
- business/trade
- medical care
- transit
and with a duration of stay of no more than 90 days in 180 days, ETIAS is not required to genuine visitor who already possess a valid Schengen Visa or Permit of Stay.
On the other hand, travelers with planned stay longer ninety days within six months or whose purpose of the trip is not included in the short list above will still be required to apply for a Consular Visa. Travel purposes that are not covered by ETIAS are for instance work, study and moving one’s residence.
It must although be highlighted that even if ETIAS is not fit for long term study programs, the Visa Waiver can be used by Citizens of Malaysia for short training programs (such as language courses and corporate training courses) if the stay in the ETIAS countries area will not pass the formerly cited threshold of ninety of every one hundred and eighty days.