eVisa, Visa Free Entry Welcomed By China - Malaysian Deputy PM

By Samantha Tan Chiew Ting BEIJING, Feb 3 (Bernama) -- China has welcomed Malaysia's proposal to implement eVisa and Visa Free entry to draw more tourists from China, said Malaysian Deputy Home Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (left). Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said he had signed a letter to the effect for official validation by the Chinese government after meeting China's Public Security Minister Gou Shengkun and Communist Party of China's Political Centre secretary Meng Jiangzhu (right). "I will hand over the letter to Malaysia's Ambassador to China to pursue the matter via diplomatic channels," he said here Wednesday. Ahmad Zahid was briefing Malaysian journalists on the outcome of his meetings with top leaders of China in conjunction his four-day working visit to China which started Monday. Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak when presenting the country's recalibrated budget for 2016 in Putrajaya on Jan 26 had announced that the Malaysian government will facilitate the entry of foreign tourists by expediting the implementation of eVisa to several countries. As an additional measure, the prime minister also announced that tourists from China do not require a visa to visit Malaysia or Visa Free, commencing from March 1 to Dec 31, 2016, subject to specific conditions for a period of stay not exceeding a exemption for Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia for not more than 15 days. They are required to register online individually or through travel agencies. At present, e-visa applicants still need to submit their passports to the visa processing centre and the visa is to be attached to their passports, as per the requirements of the Chinese authorities. The applicants then need to print out their special trip notes or entry after registering online and their names will be shared by the Chinese authorities to enable checks by the Immigration Department in Malaysia. The measure is an attempt to attract eight million tourists, with spending power of US$5.30 billion (RM22.1 billion), from China annually over the next five years compared to 1.3 million tourists last year. Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid said in his meetings, Malaysia and China had also reached agreements on measures to address security issues, including by implementing various efforts at the international level, as China is one of permanent members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council. Last year, Malaysia was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council as the country had demonstrated its commitment at the international level to be among the countries in the forefront in tackling terrorism. (photoBERNAMA) --BERNAMA