PUTRAJAYA: Foreign travellers who wish to enter Malaysia when the border reopens on April 1 must comply with regulations set by the Immigration Department, says its director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud.

       Among them is to have sufficient financial or credit facilities to cover expenses in Malaysia, have a return ticket to the country of origin, have a residence in Malaysia that has been booked and a passport that must be valid for more than six months.

       "For (travellers) countries that require a visa, they must apply for a visa. Now, visas can be applied through eVisa online, all payments i.e. visa and processing fees can be made online,” he said when contacted by Bernama on Wednesday (March 30).

       Visitors are also reminded to adhere to the health protocols outlined by the Health Ministry (MOH) including downloading the MySejahtera application, taking a professional RTK-Antigen (Ag) test either at a private health facility at an international gateway or outside an international gateway within 24 hours.

       "The most important thing in the reopening of the borders is rules. There are two types of rules that must be adhered to by visitors that is the MOH protocols and Immigration rules,” he said.

       On March 8, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the country's borders would be reopened on April 1, as Malaysia enters the transition to endemic phase.

       In terms of personnel, Khairul Dzaimee said the Immigration Department has sufficient manpower at the country's borders.

       "Some 5,000 Immigration personnel were stationed at all entry points in the country before the pandemic.

       "During the pandemic, some of them were given other tasks, namely managing temporary depots that had to be opened to manage the increasing number of illegal immigrants entering the country.

       "Now, they have been brought back to take care of the counters in stages,” he said.

       Khairul Dzaimee added that the autogate system at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has been activated since a month ago and is functioning well. - Bernama