Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced during his May 28 press conference that there would be no action taken, nor any penalties imposed, with regard to foreigners in Malaysia whose visas or social visit passes had expired during the lengthy Movement Control Order (MCO), which was enacted with little notice on March 18 and continues to this day, under the Conditional MCO status.

He said this was simply because the Immigration Department and related government agencies were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and accordingly, foreigners could not renew their permits or passes.

“Foreigners who want to return to their respective countries can do so by just showing their return tickets at the airport despite having expired passes or permits,” he explained. “For those who are keen to stay longer, they need to request an appointment first with the Immigration Department to renew their visa via online under the department’s online appointment application.”

When asked about foreigners with expired social visit passes, he said the same applied to this group.

On March 20, the Home Ministry issued guidelines for foreigners with expired visa permits or passes, which covers foreigners in the country holding a short-term social pass, temporary employment pass, expatriate pass, student pass, dependent pass, and Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) pass if the pass expired during the MCO period.

The ministry stated that pass holders will be allowed to return to their home country without having to renew their pass or incur any penalties. For those who do intend to renew their current pass and remain in Malaysia, however, it must be done within 14 days after the MCO period ends, which is at this time expected to be on June 9.