Malaysia relaxes entry ban on Pinoy expats, professionals

Malaysia will now allow professional and visit pass holders from the Philippines to enter the country as long as they get travel approval from Malaysian immigration authorities, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday.

The entry ban was imposed by Malaysia on 23 countries with high number of COVID-19 cases, including the Philippines, on Sept. 7.

Entry ban has been relaxed provided they have approval from the Malaysian Immigration Department and a support letter from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), the DFA said in a statement.

The Philippines has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia with 286,743 and 4,984 deaths.

In its updated travel advice, the DFA said Brunei and Saudi Arabia still prohibits general entry and have imposed stricter medical protocols for those who are exempt from entry restrictions in the Sultanate and the Kingdom, such as presentation of negative COVID-19 test result, obtained within 72 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.

Ukraine has also imposed prohibition in entry of foreign nationals and stateless persons until September 28, 2020.

However, this prohibition exempts Filipinos who are citizens of destination countries, returning residents with valid resident permits, Filipinos with work visas and contracts, diplomatic and UN passport holders, and government officials traveling for assignment to Posts or on official travel, among others.

Exempted travelers are required to undergo medical protocols such as self-quarantine and COVID-19 test upon arrival, the DFA said.

"The DFA, through its Foreign Service Posts, continues to constantly coordinate with host governments to update these infographics and provide assistance to our nationals, but cautions that information contained herein is subject to change without prior and sufficient notice," the advisory said. —KBK, GMA News