Malaysia Imposes 1.5 Million KRW Quarantine Fee on Foreign Arrivals for COVID-19

Burden of Quarantine Facility Usage Fees and Quarantine Station Operating Costs
Foreign International Students' Entry to Be Restricted Until Year-End

[Asia Economy Kuala Lumpur Hong Seong-ah, Guest Reporter] As the number of new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases increases in Malaysia, the government has decided to impose a charge of 1.5 million Korean won for two weeks on foreigners. Following the measure requiring foreigners to bear the cost of 14-day quarantine upon arrival in Malaysia, the government will additionally charge for quarantine facility operation costs. The previously allowed entry of foreign international students will also be restricted until the end of the year.

Kuala Lumpur Airport, Malaysia
Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

According to local media on the 6th, the Malaysian government recently revised the National Disaster Management Agency’s policy to require foreign arrivals to bear the cost of operating quarantine facilities. Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob stated, "Until now, the government supported the quarantine facility operation costs for foreigners, but from now on, they must pay the fees themselves."

Accordingly, foreigners entering Malaysia must pay a total of 4,700 ringgit (approximately 1.43 million Korean won), including 2,100 ringgit (about 600,000 Korean won) for the 14-day quarantine facility usage fee and 2,600 ringgit (about 730,000 Korean won) for quarantine facility operation costs.

Malaysia has raised barriers to foreign entry because COVID-19 continues to rage worldwide. This is to reduce the risk of imported infections and lessen the domestic quarantine burden. According to statistics from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of the 5th, Malaysia has 12,381 confirmed COVID-19 cases, increasing by more than 200 daily.

The Malaysian government began tightening restrictions on foreign entry from last month. Since the 7th of last month, entry has been banned from 12 countries including the United States and the United Kingdom, where COVID-19 cases exceed 150,000. From the 4th of this month, the government announced a ban on the entry of international students holding new and existing student visas until the end of this year.

However, these measures have drawn criticism for reverse discrimination against foreigners. The number of foreign infections imported from abroad is significantly lower than the number of infections within Malaysia. Among foreigners planning to enter Malaysia, there are purposes such as employment and immigration rather than tourism, and requiring them to pay nearly twice the cost of locals is seen as unfair. In particular, international students have raised their voices criticizing the entry ban ahead of the October semester, saying it is causing disruptions in various research and projects.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.