Tourist Visa For Malaysia

[astral]

I arrived in Malaysia on the 25th November and was given an automatic entry stamp for 90 day,

with a "social visit pass".

Today I have been to the local immigration office to ask for an extension.

I had to buy the application form, cost MYR 1 (10 baht)

I simply filled in the form and presented it along with my passport.

No photos or photocopies needed.

A little later I was called to pay MYR100 (1000 baht)

and 20 minutes after I had my visa for an additional 60 days

from the date of the original expiry.

It is a large sticker visa and has my photo, copied from my passport,

on the visa.

So in all I can stay for 5 months with minimal fuss.

I believe I can get a further month, total 6 months, then I must do a border hop.

[thaihome]

But it is for Malaysia after all, why would they want to make it difficult?

TH

[astral]

I thought that making things difficult was No 1 in the Immigration rule book, all over the world.

[PhilHarries]

Malaysia is a multicultural society on the verge of being considered a developed nation.

Thailand is a xenophobic society anchored firmly in third world status

Malaysia has it's good points and it's bad points.

Thailand has it's bad points and it's good points.

Malaysia is an equal opportunities country, every one gets scammed equally.

Thailand is an equal opportunities country, every farang gets scammed equally by every Thai.

At the end of the day we individually choose which country suits us best. For me the jury is still listening to the barristers presentations.

[Acquiesce]

Malaysia simply does not attract the male dregs of the western world the way Thailand does. You can't blame Thailand wanting to make it difficult for these people.

[terry57]

Malaysia is a multicultural society on the verge of being considered a developed nation.

Thailand is a xenophobic society anchored firmly in third world status

Malaysia has it's good points and it's bad points.

Thailand has it's bad points and it's good points.

Malaysia is an equal opportunities country, every one gets scammed equally.

Thailand is an equal opportunities country, every farang gets scammed equally by every Thai.

At the end of the day we individually choose which country suits us best. For me the jury is still listening to the barristers presentations.

i think you got that all balls'd up mate.

look at the amount of farang that live in malaysia and then look at all the farang that live in los.

los wins hands down, so that must tell you something about where the majority of people choose to live.

malaysia is a nice country and i do like it, but its dead set boring compared to thailand.

only my own personal opinion, but i'd bet a few baht that im on a winner.

i did like borneo.

[tijnebijn]

Good point ASTRAL.The thaiimm should look how they handle it,no much fuss at all.

But after all I stay in thai,and just not lucky whom stay here have the same comforts like expats have in malaysia.Around kota bahru I like a lot,it is like Indonesia and a nice island neirby,but Thailand has much better sharms,and offcourse the local religion I think is a big part of why people like it here in thai better then anywhere else in asia,it is the thaiway.But still easy visa runs and ext is a big fuss,no have to be like that though.Still love thailand no matter what.

[bannork]

Is there a Malayvisa.com? Somehow I can't see the 'Kelantan forum' as getting as many hits as the 'Issan forum.'

I can pm you details.

Astral

Moderator

[LivinLOS]

Malaysia is a multicultural society on the verge of being considered a developed nation.

Thailand is a xenophobic society anchored firmly in third world status

Malaysia has it's good points and it's bad points.

Thailand has it's bad points and it's good points.

Malaysia is an equal opportunities country, every one gets scammed equally.

Thailand is an equal opportunities country, every farang gets scammed equally by every Thai.

At the end of the day we individually choose which country suits us best. For me the jury is still listening to the barristers presentations.

i think you got that all balls'd up mate.

look at the amount of farang that live in malaysia and then look at all the farang that live in los.

los wins hands down, so that must tell you something about where the majority of people choose to live.

malaysia is a nice country and i do like it, but its dead set boring compared to thailand.

only my own personal opinion, but i'd bet a few baht that im on a winner.

i did like borneo.

and a huge proportion of that is based on the sex industry.. Even those not indulging are often with GF's looking to improve social status, or did when first arriving before settling down.

The very lack of such a feudalistic / caste based society where people are able to work hard and get real jobs based on skills and work effort rather than skin color, the width of nose, or nepotism takes away a large part of the women jumping into relationships and pursuing comparatively richer farangs.

And sure Malaysia may be considered boring, compared to Patts / Patong or lower Suk.. But I dont see it as any more or less boring than rural issan or one of many small towns where farangs find themselves shacked up with their Thai significant other.

[PhilHarries]

Terry,

I wasn't commenting on quantities of farangs wanting to settle in MY compared to TH. What I was saying is that Malaysia is much more accommodating to foreigners than Thailand. Take the MM2H program (Make Malaysia my 2nd Home), provided you meet the requirements, and granted they aren't a walkover, you can purchase property 100% in your own name no messing. On top of that you get a ten year visa renewable annually. I don't know all the details but they are keener on attracting foreigners to come and spend their dosh than Thailand who wants the folding stuff without the baggage.

As for comparisons between the two places, you're dead right. I like Malaysia, it has a certain level of logic to itself but I miss the disorganised chaos theory approach of Thailand.

Anyway, as I said, the jury are still considering the facts and my next port of call will be Viet Nam with the Philippines still in the running (current gf is a Flip and she's trying to nobble the other horses) but Thailand is still the front runner by a country mile.

[terry57]

Terry,

I wasn't commenting on quantities of farangs wanting to settle in MY compared to TH. What I was saying is that Malaysia is much more accommodating to foreigners than Thailand. Take the MM2H program (Make Malaysia my 2nd Home), provided you meet the requirements, and granted they aren't a walkover, you can purchase property 100% in your own name no messing. On top of that you get a ten year visa renewable annually. I don't know all the details but they are keener on attracting foreigners to come and spend their dosh than Thailand who wants the folding stuff without the baggage.

As for comparisons between the two places, you're dead right. I like Malaysia, it has a certain level of logic to itself but I miss the disorganised chaos theory approach of Thailand.

Anyway, as I said, the jury are still considering the facts and my next port of call will be Viet Nam with the Philippines still in the running (current gf is a Flip and she's trying to nobble the other horses) but Thailand is still the front runner by a country mile.

yes im hearing you phil,

just like to comment on the property buying gig.

when i retire in los,

i will be leaving all my investments in australia and living a nice life off my super and my investments.

i will only ever rent, and this way i never have to worry about things going tits up in los.

if i was going to retire in malaysia or any other country i would still be engaging the same stragety.

rents are cheap in asia and do you think we need to buy property or land in any of these country's.?

malaysia may be more accomodating to farang as far as ease of visa's go, but there is a reason for that.

malaysia is barking for tourist dollars and los just says " may be pen rai." its up to you.

[astral]

i will be leaving all my investments in australia and living a nice life off my super and my investments.

i will only ever rent, and this way i never have to worry about things going tits up in los.

if i was going to retire in malaysia or any other country i would still be engaging the same stragety.

rents are cheap in asia and do you think we need to buy property or land in any of these country's.?

It is very good advice to rent, and keep your investments in a stable country.

I have a very pleasant 18th floor, furnished, 2 bedroom apartment with a superb sea view,

here in Penang for MYR1500 a month (15,000 baht)

[relayer]

How hard was it to get DSL access there? Just curious.

Also, I take it then that one is allowed to just cross the border into TH and come back for another 90-day + 60-day ext, ad infinitum?

If true, sounds like a reasonable alternative...

[jamman]

Malaysia is a multicultural society on the verge of being considered a developed nation.

Thailand is a xenophobic society anchored firmly in third world status

Malaysia has it's good points and it's bad points.

Thailand has it's bad points and it's good points.

Malaysia is an equal opportunities country, every one gets scammed equally.

Thailand is an equal opportunities country, every farang gets scammed equally by every Thai.

At the end of the day we individually choose which country suits us best. For me the jury is still listening to the barristers presentations.

I try not to answer posts with a reply that can be summed up in an emoticon, but I'll break my rule and say - great post.

[astral]

How hard was it to get DSL access there? Just curious.

Also, I take it then that one is allowed to just cross the border into TH and come back for another 90-day + 60-day ext, ad infinitum?

If true, sounds like a reasonable alternative...

ADSL is quite easy.

TM the national telephone company, offers the service, but you must have a phone line,

which requires a MYR1000 deposit and costs MYR26 a month in basic rental.

The ADSL costs MYR66 a month for 512kb/s

I would prefer to be on a fibre optic link, 2Mb/s for MYR66.

It is a smaller deposit and no land line needed.

I use my mobile for preference anyway.

Unfortunately my building is not connected to fibre yet.

On the visa run side, I am not aware of any limitations,

but then LOS did not have any until Oct 2006.............

Across the border to Thailand is easy if you live in the north, or

across to Singapore if you live in the south.

Indonesia is not so convenient as they charge $20 for a visa.

[thaihome]

Malaysia is a multicultural society on the verge of being considered a developed nation.

Malaysia is multicultural society on the verge or a racial civil war. The Bumi's have had 50 years of favoritism and only a small portion of Malay population has benefited, the Chinese still control business and the Indians are still stuck in ghettos doing manual labor. It will all blow up in there face someday as the Muslim fanatics force sharia law on everyone.

Thailand is a xenophobic society anchored firmly in third world status

Putting your own interest first, even at the expense of foreign interest is not xenophobic, it is the right of a sovereign nation. Blaming external forces for internal problems is not xenophobic either, it is a political gambit as old as politics. With a population double that of Malaysia, and oil reserves significantly less, Thailand is not doing too bad.

Malaysia has it's good points and it's bad points.

Agreed, every country has its unique qualities, negative and positive.

Thailand has it's bad points and it's good points.

Switching sentence structure seems like a childish trick to try and prove an opinion.

Malaysia is an equal opportunities country, every one gets scammed equally.

Not hardly, are you familiar with the Bumiputera laws?

Thailand is an equal opportunities country, every farang gets scammed equally by every Thai.

Typical farang paranoia. Its called doing business in Asia. They are not picking on you, they treat everyone that way, you just aren’t used to it.

At the end of the day we individually choose which country suits us best. For me the jury is still listening to the barristers presentations.

Have you ever lived in any other country? I have lived in 4 different Asian countries in multiple cities in each over the last 10 years. As you pointed out, each had pluses and minuses. For me, Thailand wins out easily, but to be honest that is skewed by the fact I am married to a Thai. Have many friends married to Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malaysians (Chinese and Malay) and they all prefer their wives home country.

TH

[PhilHarries]

Have you lived in any other country? I have lived in 4 different Asian countries in multiple cities in each over the last 10 years. As you pointed out, each had pluses and minuses. For me, Thailand wins out easily, but to be honest that is skewed by the fact I am married to a Thai. Have many friends married to Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malaysians (Chinese and Malay) and they all prefer their wives home country.

TH

TH,

I'll not address each of your comments individually as I don't want to drag this thread into an opinions war although you have misconstrued some of my tongue in cheek comments and missed my follow up to terry 57.

Anyway to answer your questions regarding different countries I've lived in. Apart from UK and Europe there are Bahrain, United States of America, Venezuela, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan and South Korea. I admit that most of those were merely short 3 - 6 months assignments, that's the nature of my business, but of the Asian countries Thailand and Malaysia have both ran to years with Thailand in double figures. Oh, and at the end of March Viet Nam will be joining the list and it looks like that one will be in the years category (already been there for short visits). This all being over the past twenty years.

Like you I still love Thailand, as I have noted elsewhere, it's just that I have dispensed with the rose tinted glasses and thus can see the warts. But I still stand by the xenophobia claim. A foreigner can buy land in Malaysia just like a foreigner, even a Thai, can buy land in the UK. What foreigners can buy land in Thailand?

To say Malaysia is on the brink of civil war is as absurd as saying Thailand is also so poised in the south. How many people have died in the south since the start of the insurgency, 2000+? How many were shot yesterday? How many bombs went off in Bangkok over new year? Islamic extremism is a subject facing the whole world and one that, so far, eludes a solution. Beyond that I'll say nothing to avoid this thread going even further off topic and starting a TV Jihad.

Peace and Gong Xi Fa Chai to all.

[relayer]

Thanks for the info.

Are you sure about the MYR1000 deposit for a mere phone line? Sounds kind of extreme. Does this apply to existing lines or is it for new installations only? Yeah, Fiber-To-The-Home would be better. Everyone's trying to catch up to Japan's broadband offerings anyway (lol).

Also, I believe Indonesia changed their VOA rules last year and has now become a more viable candidate for a typical 1 to 3 day stopover visa run from either TH or MY. It is now the following (assuming you're from one of the 52 countries named in the list):

The cost of the 30-day (only) tourist visa is US$25/person for a 30-day visa and US$10/person for a 3-day visa.

(See this Living in Indonesia link under the heading "Tourist Visa".)

[astral]

Are you sure about the MYR1000 deposit for a mere phone line?

Absolutely sure.

It is iniquitous as it only applies to foreigners.

Has been that rate for 18 years at least.

TM is a government monopoly.

Also, I believe Indonesia changed their VOA rules last year and has now become a more viable candidate for a typical 1 to 3 day stopover visa run from either TH or MY. It is now the following (assuming you're from one of the 52 countries named in the list):

The cost of the 30-day (only) tourist visa is US$25/person for a 30-day visa and US$10/person for a 3-day visa.

(See this Living in Indonesia link under the heading "Tourist Visa".)

Those visa rates are right.

I used to be able to get a 2 month stamp at the airport, free of charge!!

Why pay at all, when Thailand and Singapore offer free entry for the visa runner.

[bmanly]

At the end of the day you can give me free visas to Malaysia for a year if you like but I would rather buy a visa and spend my time and money in Thailand enjoying myself. Malaysia hasn't got a patch on this place for fun and enjoyment.

[PhilHarries]

Btw, and a bit off topic but I read in today's paper that Indonesia is introducing 120 day visas to encourage tourism. Now I know that some people like Indonesia, and Bali particularly, but who wants to spend 120 days there? No further details were given so I don't know if you could do them back to back or what costs are involved.

[astral]

Btw, and a bit off topic but I read in today's paper that Indonesia is introducing 120 day visas to encourage tourism. Now I know that some people like Indonesia, and Bali particularly, but who wants to spend 120 days there? No further details were given so I don't know if you could do them back to back or what costs are involved.

That will be good news for people who have invested in holiday homes

but are now limited to 30 days per trip.

[CaFFeADDiC]

malaysia may be more accomodating to farang as far as ease of visa's go, but there is a reason for that.

malaysia is barking for tourist dollars and los just says " may be pen rai." its up to you.

I like this...

[jeebusjones]

At the end of the day you can give me free visas to Malaysia for a year if you like but I would rather buy a visa and spend my time and money in Thailand enjoying myself. Malaysia hasn't got a patch on this place for fun and enjoyment.

What exactly do you mean by "fun and enjoyment?" This has been mentioned countless times, how Malaysia is boring and Thailand is so exciting.

The only thing Thailand has that Malaysia doesn't is streets full of whorebars like Patpong, Patong and Pattaya. If you can think of something else, by all means share it with the rest of us.

[tijnebijn]

Nice to read Indonesia is giving longer visas,I extensively traveled through Indonesia before I got to Thailand.

I think for seeing wildlife and sightseeing it is the top of the world.I mean I have climbed mountains,vulcanoes,one of the best diving(much different class then in Thai)ingenious people,far in the jungle,Sumatra and Sulawasi,Kalimantan and Papua New GUinea(ok not Indo anymore)and not to forget the extensively many boattrips(and for tourists spots Bali)...........I wonder what is bad in this part of the world.....(nice money changing and still on the cheap)

malaysia is allright but got me bored pretty quick.I think Indo and Thai people does not different too many.

Ofcourse Thailand just feels great,I got kids and my wonderful wife here,but I do not see why Indo would be much of a difference,maybe even better when you got too know the place,it is so huge.......If Thailand gets f...up,and Indo steps up their visa easings,may you could see them expats move multiple and different SE Asia countries will get the pensions and investments in their economies....ofcourse they make things more easy,they proberly got somebody close following the expats worries and controversial thai government decisions,make them have the best uppertunity since decades...

[madjbs]

Great post Thaihome. I cant help notice people that complain that thailand jst a place where guys who want cheep girls and vast amounts of beer go. It just shows what type of people they are and where they hang out as the majority of Thailand and its people are not like that. If they got away from Sukhumvit and Patong then maybe they would see the light.