Malaysia expressed its interest to participate in the US Visa Waiver Programme (VWP) when former US president Barack Obama was visiting Malaysia on an official trip in April 2014.
In a joint statement released by the White House, President Obama and Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak "stated their decision to consult on Malaysia’s interest in meeting the statutory requirements for participation in the Visa Waiver Program. As a first step, the US has committed to provide technical briefings on security requirements and information sharing agreements."
The VWP is currently made available to 38 countries, including ASEAN member countries Brunei and Singapore. Malaysia aims to be the third ASEAN member to join this list.
The VWP will enable Malaysians to travel to the United States (US) for up to 90 days without having to obtain a pre-approved visa – for tourism or business purposes only. No extensions will be allowed for travellers under this programme. VWP holders will be able to transit or travel through US to Canada or Mexico as well.
In order to travel to the US under the VWP, travellers must first obtain a valid Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) approval ahead of the trip. ESTA is the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) automated web-based system to determine eligibility to travel without a visa to the US for tourism or business.
As of current status, Malaysians who are planning to travel to the US on non-immigrant visa must apply for it at least three months in advance of the intended date of travel. Based on different travel categories, Malaysians pay somewhere between RM600 to RM1,000 for each visa that allows them stay of up to 90 days.
When speaking to a local daily in Malaysia, Malaysian deputy prime minister, Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Malaysia is yet to fulfill one of the conditions that will enable the country to participate in the programme. Malaysia needs to achieve visitor (B) visa refusal rate of less than 3%. Currently, Malaysia’s rate of rejection is 3.7% and the country is confident that it will reduce the rate to the expected 3% by 2018.
Other conditions include having enhanced law enforcement and security-related data sharing with the United States, issuance of e-Passports, timely reporting of both blank and issued lost and stolen passports and maintenance of high counter-terrorism, law enforcement, border control and document security standards.
If Malaysia is able to participate in this programme, it will be an added freedom of mobility for Malaysians travelling to the US. Currently, Malaysians are able to travel to 154 countries visa-free. An average of 42,000 Malaysians apply for the US visa each year.
Traveller categories that are not allowed on the VWP include those travelling to the US for following purposes – academic, employment, media or permanent residence. Travellers from these categories require visas to travel to the US.
Based on VWP Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, nationals of VWP countries, who are also nationals of Iraq, Iran, Syria or Sudan, are no longer eligible to travel to the US under the VWP. Nationals of VWP who have travelled to Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, or Yemen on or after March 1, 2011 are also restricted from travelling to the US under this programme. Limited exceptions only allowed for travel on diplomatic or military purposes only. These individuals can still apply for visa using the regular appointment process at their respective country’s US Embassy.