Entering by boat: Malaysia

Before you arrive

• Online procedure: Pas de préavis obligatoire pour les yachts ; Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) recommandée pour chaque personne jusqu'à 3 jours avant ; Ship Clearance System en ligne du Jabatan Laut — imigresen-online.imi.gov.my/mdac/main

The steps

1. Fill in the MDAC online for each person (recommended).
2. Harbour master (Jabatan Laut) with the yacht's papers.
3. Immigration (60-day tourist visa on arrival for most nationalities).
4. Customs; on departure repeat the circuit and get the port clearance.

Papers to have on board

• Passports for the whole crew
• Crew list
• Boat papers (registration certificate)
• Outward clearance from the previous country

Good to know

• No official published list of ports of entry for pleasure craft: list compiled from cruising guides.
• Order: harbour master (Jabatan Laut), immigration, customs; on every departure, even to another Malaysian port, get a port clearance.
• Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan run their own immigration control: clear out of Sabah at Kota Kinabalu before entering Labuan (federal territory).
• Langkawi: marine officers require an agent for motor boats over 24 m (sometimes catamarans too).
• East coast of Sabah (south of Sandakan): night curfew for boats and security issues reported.

Ports of entry

The ports where you can clear in, and the services available there.

Sources

• southeastasiapilot.com/malaysia-procedures/
• noonsite.com/place/malaysia/west-coast-malaysia/pulau-langkawi/view/clearance
• v3.noonsite.com/place/malaysia/malaysian-borneo-sabah/kota-kinabalu/view/clearance
• noonsite.com/place/malaysia/malaysian-borneo-sarawak/miri/view/clearance

This information is gathered from public sources and sailors’ experience. It does not replace the country’s authorities, whose word is final: check before you leave.