Zahid: Malaysia confident of acceptance into US Visa Waiver Programme

THURSDAY, APRIL 14 KUALA LUMPUR- Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi attends Vaisakhi Day Hi Tea at Sentul Gurdwara Sahib, Sentul at 1015 (0215 GMT); KUALA LUMPUR- Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi officiates National Key Targets Seminar 2016 at Sasana Kijang Auditorium, Sasana Kijang at 1145 (0345 GMT)

WASHINGTON: Malaysia is confident of being able to participate in the US Visa Waiver Programme (VWP) by year end.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic) said Malaysia was currently making efforts to lower the percentage of rejected US visa applications currently at 3.34, mostly on technical grounds.

"The number of rejected applications is higher than the three per cent set by the US government," he told Malaysian reporters here, Tuesday.

Ahmad Zahid who is also Home Minister arrived here on Tuesday morning for a one-week working visit to attend the Nuclear Security Summit.

The deputy prime minister said Malaysians who apply for visa to enter the US must ensure that they do not make any error when filling up the forms as it could delay Malaysia's acceptance into the VWP.

He said awareness campaigns had been carried out by the US Embassy with the cooperation of the Malaysia-US Friendship Association and business council to guide Malaysians on applying for the visa via online.

Meanwhile, he said the Home ministry, particularly the Immigration Department, had already fulfilled the condition to channel reports in real time and within 24 hours to Interpol on any loss and theft of Malaysian passports.     

"The Home ministry has fulfilled the conditions set by the US government except for the Visa application rejections which are still more than the stipulated three percent," he said. - Bernama