Only citizens of 10 countries allowed to use KLIA autogates, says Home Minister

SEPANG: Subsequent assessments will be done to evaluate the need of allowing more countries to use the autogate facilities at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

The Home Minister said that at the moment, only 10 countries were allowed to use the facilities following risk assessments made by the authorities.

"Immigration screening was not only made to allow foreign visitors to enter our country but there were also other security aspects as well.

"(Due to that reason) As of now, we only allow 10 countries to use the autogates. And we will review (the need to add more) from time to time.

"That’s the international security standard," he told reporters after launching the Malaysia Autogate for Foreign Visitors at KLIA here on Monday (Feb 27).

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The 10 countries are Australia, Brunei, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, United States and the United Kingdom.

Saifuddin said the extension of the facilities to these countries will benefit 885,000 visitors or 27.1% of the total foreign visitors entering the country.

The passport holders of the country must ensure their documents are valid for at least six months, complete the online Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) three days before arrival in Malaysia and for first time visits, travellers are required to verify their biometrics at the immigration counter.

Earlier, Saifuddin told the Dewan Rakyat that to reduce congestion at KLIA, the government would extend the autogate facilities for foreigners from the 10 low-risk countries.

He said this would be a part of the ministry’s effort to address the issue while ensuring the comfort of foreign visitors at the country’s entry point.

The extension of the facility was the second after similar effort was done at Johor Baru’s Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex that allow Singaporeans to use the autogate facilities.