KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Immigration Department collected RM4,729,570 in fines from 8,911 foreigners who voluntarily came forward within 90 days of visa expiry under an initiative to address overstaying issues.
The initiative, which ran from June 16, 2023, to May 1, 2024, was carried out at all Immigration enforcement offices across the country, including 22 Immigration offices at the country's entry points.
Through this initiative, Immigration offered fines and exemption from prosecution for foreign nationals who overstayed their visas and voluntarily came forward within 90 days.
Additionally, the Immigration department is implementing a new initiative this year, starting from March 1, 2024, known as the Migrant Repatriation Program, it said in a written reply on Wednesday (Nov 27).
As of Sept 30, 2024, a total of 139,678 foreign nationals have registered for this programme, and 124,040 have returned to their home countries.
Previously, the Immigration Department had implemented the recalibration programme for undocumented immigrants to return to their countries from Dec 21, 2020, to Dec 31, 2022.
During this period, 295,518 undocumented migrants registered for the programme, and 257,819 returned to their countries of origin.
As of Sept 30, 2024, Immigration has conducted 15,467 enforcement operations, leading to the arrest of 35,422 foreign nationals.
Out of these, 24,987 were found to be in the country without valid passports/documents, while 5,439 had overstayed.
Meanwhile, to control the influx of foreign nationals at the country's main entry points, the Immigration Department has implemented a series of strict measures.
This includes conducting random checks on travellers who remain at the KLIA Satellite Terminal for more than six hours and issuing Not-To-Land Notices (NPM) to suspicious individuals.
From January to Nov 15 this year, a total of 29,572 foreign visitors were denied entry and sent back to their home countries under this initiative.
The Immigration Department has also implemented random checks at baggage collection areas to ensure Immigration stamps and endorsements are properly issued, serving as a check-and-balance for their inspections.
Additionally, the government has procured the Advance Passenger Screening System (APS), which enables early screening of travellers by the control centre, only allowing those without criminal records or suspicious status to fly into Malaysia.
To further tighten controls, the Immigration Department has made it mandatory for all visitors to complete the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC), facilitating the tracking of foreign nationals and ensuring they have return tickets during Immigration checks to prevent overstaying.
In addition to these measures at the entry points, the Immigration Department has carried out 18,163 enforcement operations since November 2024, resulting in the arrest of 41,906 undocumented migrants.
