CNI News
6 February 2024
Undocumented foreigners including Myanmar citizens, overstayers and so on would not be prosecuted and they all would be allowed to go home, said the Malaysian Minister for Home Affairs at the news conference held on 31st January 2023.
This plan would be started on 1st March at the decision of the cabinet, said the minister.
Although undocumented foreigners would not be prosecuted, they would face a fine, U Barbu Gyi who is helping in the affairs of Myanmar nationals in Malaysia, told CNI News.
" The plan that have allowed any undocumented foreigners to go home has been suspended for over one year. According to their plan, an undocumented Myanmar citizen has to go to the Malaysian immigration department after getting a certificate of endorsement that he or she is a Myanmar citizen from the Myanmar Embassy. And then, he must pay a fine at the immigration office after which he can go home. No more inspection will be needed. But they haven't announced whether undocumented foreigners will have to take appointments or not." he said.
While the Malaysian Minister for Home Affairs was answering media to their questions
An undocumented foreigner who entered Malaysia illegally without a passport must pay 500 ringgits as a fine. And an overstayer with a passport expired also must pay 500 ringgits as a fine as well as 300 ringgits have been fined for the violations of the rules reportedly.
It was likely that Malaysian Government was trying to reduce a lot of undocumented foreigners who has stranded in Malaysia, said Myanmar people in Malaysia.
Among the undocumented Myanmar citizens in Malaysia, there were a lot of Myanmar citizens who were waiting to go home with CIs and some of undocumented Myanmar people wanted to wait for the time when permits would be issued, U Nyi Nyi Lwin, director general of the Center for Arakan Refugees, told CNI News.
" There are two kinds. Arrests are rampant. In a situation an undocumented foreigner can't stay any longer, he wants to go home with a CI. But some undocumented foreigners want to go on staying if permits could be applied. But Myanmar Embassy takes very long to issue passports. Just a few Myanmar people could apply for passports all over the last year because it takes you six months or one year to get a passport from Myanmar Embassy. Other embassies issue passports within 24 hours or 36 hours or 48 hours. So, other foreigners can take advantage of the opportunity. On the other hand, Myanmar people had to lose the opportunity." he said.
Undocumented foreigners who have been arrested
Due to instability in Myanmar and the devaluation of Myanmar Kyat at present, it's more convenient to earn money by doing random jobs in Malaysia instead of going home. So, some undocumented Myanmar people don't want to go home reportedly.
Under the normal procedure in Malaysia, undocumented foreigners and overstayers could go home only after serving the sentence. However, it was better that they could go home without serving the sentence, said Myanmar people in Malaysia.
Because arrests are being conducted everyday in Malaysia, if Myanmar people who find it difficult to go on staying want to go home, they should go home under the CI program that will be started on 1st March 2024, they suggested.
