KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians eager to travel abroad are now spoilt for choice, with up to 40 countries opening their doors to tourists.
However, while Canada, Nepal, Dubai and island destinations such as Seychelles and Maldives have welcomed foreign travellers, most have imposed conditions, the main one being that they
have to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
Other conditions include having a negative Covid-19 test result as well as mandatory quarantine, with policies varying from one country to another.
Regardless of nationality, Canada had from Sept 7 begun accepting fully vaccinated travellers who must present their vaccination record and recent negative Covid-19 test results. It exempts travellers from quarantine upon arrival and the eighth day Covid-19 test.
Travellers will be allowed entry if they show no symptoms of Covid-19, have been fully vaccinated with accepted Covid-19 vaccines or a combination of two accepted vaccines and uploaded proof of their vaccination to ArriveCAN, a mobile app to provide mandatory travel information required for entry into Canada.
Fully vaccinated travellers heading for Nepal will be subject to Rapid Antigen Tests at the country's air and land entry points.
Travellers who have been fully immunised do not have to undergo quarantine upon arrival, but must have a negative Covid-19 result 72 hours prior, while those who are unimmunised or partially inoculated must serve a 10-day hotel quarantine and undergo a Covid-19 test on day 11.
Essential documents include vaccination certificates, hotel bookings or mountaineering or trekking permits, if applicable, and the Covid-19 Crisis Management Centre form. Travellers must produce vaccination certificates in English, while unvaccinated children aged 5 to 18 must undergo Covid-19 tests.
Before heading to Dubai, travellers must have a negative Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test result no more than 72 hours before departure. Other tests, like antibody and home testing kits, are not accepted.
An official printed or digital certificate in English or Arabic must be brought along.
Seychelles permits entry for Malaysians with no travel history to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Brazil in the past 14 days.
According to its Foreign Affairs and Tourism Ministry up to Sept 13, Seychelles accepts visitors regardless of their vaccination status, provided they have a negative Covid-19 PCR test result within 72 hours prior to travel. But it encouraged travellers to be fully immunised.
It does not require quarantine for travellers, who will be allowed free movement but must adhere to all public health measures.
In Maldives, there is no mandatory quarantine upon arrival for tourists as long as they do not display Covid-19 symptoms. Those who do have symptoms are subject to PCR tests.
Tourists must have proof of a negative PCR test result obtained within 96 hours of departure from the first port of embarkation en route to the destination.
They must complete an online Travel Health Declaration form within 24 hours of their departure, download the Trace Ekee contact tracing app and have reservations at a registered accommodation for their entire stay.
Before leaving Maldives, tourists must have a negative PCR test within 72 hours before being able to check out of tourist guest houses on local islands.
Several countries have recommended that tourists get travel insurance with Covid-19 coverage.
Closer to home, Malaysians can opt to fly to Bali, Indonesia, where they will be allowed entry upon presenting a valid visa, a vaccine certificate and a negative Covid-19 test result.
But Indonesian authorities have imposed a mandatory eight-day quarantine at designated facilities, where two PCR tests will be conducted upon arrival and before checking out.
A negative Covid-19 result will grant travellers freedom to continue their journey to Bali and their travel itinerary must be uploaded to the Indonesia Health Alert Card (eHAC) system.
An Immigration Department source said while the government did not have a list of countries Malaysians could visit, they could visit any destination that has reopened for tourism.
"While abroad, they will be bound by Covid-19 procedures of the country.
"Upon their return to Malaysia, they will be subject to conditions set by the Health Ministry and must undergo quarantine," the source said.
The department's security and passport division on its official website said in line with the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, fully vaccinated Malaysians were allowed to travel overseas without the need to apply for the MyTravelPass, effective Monday.
It said those who return to the country must undergo quarantine, which is subject to the ministry's procedures.
Ismail Sabri said fully vaccinated Malaysians could travel abroad not just for official matters, but also for tourism.
Those returning to Malaysia must undergo Covid-19 tests to ensure they are virus-free and undergo 14 days of self-quarantine.
Ismail Sabri said Malaysians could undergo quarantine at home, while those with symptoms would be admitted to designated quarantine centres.