Malaysia has become a popular destination for many international students. Malaysian universities draw attention to a number of students from all over the world. There are reasons due to which the students want to study in Malaysia and the reasons are: low cost of education, easy study visa options etc. Whatever the reason is, if you have decided to Study in Malaysia, then the first step is to apply for a student visa.
First of all, students must apply for the student pass in Malaysia and once they receive the pass, they will get the student visa easily. Malaysian institutes take this responsibility of issuing the student pass, so, all you need to do is to just focus on getting a Visa Approval Letter (VAL) from the institute where you have sent your application.
Before that, the student must also check the eligibility requirements for a student visa. Also, getting the visa application documents ready is most important so that it becomes easier for the Malaysian institute to send a VAL to you.
Malaysian Student Visa Eligibility Requirements
There are a few eligibility requirements which need to be met by the applicants in order to get a student visa in Malaysia:
- Applicants should have completed minimum 12-years of education.
- They must have taken a national or international exam recognized by the respective Ministry of Education to be eligible for a student visa.
- If the applicant has completed his/her education in an English-speaking country, scores in exams such as SAT, GRE, GMAT etc. are not required.
- In order to obtain a student visa for Malaysia, the applicant also need to meet the English Language Proficiency Test requirements.
Documents Required to Apply for a Student Visa
Documents required to apply for student visa to study in Malaysia are as follows:
- Attested copies of mark sheets, including secondary and post-secondary qualifications.
- Proof of full-time course of study.
- English language proficiency certificate- IELTS and TOEFL.
- GMAT or GRE scores, depending on the programme you have applied for.
- A copy of the filled-in and signed visa application form.
- Offer letter from your chosen Malaysian institution.
- Photocopies of passport. [Must be valid for 1 year].
- Passport-size photographs.
Once you have the documents ready, you need to send them to your chosen institution.
Steps to Get Student Visa in Malaysia
Step 1. Apply via the chosen institute
First of all, you need to apply to the institute you have chosen to study. Depending upon the type of institution, applications can be submitted either online or offline. There are application forms for the student pass that can be downloaded from Malaysia’s Ministry of Higher Education website.
After you send the documents and filled-in application form to the shortlisted university, they will process your student pass. Normally, it takes around two weeks from the day you submit all the documents to issue the student pass for an international student.
There are also some Malaysian institutes that require offline submission of the documents and applications where you can send over all the documents directly to the chosen university.
Step 2. Confirmation of acceptance
The Malaysian Immigration Department will issue the Visa Approval Letter to the institution where you apply. It is the responsibility of the institute to send the VAL to the student’s country.
Step 3. Get the Visa Stamp on Your Passport
After you receive the Visa Approval Letter, you need to visit your nearest Malaysian embassy with your offer letter, payment receipts and other documents to get a visa stamp on your passport.
The institute will send a delegate to receive you at the airport when you arrive at Malaysia to take admission. You have to inform the institute about your flight timing in advance. Within 2 weeks, the Immigration Department will stick a student pass to your passport.
Cost of Malaysia student visa
The cost of the student visa varies from institute to institute. On an average, the fee for a student pass can be roughly RM 60 (INR 1,051) and fee for the student visa can vary from RM 15 (INR 263) to RM 90 (INR 1,580). The applicants are also required to pay a security bond deposit also known as ‘personal bond’ while applying for a study visa and its cost depends on the country of origin. In some institutes, health insurance etc. is also required.
Applicants should also remember to renew your student visa at least 1-month prior to its expiry. The visa renewal process will depend on the institute. Each Malaysian university has rules for study visa renewal process.
In order to obtain more details regarding Malaysia student visa, eligibility, requirements, and student visa fees, students can access the official Malaysia student visa online portal.
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