Visa Requirements for Langkawi Yacht Owners

[Gone2long]

Hello everyone,


I am planning to buy a boat in Langkawi, Malaysia in the next month. The boat is registered and moored in Langkawi as well.


I am wondering if, I as the owner, can be granted a longer stay than would normally apply to me as an American tourist.



Also, I will have a Philippine crew member aboard. Wondering how that will effect the crew's visa standing in Langkawi. Can the crew stay aboard as long as the boat is in Langkawi?


Hope someone out there can help me with these issues.


Best,


G2L

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by Gone2long

I am planning to buy a boat in Langkawi, Malaysia in the next month. The boat is registered and moored in Langkawi as well.


I am wondering if, I as the owner, can be granted a longer stay than would normally apply to me as an American tourist.

You're asking on an internet forum?

The only people who could answer authoritatively would be in Malaysian Immigration.

And even then ...

I remember one case of a cruiser who was trying to lengthen his stay in MY. He was, I understand, using an MY immigration agent in the hope of gaining either an investor visa or some such. To cut the story short, something went wrong (meaning that the agent may have done a deal with someone else to assume the business assets of the cruiser in question) and the cruiser spent time in immigration detention, suffered serious health problems in detention, was deported, brought back to acceptable health by government agencies of his home country, and lost his boat and business assets.

My understanding - based on spending several years cruising in MY - TH - SG etc waters, is that if you fly into MY, you will be given a social visit pass (i.e. as an "American tourist"). Regardless of whether you later take ownership of a vessel registered on the Langkawi Register or not, you can apply in good time to MY Immigration to extend your social visit pass, or leave MY for a time and then re-enter.

If you enter on your own cruiser, you get that same social visit pass. You can then exit and sail to TH, SG, Indon etc, and later re-enter.

Quite a few liveaboards in MY waters have, over the past several decades, left their boats in MY waters and travelled by land briefly to TH or SG by land and then returned. Once upon a time (meaning in the 1990s), cruisers could pass the land border into TH at Bukit Kayu Hitam, take lunch in TH, and then re-enter MY. My understanding, limited though it is, is that MY Immigration increasingly frowned upon that practice, to the point that it may now be impossible and impractical.

Of course, in all such things, YMMV and conversing confidently in Bahasa Melayu with MY Immigration officers to the point of offering them some duit kopi may ease your way. Or not.

[Gone2long]

Loved your quote: “Fools say that you can only gain experience at your own expense, but I have always contrived to gain my experience at the expense of others.” - Otto von Bismarck"

So now you know why I'm asking on an internet thread ; )

Regarding the important stuff, thanks for your input. I was in Langkawi about 11 years ago looking at a boat there, and I ran the back-and-forth visa gauntlet from there to Thailand. Apparently, not much has changed, but it's good to hear that from someone with more experience.

Regarding your aquaintance who lost his boat: I figure that he must have made the mistake of overstaying in the first place. No? Scuttlebut is that you have to extend at least a couple of days before the visa actually expires to be sure you meet the deadline. Sounds like he missed it and may have inadvertently made an enemy or two along the way. Easy to do given the cultural differnces.


In any case, thanks for your help.


Best,


G2L