Sg Tujuh Issues Visas On Arrival
By Zasika Musdi

Bandar Seri Begawan - Foreign nationals who already have visas to enter Singapore or Thailand can be issued visas on arrival at the Sarawak-Brunei border checkpoint (at the Sungai Tujuh Miri Immigration checkpoint), which has been effective since March 1.

However, no foreigner has applied for the facility yet due to the lack of awareness.

According to the Borneo Post Online, it has earlier been implemented at Kuching International Airport. This was revealed on Thursday by the Director of Immigration Sarawak Datu Robert Lian during the launching of the visa at Sungai Tujuh Immigration Complex.

Miri Immigration Chief Mathew Dominic Barin and Sungai Tujuh Post Immigration chief Kamarol Johari were also present at the event.

Other entry points with the visa facility are Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Penang International Airport, Senai International Airport in Johore, Kota Kinabalu International Airport in Sabah and the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex,-Tanjung Kupang in Johore.

"We are yet to receive applications from those eligible who wish to go into Miri or Sarawak through Brunei. If they don't have time to apply for a visa from the Malaysian Embassy there, they can apply it from here," Robert Lian said.

The implementation also minimises the hassle visitors and tourists face when applying for visa before entering Sarawak.

Among the sub-continents eligible for the visa are India, Pakistan and Nepal, whose many nationals are working in the Sultanate.

Robert Lian stressed that the visa, for which the applicant had to pay RM100, were strictly for visitors or tourists and valid for only one month. A tourist or visitor will be deemed 'over-staying' if they continue to stay in the state without applying for extension of their visa.

According to Robert Lian, incidents of over-staying amongst westerners were rare unlike visitors from Asian countries, particularly China. The common reason given was that they still had a lot of relatives in Sarawak to visit. On the immigration checkpoint, the director revealed that there are about 2,000 to 3,000 people (Malaysian and foreigners) passing through the border in a day.

For the whole month of January, 162,879 people passed through the border. In February, the number increased to 187,990. Most of those passing through the Sungai Tujuh checkpoint were foreigners, he said.

There are around 40,000 Malaysians living and working in the Sultanate according to a survey by Malaysian Association in Brunei.

"In January, Malaysians coming to Miri (from Brunei) through Sungai Tujuh were around 72,853, whilst foreigners around 90,026. So there were more foreigners than Malaysians coming here. I hope they will continue to come," he said, adding that he believed most Malaysians going through the border were visiting relatives and friends in Limbang, Lawas and even Kota Kinabalu where they had to pass through Brunei to get to their destination.

Sungai Tujuh Miri Immigration checkpoint, ranked fifth most active and busy amongst international entry points in Malaysia, plays an important role in that most visitors not only visit relatives or friends, but also spend their money via shopping and entertainment in Miri.

Robert Lian said the Immigration Department wanted to ensure that all visitors or tourists going to Miri and Malaysia through Sungai Tujuh were genuine, and not looking for business or working opportunities. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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