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I am flying from Delhi to Sydney via Kuala Lumpur (KL). The Delhi to KL leg is on Malaysia Airlines and the KL to Sydney leg is on AirAsia. Because of this I would need to collect my luggage and check in again. My layover is for approximately four hours.

I am an Indian passport holder and have a 2-year tourist visa (multiple entry, maximum stay of 3 months) for Australia.

Am I eligible for Transit Without a Visa in Kuala Lumpur?

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  • Do you have two separate tickets? If you have a single booking, even on different carriers, it is likely that you can get baggage checked through.
    – hmakholm left over Monica
    Dec 28, 2016 at 12:50
  • @HenningMakholm Air Asia is a low-cost carrier and doesn't interline even with itself unless you pay extra.
    – lambshaanxy
    Dec 29, 2016 at 5:19

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Am I eligible for TWOV at KL?

Yes, nationals of India can get transit without a visa (TWOV) and enter Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for 5 days with the following conditions since you have a valid visa from Australia:

Source: Ministry Of Foreign affairs Malaysia

  • TWOV cannot be given to visitors who do not possess visa from 3rd country of destination as follows: · Australia, · New Zealand, · United States of America, · Japan,China, · Taiwan, · South Korea.
  • TWOV facility cannot exceed more than 120 hours (5 days).
  • TWOV cannot be offered to passengers sponsored by airlines other than Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia and Malindo Air. At present only these 3 airlines have agreed and accepted all terms and conditions imposed by the Malaysian Government.
  • TWOV facility is not available at entry point other than Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2).
  • TWOV cannot be given to visitors who do not fulfil the following:
    • Valid national passport or internationally recognized travel document;
    • Travel documents valid for more than six (6) months from the date of entry;
    • A return ticket to country of origin; · Not listed in the Immigration Department’s suspected list.

However there is an issue. Your flight with Malaysian Airlines (MH 191) is reaching Kuala Lumpur main terminal and your next flight AirAsia from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney is from KLIA2, which means you will need to pass immigration and customs. Furthermore, you also need to transfer to KLIA2, which is a separate terminal for low-cost airline Airasia.

In 4 hours it is highly unlikely you can make it if your flight lands on time, you pass immigration and customs quickly and get a transfer to KLIA2. Honestly I would prefer a different itinerary, either getting a transit time of at least 6 hours or getting a Sydney flight on another day as you are entitled to enter and stay in Kuala Lumpur for 5 days.

Also, there is a contradiction in Timatic, which confirms all the above requirements except "transit time which should be at least 8 hours":

Visa required, except for holders of a valid visa issued by Australia, China (People's Rep.), Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea (Rep.), New Zealand or USA to nationals of India residing in country of nationality holding confirmed onward tickets for a max. transit. For details, click here time of 120 hours, arriving at and departing from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) on Malaysia Airlines (MH) or Air Asia (AK). When transit time is longer than 8 hours it is permitted to leave the transit area if:For details, click here (SEE NOTE 48423) NOTE 48423: Transit between Main Terminal and KLIA2 is also permitted. When leaving the airport transit area, passports must be valid for at least 6 months from date of arrival.

Timatic requires at least 8 hours of stay in Kuala Lumpur if permitted to enter/change terminals in Kuala Lumpur whereas official Ministry of Foreign Affairs doesn't mention anything regarding minimum 8 hours of stay, I would simply confirm from Malaysian Embassy/Consulate regarding a requirement of q minimum of 8 hours just to clear ambiguity. Otherwise you will be fine with all the other requirements.

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  • Why would you confirm the 8-hour transit with the Embassy, since it ontly depends on the connection, i.e. it mostly depends on the airlines?
    – Vince
    Dec 28, 2016 at 16:05
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    @Vince if still there is a minimum at least 8 hours required , OP wouldn't be able to get a twov for 4 hours transfer between main klia and klia2
    – Ali Awan
    Dec 28, 2016 at 17:06
  • With separate tickets and changing airports, I think I would want more than 8 hours of transit time anyway!
    – Michael Hampton
    Dec 28, 2016 at 17:40
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    If your flights are on time and you get through immigration fast, it is certainly possible. KLIA and KLIA2 are well-connected via KLIA transit train, and it is quite fast to get between them - I'd say 1hr from KLIA passport control to KLIA2 passport control. However AFAIR Indians (and Nepal and Bangladesh citizens) need to go through a special immigration booths for transit, and last time I've been to KUL there was a long line there, so it is possible that it might take a while.
    – George Y.
    Dec 28, 2016 at 23:17
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    +1 to George, 4 hours sounds quite feasible. Definitely risky though if the first flight is delayed, and the 8-hour thing is rather odd.
    – lambshaanxy
    Dec 29, 2016 at 5:19

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