Journey to Malaysia–PART I

 

Yahoo!! I’m of too Malaysia! To study, at the CEDEC based in  Universiti Sains Malaysia. So this is my first in many series to come as to how life is going to turn out for me, an Indian on a mission overseas, So let me tell you my story and also details about procedures and bureaucracy one may encounter on a study trip to Malaysia.

So without much delay let me start of..

The first process like any other, academic institution is to get admission to the university. This is the normal procedure; the university website will provide necessary information regarding this, in my case It took me 2 months to get shortlisted.

The next thing to do, is wait; You will receive an offer letter from the University stating the necessary details of admission. So, I received mine near mid November. Together with the letter you will receive a manual,fee details and an University Brochure- Complete with forms for further applications.

It’s interesting to note that the mail normally takes  9-10 days by ordinary post. The University responds by ordinary post, however me and my pals send the documents from here via Blue Dart / DHL; expensive but fast plus you can track the status of the parcel. The important thing to know is that you must  ensure you send the mail via University Mail, for this you can use your previous institute’s name as the sender, this allows you to avail concession on the postage.

So all that done, you now have to take a medical check-up, a routine one with all normal tests and also the best part you get to know you are fit and healthy. Once this is done you need to now send the acceptance letter, the medical report forms and also copies of your passport to the University. The University will then on your behalf apply for a “Student Pass” over there in Malaysia. This is your visa it normally takes 1 – 2 months to process. So be prepared for the long wait. You can however go to Malaysia on a Tourist Visa, But you cannot register at the university in case you were wondering if you could register/ stay there and then wait for the Student pass to come over there, and thus, then continue on with your studies with the student pass. This is not possible.

The student pass endorsement/visa is given to you only in Malaysia at your University. However once you are cleared for immigration by the Malaysian Immigration Department then you will receive a ‘Immigration Approval Letter’ Using this letter you need to contact the Malaysian Consulate at Chennai ( nearest to you ) and get  your passports endorsed for journey to malaysia – Will post further developments.

Well right now I’m still waiting for my Student Pass to come I expect it to come by the end of this month.