Immigration to Malaysia

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Immigration to Malaysia is the process by which people migrate to Malaysia to reside in the country. The majority of these individuals become Malaysian citizens. After 1957, domestic immigration law and policy went through major changes, most notably with the Immigration Act 1959/63. Malaysian immigration policies are still evolving.

In Malaysia there are four categories of immigrants: family class (closely related persons of Malaysian residents living in Malaysia), economic immigrants (skilled workers and business people), other (people accepted as immigrants for humanitarian or compassionate reasons) and refugees (people who are escaping persecution, torture or cruel and unusual punishment).

Currently, Malaysia is known as a country with a broad immigration policy which is reflected in Malaysia's ethnic diversity. According to the 2010 census by the Department of Statistics Malaysia, Malaysia has more than 50 ethnic groups with at least 40% of Malaysians being a first- or second-generation immigrant; also around 30% of Malaysian residents in late 2010s are not born on Malaysian soil.^{[citation needed]}