An "express" lane for foreign students will be implemented this October. Foreign students who intend to pursue studies in branch campuses of foreign universities as we ll as private colleges and universities which have achieved Tier Five and above in the Rating System for Malaysian Higher Education Institutions (SETARA).

List of universities in the SETARA rating system, can be viewed here. Students studying at SETARA Tier Five institutions and foreign branch campuses would be granted visas for the duration of their courses instead of being subjected to annual renewal.

According to EMGS, a centre st up by the MoE for foreign student enrolment, the green lane policy would not discriminate the applicants based on the institutions they were applying to.

"All applicants will undergo the same screening process in order to qualify for student visas and they will get their visas within 14 working days," says Mohd Yazid Abd Hamid, CEO of EMGS.