Malaysia Emigration and Immigration

Online Records

 * 1890-1960 Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960 at FindMyPast; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Malaysia

Finding the Town of Origin in Malaysia
If you are using emigration/immigration records to find the name of your ancestors' town in Malaysia, see Malaysia Finding Town of Origin for additional research strategies.

Malaysia Emigration and Immigration
"Emigration" means moving out of a country. "Immigration" means moving into a country. Emigration and immigration sources list the names of people leaving (emigrating) or arriving (immigrating) in the country. These sources may be passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, or records of passports issued. The information in these records may include the emigrants’ names, ages, occupations, destinations, and places of origin or birthplaces. Sometimes they also show family groups.

Immigration and naturalization records (Imigrasi, pewarganegaraan)
Research use: Very valuable for making proper connections to place of origin in other countries, and for pinpointing place of residence in Indonesia. Many researchers do not know their ancestor's place of origin.

Record type: Record of immigrants, foreign residents, and citizens.

Time Period: 1800-present.

Content: Immigrant’s name, age, occupation, birth date and place, former residence, destination; wife’s name, childrens’ given names and ages or number of children; religion, race, nationality, sometimes picture. Chinese immigration records give names and places in Chinese characters.

Location: National Archives, municipal archives, Chinese community kapitans.

Population coverage: 5%.

Reliability: Good.

For Further Reading

 * Immigration to Malaysia
 * Malaysian Chinese
 * Arrival of the Chinese in the Malay Peninsula
 * The origins of the Hokkien, Cantonese, and Other Chinese Dialect Groups in Malaysia
 * Tamil Malaysians
 * From Ancient Times to Modern Days: A Brief History of Indian Migration to Malaysia
 * India's Diaspora Policy: A Case Study of Indians in Malaysia
 * Indians in Malaysia
 * Malaysian Diaspora