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 to Malaysia
The Malaysian Chinese people are Malaysian citizens of Han Chinese ethnicity. They form the second largest ethnic group after the Malay majority constituting 23% of the Malaysian population. Most of them are descendants of Southern Chinese immigrants who arrived in Malaysia between the early 19th century and the mid-20th century. Malaysian Chinese form the second largest community of Overseas Chinese in the world, after Thai Chinese. Malaysian Chinese are traditionally dominant in the business sector of the Malaysian economy.

Emigration From Malaysia
Population of the Malaysia diaspora in 2019: Major Populations For countries with smaller Malaysian populations, see Malaysian diaspora.
 * Malaysians in Brunei are mostly expatriates working in the petroleum industry (Brunei Shell Petroleum oil company).
 * Malaysians in India consist of expatriates and international students from Malaysia as well as Indian people of Malaysian descent and most of them are ethnic Malaysians of Indian origin, working as well as studying in the home country of their ancestors. In 2011, an estimated 2,500 Malaysians, mostly working for Malaysian-based companies as well as 2,000 students, reside in India, mainly in South India.
 * The overseas Malaysian diaspora in Singapore is one of the largest with the number standing at 952,261 in 2019, making them the world's largest Malaysian diaspora community. Many Malaysians in Singapore are usually expatriates, working in various industries of the Singapore economy since its rapid industrialization in the 1970s.
 * At the 2016 Census 138,364 Australian residents stated that they were born in Malaysia.
 * As of 2006 census, there is around 14,547 Malaysian-born people lived in New Zealand.
 * The Malaysian community in the United Kingdom is one of the west's largest, this is mainly due to the influence of the British Empire on Malaysia.
 * Singapore: 952,261
 * Bangladesh: 206,244
 * Australia: 174,136
 * United Kingdom: 84,638
 * United States: 77,647
 * Brunei: 52,001
 * Canada: 25,337
 * Hong Kong: 19,787
 * India: 12,228

Records of Malaysia Emigrants in Their Destination Nations

 * United States Emigration and Immigration
 * Canada Emigration and Immigration
 * Singapore Emigration and Immigration
 * Australia Emigration and Immigration
 * England Emigration and Immigration
 * Brunei Emigration and Immigration
 * Canada Emigration and Immigration
 * China Emigration and Immigration
 * India Emigration and Immigration

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