Malaysians applying to the Migration 5 countries: the criminal record sharing plan is paused, identity checks are not

News · 2026-09-28 · 4 min read

Planning a visa application for Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom or the United States? You may have noticed headlines about a shelved plan to share criminal records. For Malaysians the practical message is simple: one idea is on hold, yet the checks already in place carry on. Prepare each application as though your identity and travel history can be compared across borders.

Who the Migration 5 are

Those five countries form a group called the Migration 5 (M5), which cooperates on border and immigration matters. In April 2026 their leaders agreed to stop work, for now, on a proposal to exchange criminal conviction data about their own citizens.

What was on the table

The arrangements that already exist were designed around identity details for migration purposes. Criminal history is outside them, so New Zealand Police receive no conviction records and the partners do not trade information on their own nationals.

A later round of talks floated something narrower: sending anonymised fingerprint data to police or criminal record databases and asking whether there was a match. New Zealand concluded that its law offers foreign agencies no route into its police or court conviction data for immigration decisions. Nothing biometric or criminal was handed over while this was being explored, and the working group last met formally in a virtual session in March 2025.

Why the law is the brake

It was legal limits, not a lack of appetite, that stopped the proposal. Every country has its own privacy and criminal records rules, and none of them automatically lets a partner's border agency reach into domestic justice systems. If the idea returns, lawmakers will have to act first.

What carries on in the background

Paused is not the same as stopped. Automated exchanges of biometric and identity details between the partners are still running. New Zealand has had such agreements with most of them since the early 2010s, and the UK is the one exception. In May 2025 the partners settled on a quality-control framework, and the first yearly reviews started in early 2026. New Zealand's look at the 2025 calendar year found no privacy breaches, no security problems with system access and no accidental or improper disclosures.

The traffic is heavy. For the year to April 2026, Australia put more than one million traveller data requests to New Zealand and got 676 fingerprint matches. New Zealand sent roughly 4,000 requests to each of Canada, Australia and the UK, receiving 383, 340 and 283 positive matches respectively. Matches are a sliver of the requests, so think of it as a wide net that catches a handful of cases, most likely people another member's immigration authorities have met before.

A Malaysian applicant's checklist

Make your names and dates agree. The spelling on your passport, MyKad and Bahasa Malaysia documents should line up, and translations should follow the same spelling.
Request a police certificate when the visa asks for one. Apply to the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) for a Certificate of Good Conduct, and keep certified copies and English translations as the rules require.
Declare your history where a form asks. Character declarations are routine, and a false answer can bring a refusal or a ban.
Keep your paperwork in order. Earlier visa applications, refusals and travel documents matter more when identity data crosses borders.
Take advice if your history is complicated. With past convictions or refusals, speak to a qualified migration adviser or an immigration lawyer before you apply.

Up-to-date visa information sits on the Department of Home Affairs website.

The bottom line

This pause is not a loophole. Governments may reopen the idea if the legal frameworks change, and the identity system keeps running today. Accurate, consistent forms remain the safest approach.

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