Any user (in regardles of nationality)- individual, a group of individuals, educational and research institution or corporate entity seeking access to biological resources or the associated relevant knowledge.

Exemption is only given to i) public officers obtaining access to biological resources as part of their prescribed duties and responsibilitites in their respective organisation and as provided for in their respective Ordinance or Enactment which do not involve any collaboration with the second and third party ii) students who are registered with Sabah-based institution of higher learning (eg. UMS) and doing academic research without second and third party collaboration. (part ii has been deleted, referring to Sabah Biodiversity Enactment amended in 2017)

Yes.

A committee is setup to vet your access licence application and this committee meets four (4) times a year. Kindly be informed of the processing period and it is important that you comply with the terms and conditions to expedite service.

Yes, they may go under your application as group members. Kindly take note that you are required to include them when you apply for access licence. Failure to do so may result in further delays or rejection when you decided to include them later in your research project.

You are highly recommended to engage local research assistant(s) to help out in the field. However, should the locals cannot meet your research demands and you have decided to engage foreign research assistant(s), you are required to submit the following documents to SaBC for further considerations:

1. A letter from you (the principle investigator) to justify the needs for engaging foreign research assistant(s), specify the tasks and skills required, and to show that you have made the effort in finding local research assistant(s)
2. Passport copy of the foreign research assistant(s)
3. A letter of support from your organisation/university to hire/engage research assistant(s) for your research project
4. A letter of support from your local collaborator
5. A letter of support from resource manager(s)
6. Research assistant(s) curriculum vitae

Important note: You are to ensure there is no independent research (besides your research) carried out by your research assistant(s). This separate application is subject to approval and no guarantee for successful application.

The validity of your access licence depends on the research activities (that involve access) in Sabah. However, the licence is renewable depending on the nature of access activities. Validity period varies from 1 month to a maximum of 12 months. Kindly indicate when do you intend to access and the duration in the access licence application form.

It is the applicant's responsibility to be aware of the procedures/ rules and regulations before conducting research in Sabah. All information are as stated on our website and you are required to make the necessary early arrangements to obtain the documents. You should only confirm your travel dates once you receive email notifications from us notifying you the result of your access licence application as the committee has the right to reject research proposals as it deems fit.

There is no provision for temporary permission as all applications are vetted by the committee as well as it involves the Sabah State protocols before permission is given. It is an offense for any person who in contravention of the provisions of the Sabah Biodiversity Enactment 2000 engages in, carries out, or undertakes any access activity without having an access licence: Section 26(a). Please refer to the schedule published on our website to plan in advance.

Initial screening of your application will be done by SaBC to ensure everything is in order. Any incomplete documents, discrepancies found between documents and vague information will be queried by SaBC through email and you are obliged to answer these queries before we can process your application. If no queries, we will acknowledged receipt of your application through email. Kindly add sabc@sabah.gov.my to your email safe sender's list to ensure uninterrupted communication from us.

The day when you reply and finalise the queries by submitting the necessary information, particulars or documents to SaBC will be the date of your submission (not based on your first incomplete submission/ unclear information). It is highly recommended that you apply earlier to the various agencies to obtain the necessary supporting information, particulars or documents and submit your application to SaBC. In case there is query, you still have the time to gather the necessary information/ documents to meet the deadline as published on our website. Otherwise, your application can only be processed in the next window of submission.

Yes, you may collect your access licence before the validity period and proceed to apply for Professional Pass from the State Immigration of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu and to collect any entry pass from the resource manager(s) (if any). You are also required to keep the original copy of your access licence. However, you should only commence your fieldwork according to the validity date and any preconditions imposed must be complied with.

Kindly print out and complete the Statutory Declaration (signed and stamped) and hand it over to SaBC office in order to collect your Access Licence in person. Please take note that the Statutory Declaration Form must be signed in the presence of a Sessions Court Judge, Magistrate, or Commissioner for Oaths in Sabah or in Malaysia. 

You are required to adhere to the Compliance Requirements information provided to you when you receive an email notification informing you of the result of your application. You may also view the arrival guidelines as reference.

The Visit Pass is only for social visit purpose (i.e tourism) in Malaysia, it does not give you the provision to conduct research. The purpose of your visit (to conduct research) requires you to apply for Professional Pass in regardless of the duration of your stay.

Yes, you are required to do the followings:

1. Mention aerial survey/drone/ unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) usage to the respective resource manager(s) when you apply for permission to enter their area(s)
2. List down your drone specifications, the usage (including flying altitudes etc.) in your access licence application form and proposal
3. Write to two (2) departments; (i)State Internal Affairs & Research Office, Chief Minister's Department of Sabah and (ii) Department of Civil Aviation, Malaysia to obtain the necessary permission before submitting your access licence application to SaBC Note: Include support letter from Department of Survey & Mapping Malaysia, resource manager(s), date and time of operations/activites, flying radius and coordination, flying altitudes, drone specifications, operation purpose, company details (if any), drone pilot information (for operating drone above 20kg you need to provide Private Pilot Licence/ Commercial Pilot Licence).

If your research area(s) involve marine water/ marine park in the East Coast of Sabah, a written security clearance from the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) and/or National Security Council (Kota Kinabalu branch) is mandatory. You may write to the following address to obtain security feedback:

Secretary of State Security
Malaysian National Security Council
Prime Minister's Office
Level 6, Block A
Federal Government Administrative Complex
Jalan UMS
88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Tel: +6088 488 500
Fax: +6088 488 510

You may email your letter of request to mkn.sabah@gmail.com 

Note: You are required to follow the subsequent instructions stated by the Malaysian National Security Council once the letter is issued and forward to us a copy of the letter in order for us to process your access licence.

Yes, you may appeal through SaBC within the period of three (3) months beginning from the date you received the decision. 

• Letter of support from resource managers/ institutions/ local collaborator not attach together with your submission
• Discrepencies in information- access location listed in the form is different from letter of support from resource managers/ local collaborator and proposals; biological resources to which you are seeking access is different from what you seek to transfer/export different from your proposals
• Elaborate on the use of the biological resources which you seek to access. For example, "chemical analysis"/ "DNA analysis" not sufficient to describe the activity
• Group application- group members' passport copy not attach, no support from local collaborator/resource managers (these letters of support must have their names identified as reflected in the access form)
• Submitting your application 1 week (or less) before the deadline is not recommended. It usually takes more than 5 working days (or up to 1 month depending on the issues and institutions involve) to sort out the queries. You are recommended to read the instruction on our website carefully and make the necessary arrangement once you have decided to conduct your research in Sabah