Family visa in Malaysia

• The Long-Term Social Visit Pass is issued to foreign nationals who stay in Malaysia temporarily for at least six months. For the foreign husband or wife of a Malaysian citizen it may be granted for up to five years, if you are legally married to a citizen, hold a Social Visit Pass under the spouse facility, and apply together with your Malaysian spouse.
• Immigration lists separate checklists for other family situations, which are different routes from this one: the wife of a permanent resident (the marriage must be more than six months old), children of citizens (under 7, with the citizen parent applying) and widows of citizens. A spouse who joins a work-pass holder is a dependant under the work route.
• For entry from abroad, Immigration's Visa With Reference page has one category for the wife of a citizen (Category A) and one for the husband of a citizen (Category B), and it does not limit either to particular nationalities.

Sources: Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 17 October 2026.

• The pages we read set no savings, deposit or investment test for a spouse of a citizen. A new application asks for proof of your spouse's income (the last three months of salary slips, a bank book or Form J) and, for a self-employed spouse, a business licence or company registration, but the pass page gives no income figure.
• For a foreign husband's Visa With Reference, the test is a citizen wife's income of about RM2,000 a month. To be safe, have more than RM2,100 a month. The wife's category on the same page lists no income figure.
• Working on the pass does not need an Employment Pass, so the salary levels set for that pass do not apply; the work endorsement is a separate permission on your passport.

Sources: Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 17 October 2026.

• A new application asks for Forms Imm.12, Imm.38 (two copies) and Imm.55 (two copies), a sponsor statement form, a security bond form, an affidavit with a photograph stamped by a Commissioner for Oaths, the marriage registration certificate, postcard-sized wedding photos, your spouse's identity card and Malaysian passport, and a utility bill as proof of address. Add a divorce or death certificate if either of you was married before.
• An extension asks for Forms Imm.55 and Imm.38, a statutory declaration from both of you that the marriage is still binding, both identity cards, the marriage certificate (including one issued abroad), children's birth certificates and both passports with all printed pages. A wife's Visa With Reference from abroad adds two recent photographs of the couple and a questionnaire; a husband's also needs a letter to the Malaysian Embassy or High Commission.
• Work permission is listed two ways: one page asks for a letter of application, an appointment letter or proof of company registration, the marriage certificate and a valid pass; the pass page adds an affidavit, an employment contract with a RM10 revenue stamp and a MyData SSM company printout.
• Original documents must be shown for verification and only complete applications are accepted. A false statement is an offence under section 56(1)(f) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, with a fine of up to RM10,000, up to five years in prison, or both.

Sources: Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 17 October 2026.

• Applicants must be present with their spouse, on an extension too. From abroad, a Visa With Reference is issued by a Malaysian representative office after Immigration Headquarters approves it; the page does not say whether passports that are visa-exempt for visits also need one, so confirm with Immigration.
• You can ask for the work endorsement when you apply for the pass or at any time after it is issued, at the Visa, Pass and Permit Division in the state where you work, at Headquarters in Putrajaya, or at the nearest state office. Applications from Chinese and Nigerian nationals go to Headquarters rather than a state office.
• None of the spouse pages we read gives a processing time for the pass, an extension or a Visa With Reference, so it is unknown from these sources. Headquarters is at No. 15, Persiaran Perdana, Presint 2, 62550 Putrajaya, and the contact line is 03-8000 8000.

Sources: Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 17 October 2026.

• The visa fee table lists RM6.00 for a United States passport (single or multiple entry visa) and says countries not listed pay RM20.00; Canada, Australia and New Zealand are not in it. The security bond form on the application is stamped at RM10.00.
• Spouse work permission is an endorsement on your passport, and Immigration says it is free of charge. Neither the pass page nor the visa fees page lists a fee for the Long-Term Social Visit Pass itself or for its extension, so those fees are unknown from the official pages we read.

Sources: Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 17 October 2026.

• The pass may be granted for up to five years for a foreign spouse of a citizen, subject to approval and to the prescribed conditions, and the pass itself is for a stay of at least six months. Immigration has a documents page for extending a stay as a citizen's spouse but gives no length for an extension.
• Work permission has five conditions: the marriage is legally binding, you are eligible for or hold the pass, the work is lawful, the endorsement is placed on your passport by the Director General or an authorised officer, and you meet the Director General's requirements. The work page does not say how long the endorsement stays valid.
• Immigration runs a compliance check called Naziran, which can include visits to your registered address, interviews and a document review. Its findings inform later decisions on passes.

Sources: Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 17 October 2026.

• Immigration's Entry Permit page lists the wife of a Malaysian citizen and the husband of a Malaysian citizen among its four permanent residence categories. It describes the permit as having no time limit and revocable if conditions are broken, and it sets out no criteria or years.
• Immigration's pages set out no criteria or number of years for the spouse category, and we found no official statement of how long a foreign spouse must wait, so the waiting time and the step to citizenship are unknown here.

Sources: Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 16 October 2026.

• You are a Malaysian tax resident for a year if you spend 182 days or more in Malaysia in it, and shorter stays can count under the tax authority's linking rules. The pass page and the spouse employment conditions name no special tax regime for this pass.
• LHDN's slides say employment exercised in Malaysia is taxed on the full income from it, which covers a spouse's earnings under a work endorsement. Residents pay graduated rates from 0% on the first RM5,000 up to 30% above RM2 million in LHDN's table for 2023 to 2025; non-residents pay a flat 30% on Malaysian income.

Sources: Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN / HASiL), Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 17 October 2026.

• Digital nomad visa in Malaysia
• Retirement visa in Malaysia
• Work permit in Malaysia
• Investor visa in Malaysia

• Visas in Malaysia
• Malaysia

1. Visa requirements by country (Keperluan Visa Mengikut Negara), Immigration Department of Malaysia (Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia). Checked 15 October 2026. In Malay; Canada, Australia and New Zealand are on the list of countries that need no visa for any purpose of entry; the United States is on neither list; no length of stay is given.
2. Malaysia international travel information, US Department of State (Internet Archive copy). Checked 15 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 11 February 2026. Says business or tourism of 90 days or less needs no visa.
3. Visa Fees, Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 17 October 2026. Table in RM; says countries not listed pay RM20.00; no pass fees or security bond amounts on this page.
4. US citizens and residents abroad: filing requirements, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 16 October 2026. Page last reviewed or updated 28 September 2026.
5. Foreign earned income exclusion limit, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 10 October 2026. Tax year 2026 figure: up to $132,900 per person.
6. Limited double taxation agreements, Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN / HASiL). Checked 10 October 2026. Lists the United States of America, P.U.(A) 242/1989, as a limited agreement.
7. United States income tax treaties, A to Z, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 10 October 2026. Malaysia is not listed.
8. US international Social Security agreements, US Social Security Administration (Internet Archive copy). Checked 15 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 4 October 2026; Malaysia is not on the list of agreements in force.
9. Malaysia travel advice and advisories, Government of Canada (travel.gc.ca). Checked 11 October 2026. Page last updated 9 October 2026; gives 90 days for Canadians.
10. Determining your residency status, Canada Revenue Agency. Checked 16 October 2026. Page details date 20 January 2026.
11. Comprehensive double taxation agreements, Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN / HASiL). Checked 10 October 2026. Lists agreements in force with Canada (signed 1976), Australia (signed 1980) and New Zealand (signed 1976, with protocols).
12. Malaysia travel advice, Australian Government, Smartraveller (Internet Archive copy). Checked 15 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 7 June 2026; says Australians can in most circumstances get a 90-day tourist visa on arrival.
13. Australian resident for tax purposes, Australian Taxation Office (Internet Archive copy). Checked 15 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 1 October 2026.
14. Malaysia travel advice, SafeTravel (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand). Checked 15 October 2026. We found no official stay length for New Zealand passports.
15. Tax residency status for individuals, Inland Revenue (New Zealand). Checked 16 October 2026. Page last updated 25 June 2026.
16. Long Term Social Visit Pass, Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 17 October 2026. Checklists for husband or wife of a citizen, new applications, spouse work permission; the page lists no fee, processing time or renewal steps.
17. Working permit for Spouse of Malaysian Citizen, Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 17 October 2026. Says the endorsement is free of charge; the page gives no validity period or processing time.
18. Visa With Reference (VDR), Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 17 October 2026. Category A (wife of a citizen) and Category B (husband of a citizen); the page gives no fee or processing time.
19. Applications for extension of visit for citizen's spouses, Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 17 October 2026. Lists documents and two notes; gives no fee, processing time or length of extension.
20. Terms and conditions for the employment of a Citizen's Spouse, Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 17 October 2026. Five conditions; contact line 03-8000 8000.
21. Entry Permit, Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 16 October 2026. Lists permanent residence application categories; the page does not set out the criteria or years.
22. Residence status (section 7, Income Tax Act 1967), Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN / HASiL). Checked 10 October 2026. Page last updated 10 August 2026.
23. Tax treatment of residents and non-residents (2025 slides), Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN / HASiL). Checked 10 October 2026. Employment income, residence tests and the 60-day exemption.
24. Individual tax rates, Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN / HASiL). Checked 15 October 2026. Table for years of assessment 2023, 2024 and 2025; no 2026 table shown.