Work permit in Malaysia

• The Employment Pass is issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs through the Immigration Department to foreign employees of a company in Malaysia. The employer pays you a fixed monthly salary under a signed employment contract, and the company applies through its ESD account, not you.
• The minimum to apply as an expatriate is a degree with at least 3 years of experience in the field, a diploma with at least 5 years, or a technical certificate or equivalent with at least 7 years; approval stays at the Expatriate Committee's discretion.
• Since 1 June 2026 there are three categories set by basic monthly salary: Category I (RM20,000 and above), Category II (RM10,000 to RM19,999) and Category III (RM5,000 to RM9,999).
• The pass lets you work only for the company named on it, and a change of employer needs a new application. It is valid only in Peninsular Malaysia.
• Applications for Categories II and III need a succession plan from 1 January 2027: the employer's plan to prepare local employees to take over the role during your employment period.
• Freelancers and people employed by a company outside Malaysia are not covered, because the pass needs a Malaysian employer and a Malaysian employment contract.
• Sectors with an approving or regulatory agency, such as healthcare and education, also need that agency's support letter, and positions needing a practising certificate follow the agency's endorsement.

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

• The Category III test is a basic monthly salary of about RM5,000 to RM10,000, or about RM7,000 to RM10,000 in manufacturing and manufacturing-related services. To be safe, have a basic salary above RM5,100 (RM7,100 in manufacturing).
• The Category II test is a basic monthly salary of about RM10,000 to RM20,000. To be safe, have a basic salary above RM11,000.
• The Category I test is a basic monthly salary of about RM20,000 or more. To be safe, have a basic salary above RM21,000.
• Only basic salary counts. Allowances, incentives, bonuses and salary paid outside Malaysia are excluded, and the basic salary must be taxable in Malaysia.
• The basic salary must be paid by the Malaysian company and stated in ringgit in the employment contract and the ESD application.
• The earlier route of asking the Ministry of Home Affairs for an exemption from the minimum salary for Category III no longer applies from 1 June 2026.
• There is no savings or deposit test in the sources for this pass; the money test is the salary.

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

• The applicant's passport copy must be a full booklet in colour, with the cover and at least six empty pages, and the passport must be valid for more than 12 months at submission.
• A passport-style photo is required: light blue background, 3.5 cm by 5.0 cm, full face, with no editing.
• You need a copy of your highest educational certificate, and any professional certificate. Certificates in English need a certified true copy from a Malaysian embassy, high commission or consulate, or from the company's HR manager; other languages need translation and certification.
• Instead of an educational certificate, a testimonial letter from the hiring company can verify your qualifications and experience, signed by someone other than the applicant.
• Other items include a detailed resume, an employment contract stamped by the Inland Revenue Board and signed by both parties, a job description of at least three different tasks, and any approving agency support letter. The checklist has 15 items and does not list a police certificate.
• For renewals or a change of employer, add the latest three payslips, the e-BE tax filing, the EA form and tax payment receipts; outstanding tax must be settled first, and monthly instalments (CP38) are not accepted.
• For dependants, the marriage certificate, or birth certificates, translated and certified by a Malaysian embassy or by the foreign embassy in Malaysia, and a passport valid for more than 12 months.

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

• The employer registers with ESD once (5 working days). Regulated sectors then get a support letter (3 working days on the fast track, 10 on the normal track), and the expatriate application takes 2 working days fast or 5 normal.
• ESD says all applications are processed within five working days once every required document is submitted, and the ePASS is processed one working day after payment.
• You must hold the approval letter before entering Malaysia to work, and collect a single entry visa at the Malaysian embassy or through the eVISA website where it applies.
• The pass must be endorsed within 30 days: after approval if you are inside Malaysia, or after arrival if you are outside. New arrivals can have the ePASS and i-KAD endorsed at the Expatriate Satellite Centre at KLIA Terminal 1 or 2.
• A rejected application can be appealed, which may take up to 30 working days; renewals can be filed as early as three months before the pass expires.
• All Employment Pass applications go to the Expatriate Committee, and Immigration has the final say on the approved pass duration.

Sources: Immigration Department of Malaysia, Malaysia Expatriate Services Centre (MYXpats). Checked 16 October 2026.

• The application (processing) fee for an Employment Pass is RM2,000 plus 8% SST, in force from 1 September 2024. The Dependant Pass and Long-Term Social Visit Pass are RM500 each plus 8% SST.
• These fees do not include the pass endorsement or other Immigration fees, and the sources we read do not give the endorsement amount.
• If an application is rejected at the approval stage, MYXpats refunds 75% of the expatriate processing fee; there is no refund if an appeal is submitted.
• Public universities and government bodies and ministries are exempt from the processing fee.
• Payment is made online in ESD Online before the application is submitted.

Sources: Malaysia Expatriate Services Centre (MYXpats), Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 16 October 2026.

• The Employment Pass is a multiple-entry pass with a duration of 1 month to 60 months, depending on the employment contract and the Expatriate Committee's approval.
• Employers can apply for employment periods of up to 60 months per application under the revised policy.
• From 1 June 2026, the maximum total employment duration is up to 10 years for Category I, up to 10 years for Category II and up to 5 years for Category III, the last two with a succession plan from 1 January 2027.
• The maximum is counted for the same employer, position and pass category. A new employer restarts it from the date you join them, and a new category restarts it from the date the new pass is issued.
• Passes already issued stay valid until they expire, and renewals filed after 1 June 2026 follow the revised salary rules.
• A Dependant Pass or Long-Term Social Visit Pass runs with the principal's pass, or to the dependant's passport expiry if that comes sooner.

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

• The Residence Pass-Talent is a 10-year renewable pass for highly skilled expatriates; it needs at least three consecutive years of work in Malaysia, a valid Employment Pass with more than three months left, and a basic monthly salary of about RM15,000 (to be safe, more than RM16,000).
• It also needs a Malaysian income tax file number with at least two years of tax paid, a degree, diploma or recognised professional certificate, and at least five years of work experience.
• RP-T holders can change employers without converting the pass, and a legally married spouse can apply for the pass and seek work without an Employment Pass.
• The Immigration Department lists permanent residence categories, including "fully foreign national", and its page does not set out the criteria or years or tie them to the Employment Pass.

Sources: Talent Corporation Malaysia (TalentCorp), Immigration Department of Malaysia. Checked 16 October 2026.

• You are a Malaysian tax resident for a year if you are in Malaysia for 182 days or more in it; shorter stays can count under the tax authority's linking rules.
• LHDN's 2025 slides say employees exercising employment in Malaysia are taxed on their full income from it, even if part is paid from outside Malaysia. Employment income can be exempt where the days worked in Malaysia in a year do not exceed 60, with conditions.
• 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.
• For renewals the pass needs a tax filing: the e-BE tax summary, or the e-M form if you worked less than 182 days in Malaysia.
• The EPF announced on 1 October 2025 that mandatory contributions for non-Malaysian citizen employees take effect with wages for October 2025, paid in the contribution month of November 2025. Ask the EPF whether your pass type is covered.

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

• Digital nomad visa in Malaysia
• Retirement visa in Malaysia
• Family visa 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. ESD Online Guidebook, version 6 (14 April 2025), Immigration Department of Malaysia, Expatriate Services Division (ESD). Checked 16 October 2026. Written before the 1 June 2026 salary revision, so its salary bands are out of date; used here for eligibility, documents and endorsement steps only.
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. Revised Expatriate Salary Booklet (effective 1 June 2026), Immigration Department of Malaysia, Expatriate Services Division (ESD). Checked 16 October 2026. Employment Pass categories, salary thresholds, durations, dependants, process flow; applies to applications submitted on or after 1 June 2026.
17. Employment Pass, Immigration Department of Malaysia, Expatriate Services Division (ESD). Checked 16 October 2026. Opened 16 October 2026.
18. Frequently asked questions: Revised Expatriate Salary Policy (updated 12 February 2026), Immigration Department of Malaysia, Expatriate Services Division (ESD), with MOHA, MIDA, MDEC and others. Checked 16 October 2026. Updated version of 12 February 2026.
19. MYXpats FAQ, Immigration Department of Malaysia, Expatriate Services Division (ESD). Checked 16 October 2026. Processing times, ePASS and appeals.
20. FAQ: revised service fees for expatriate applications from 1 September 2024, Malaysia Expatriate Services Centre (MYXpats), on the ESD site. Checked 16 October 2026. Fees are stated excluding 8% SST and exclude the pass endorsement and other Immigration fees.
21. Dependant Pass, Immigration Department of Malaysia, Expatriate Services Division (ESD). Checked 16 October 2026. Opened 16 October 2026.
22. Long-Term Social Visit Pass (Employment Pass dependants), Immigration Department of Malaysia, Expatriate Services Division (ESD). Checked 16 October 2026. Opened 16 October 2026.
23. Residence Pass-Talent (RP-T), Talent Corporation Malaysia (TalentCorp). Checked 16 October 2026. The page does not list fees or the application steps.
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. 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.
27. 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.
28. EPF begins mandatory contributions for non-Malaysian citizen employees effective October 2025, Employees Provident Fund (KWSP), Malaysia. Checked 17 October 2026. Press release.