Malaysia: New Short-Term Social Visit Pass Program Launched

• Permitted sectors. Applicants for the PLS@XPATS must be seeking to work under a government sector, government link company (GLC) (companies in which the Malaysian government has a direct controlling stake) or in a private sector within the following categories: security and defense, manufacturing, construction, health and medical, oil, gas and energy, finance and banking, electrical and electronics, wholesale and retail, tourism, business services, commodities, education, agriculture, aviation and information, technology or infrastructure.
• Critical work. Companies hiring foreign nationals under this program must prove that the purpose of their visit is to conduct critical work (defined as emergency work, repair work, installations, recovery/reinstallation, maintenance, among other work) by submitting a working schedule, project and job description.
• Validity. PLS@XPATS holders can stay and work in Malaysia for up to 30 days.
• Processing time. The Immigration Department will issue decisions within three business days from the applicant’s submission of complete documents.
• Endorsement. If approved, the Immigration Department will issue an approval letter to the foreign national and the PLS@XPATS will be endorsed upon arrival to Malaysia.

• Shorter processing time. Applicants benefit from a faster government processing time for work authorization of only three calendar days, compared to a regular short-term Professional Visit Pass, which can take up to 75-135 calendar days to complete.

The Immigration Department introduced the PLS@XPATS program as an alternative to normal Work Passes to address labor shortages in certain sectors in Malaysia. This new program follows the Digital Nomad Pass, which allows remote workers to stay and work in Malaysia for up to 12 months.  

It is likely that the Malaysian government will introduce further immigration schemes that will be beneficial to foreign nationals, such as longer visa durations or special work visas to attract foreign talent to address the growing labor shortages.