Expatriate Services Division (“ESD”) and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (“MDEC”) respectively have announced the opening date for applications to be submitted by companies for their year 2025 quota projections for purposes of processing of new or renewal Employment Passes (“EPs”) and Professional Visit Passes (“PVPs”).
This is an annual process for Malaysian employers with ESD and MDEC registrations.
The 2025 projection(s) must be applied for and approved before a company can submit EP or PVP applications from 1 January 2025 onwards.
Therefore, it is essential that companies submit their quota projections applications timely via the ESD or MDEC online portal, to make sure projections are readily available.
1. ESD1
The ESD had opened the application for quota projections for companies whose EPs and PVPs are under the purview of ESD, from 1 December 2024 onwards.
2. MDEC2
Companies in the Information, Communication and Technologies (“ICT”) industry and granted with Malaysia Digital status where their EPs are under the purview of MDEC, may start the planning for 2025 projection(s). Applications will be opened from 1 January 2025 onwards.
Untilised projections approved by ESD or MDEC for year 2024 that are not utilised by 31 December 2024, will be forfeited. In other words, unutilised quota cannot be carried forward to the following year.
The application process has recently been simplified where only minimal information and documentation are required to facilitate the application for projection(s). Further, the application will be successful upon submission. Thereafter, the company could proceed with submission of EP or PVP applications.
In order to avoid any delays in processing of applications for new or renewal passes they anticipate for next year, employers may wish to submit their quota projections for 2025 as early as possible.
Notwithstanding the applications for projections have been simplified, the company needs to ensure that before EP or PVP applications are submitted, all relevant approvals are secured beforehand such as pre-approval from the Department of Labour Peninsular Malaysia (only applicable for companies located in Peninsular Malaysia), the support letter from SOCSO for hiring of expatriates, the Town Council License for office premises, etc. In the absence of the aforesaid, the ESD or MDEC would halt the processing of the EP or PVP leading to delays in obtaining approval for expatriates to start work in Malaysia.
Any questions about projection(s) and EP or PVP applications for year 2025 or concerns about appropriate next steps should be addressed to your usual global mobility and/or immigration advisers or a member of the immigration team with KPMG in Malaysia.
1 ESD, "Projection of Expatriates for the Year 2025 Opens on 1 December 2024" (26 November 2024).
2 MDEC, “Submission of Foreign Knowledge Workers (FKW) Headcount for year 2025” (2 December 2024).
* Please note the KPMG International member firm in the United States does not provide immigration or labour law services. However, KPMG Law LLP in Canada can assist clients with U.S. immigration matters.
The information contained in this newsletter was submitted by the KPMG International member firm in Malaysia.
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