Frequently asked questions

No. Sarawak controls its own immigration under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and issues its own Employment Pass through the Sarawak Immigration Department. A federal Employment Pass issued in Kuala Lumpur does not authorise work in Kuching. An employee relocating to Sarawak needs a separate Sarawak application before starting work there, even if the employer and the role are unchanged.

Malaysian citizens do not need a work permit, but Sarawak operates its own entry controls and non-Sarawakians are subject to them. In practice, longer-term residence and employment in Sarawak involves state processes that do not apply in Peninsular Malaysia. The requirements differ depending on whether you are working, accompanying a spouse, or relocating permanently.

Only against a labour quota approved for operations in Sarawak. A quota approved for a Peninsular Malaysia worksite does not extend to a Sarawak one. The company generally needs a presence in Sarawak that the quota can attach to, and the sector must be one Sarawak permits foreign workers in.

It depends entirely on the jurisdiction, and the two scales are far apart. Sarawak issues two categories: EP1 from RM5,000 a month, and EP2 from RM3,000 to RM4,999. There is no EP3 in Sarawak. Peninsular Malaysia issues three: EP1 from RM20,000, EP2 from RM10,000 to RM19,999, and EP3 from RM5,000 to RM9,999. A salary of RM6,000 is therefore EP1 in Sarawak, the top category, and EP3 in Kuala Lumpur, the bottom one, which cannot sponsor dependants.

Yes, and it is often decided before anyone looks at it. The category sets the contract length, the renewal position and whether the holder can bring a spouse and children. In Peninsular Malaysia an EP3 holder cannot sponsor a Dependent Pass at all, so setting a salary at RM9,000 instead of RM10,000 decides whether someone gets to bring their family. Work out the category before you sign the offer letter.

Since applications moved onto the ALIANCE platform, positions that do not require advertising are being approved in under a month, and positions that require advertising in around two months. Before digitisation the same applications took five to eight months. Those timelines assume a complete file. An incomplete submission doesn’t pause the assessment. It restarts it. Advertising, where it applies, runs on JobSarawak for a minimum of fourteen days before you get the Hiring Outcome Report, so build that into the two months.

From 1 January 2026, an administrative charge of RM1,854 per application, RM2,002.30 including SST, applies to new Employment Pass applications filed on ALIANCE. This is separate from the government fees for the pass itself. It has not been published whether the charge is refunded if an application is refused.

Yes, in both jurisdictions. For Peninsular Malaysia, the company must be registered with the Expatriate Services Division before any expatriate pass application can be filed. For Sarawak, the company must be registered on the ALIANCE platform. Registration is a one-off, company-level exercise, but it is not instantaneous: start it before a pass application or renewal is due.

A Dependent Pass covers a legally married spouse and children under 18 of an Employment Pass holder, if the principal pass category permits dependants. EP3 holders cannot sponsor them. Parents and children over 18 are covered by a Long Term Social Visit Pass instead. Neither pass permits work on its own; a dependant who wants to work needs separate authorisation.

Often, yes, and forgetting it blocks your renewal. Where the approving agency requires one, you have six months from the date the Employment Pass is approved to assign a local understudy candidate in the EXPRT system. If none is assigned within those six months, you cannot proceed with the renewal. Not every position needs one, and it depends on the position and the recommendation of the approving agency, so check what your approval letter says instead of assuming you are exempt.

Fourteen days minimum, before you get the Hiring Outcome Report the application needs. JobSarawak replaced MYFutureJobs for Sarawak expatriate vacancies. Four categories are exempt from advertising: Key Post, Shareholder, Specialist and Cross-posting. If your role is not one of those, the fourteen days sit on the critical path, so start the advert before you have finished collecting the candidate’s documents.

A bachelor’s degree in a related field with at least five years of experience, a diploma with at least seven years, or a skills certificate with at least ten. The candidate must also be at least 27 years old, with anyone younger considered case by case, and earn at least RM3,000 a month. The role has to be a full-time position that is not filled by a Sarawakian. Experience and qualification have to be in a field related to the job, so a degree in something unrelated does not carry the application.

Five years in total, counting the first approval and every renewal. GENESIS states that once an expatriate reaches that limit they must leave the country and apply for a new Employment Pass, subject to Sarawak government approval. Individual passes are issued for one to five years and are renewable inside that five-year ceiling. Plan long assignments around the ceiling rather than the individual pass length, and note that older guidance describing a ten-year limit predates the EXPRT system.

RM250,000 for a wholly Malaysian-owned company, RM350,000 for a joint venture between local and foreign shareholders, and RM1,000,000 for a wholly foreign-owned company. The foreign-owned figure doubled from RM500,000, so guidance published before the EXPRT system understates it. A shareholder applying for their own Employment Pass also needs a minimum individual shareholding: RM50,000 for Peninsular Malaysians and Sabahans, RM100,000 for a foreign national in a joint venture, and RM150,000 in a wholly foreign-owned company.

Five. Spa, reflexology, massage and health establishments; hairdressing, barber shops and beauty salons; manpower supply agencies; petty traders, hawkers and store operators; and scrap and recycling businesses. Companies in those sectors may apply for expatriate personnel holding a shareholder position only, and applications for non-shareholder positions are not accepted. Every other eligible sector may apply normally. Statutory bodies and government agencies cannot use EXPRT at all and file directly with Sarawak Immigration, Bahagian F.

GENESIS answers this two different ways, so treat it as unsettled and ask before you build a plan on it. One answer says only private limited companies with a valid ROC number registered with SSM are eligible, and that sole proprietorships and partnerships are not. Another lists sole proprietorships, partnerships and limited liability partnerships among the company types that may apply. Non-profit organisations and NGOs are exempt from the shareholding requirement. We check the current position on the file before quoting.

The quota, always. A labour quota fixes how many foreign workers an employer may hire, from which source countries, in which sector, and at which worksite. Recruitment cannot lawfully begin before it is approved. Finding workers first and then seeking a quota is the most common reason a hiring plan collapses.

A permit is tied to the employer that holds it and does not transfer with the worker. Bringing a worker across from another employer is a new application against your own approved quota, not an amendment to theirs. Employing a worker whose permit names a different employer is unlawful employment, regardless of any agreement between the two companies.

Foreign worker compliance in Malaysia is now assessed against forced labour indicators as much as against immigration paperwork. What turns an inspection into an enforcement matter: holding passports, charging recruitment fees to the worker, unpaid or deferred wages, substandard accommodation, and stopping someone leaving your employment. Your export customers audit for exactly the same things.

No. The helper keeps her own passport at all times. This is not a policy preference we apply. Passport retention is unlawful and is a recognised indicator of forced labour. It is one of the three findings that most often turns a routine inspection into an enforcement matter, alongside unpaid salary and denial of rest days.

Not on the existing permit. A move between Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak is a new application, because Sarawak issues its own permits and assesses household eligibility itself. The helper cannot begin work in Sarawak until that new application is approved.

Yes. Employers of foreign domestic helpers must register with PERKESO and contribute for the Employment Injury Scheme. The contribution is paid by the employer and may not be deducted from the helper’s salary. Registration and monthly payment are done through the ASSIST portal, and contribution records are asked for at permit renewal.

RM17,800 before salary. That is what the employer pays to place and legalise a domestic helper in the first year (the placement fee, the annual levy, the security bond, insurance and medical screening) and it is the same figure for an Indonesian and a Filipino placement. The helper’s wages are on top of it. Twelve months of salary is a comparable amount again, so budget for roughly double RM17,800 in year one, and for the salary alone in every year after. There is no HAVEN fee in the RM17,800. HAVEN went live on 16 July 2026 and Sarawak has not charged employers for it yet.

Nine: Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. She must be between 21 and 45 years old, and her passport must have at least one year of validity left when you apply. Each application covers one helper only, so hiring two means two separate applications. Indonesian and Filipino placements are the two we handle, because both require accredited channels that we hold accreditation for.

Yes. You do not have to own your home to employ a foreign domestic helper in Sarawak. What matters is that the address on her Pas Lawatan Kerja Sementara matches where she actually works. If you move house within Sarawak you have to tell the authorities and update the record, which means going to Sarawak Immigration to shorten the current pass and apply for a new one showing the new address. Skip that and she is undocumented at your new home.

No, and this catches people out in both directions. SAFHIS medical screening is required for every new application, within 30 days of her arrival in Sarawak, and then only at odd-year renewals: year three, year five, and so on. Even-year renewals skip screening and go straight to the pass issuance stage. Screening has to be done at a SAFHIS-certified panel clinic, and it is booked through HAVEN. Sarawak uses SAFHIS. FOMEMA is the Peninsular Malaysia system.

She has to leave Sarawak, and you have to apply for a Check Out Memo in person at Sarawak Immigration. There is no appeal on a medical finding and no route to keep her in the country while you arrange something else. This is why the placement fee covers screening in her home country before departure: a candidate who will not pass here should not be put on a plane, and a reputable agency screens for that at source.

Ninety days before the current pass expires, and you should use most of that. Renewal runs through HAVEN and has four stages: the Approval Letter and a valid Labour Licence, then medical screening if it is an odd-year renewal, then the Pas Lawatan Kerja Sementara, then the Non-Sarawakian Identity Card. The Labour Licence itself is only valid for one year and has to be current before the pass renewal can proceed. Leaving it to the last few weeks is the most common cause of an accidental overstay.

No. Once submitted it cannot be edited. If something needs correcting, the authority returns the application to you to amend and resubmit, and if it is rejected outright you have to start a new application. That is why the document set matters so much on the first pass: your NRIC, two years of LHDN e-Filing with receipts, proof of employment, three months of bank statements and payslips, a utility bill, and her passport, Certificate of Employment, personal bond, insurance and home-country medical proof.

RM1,500 a month for an Indonesian helper and RM1,800 for a Filipino one, each including one rest day a week. If she works a rest day, overtime is RM86.54 for an Indonesian helper and RM70 for a Filipino one. Salary is paid in full, on time, by a method that leaves a trace. Combined with the RM17,800 setup fee, that puts a full first year at RM35,800 for an Indonesian placement and RM39,400 for a Filipino one.

Yes. One rest day a week is written into the contract for both Indonesian and Filipino helpers. You can agree which day it falls on, and we recommend fixing it so everyone can plan, but you cannot simply not give it. If you need her to work a rest day, that is overtime and it is paid: RM86.54 for an Indonesian helper, RM70 for a Filipino one. Most Filipino helpers would rather take at least two rest days a month than be paid for them.

Whose candidate she is. Full placement at RM17,800 means we source her, train and certify her, and process everything: 10 to 12 weeks for an Indonesian helper, 12 to 14 for a Filipino one. Direct hire means you have already found someone and we handle the legal side only, which is quicker for an Indonesian placement. Both give you the same permit, the same two-year contract, the same insurance and the same NSIC card. Full placement carries the refund and replacement cover.

We file the Check Out Memo to cancel the permit and report it to the authorities on both sides. For an Indonesian helper that blacklists her from leaving Indonesia for work again; for a Filipino helper it blacklists her with the Malaysian Immigration Department. We then check your placement agreement to see whether a refund or a replacement applies. Do not simply stop reporting: an uncancelled permit leaves you the employer of record for someone you cannot account for.

Yes, with 30 days notice, and you do not need to give a reason. To end it immediately instead, pay her a month’s salary in lieu. Where the issue is conduct or performance, issue a warning letter first so she has a real chance to correct it. That is fairer, and it puts you in a much better position if the termination is ever examined. Whatever the reason, the permit still has to be cancelled through a Check Out Memo.

ALIANCE, the Advanced Labour and Immigration Aligned Network for Compliance, is the whole Sarawak ecosystem and the single sign-on you log in through. GENESIS, the Gateway and Employment for Non-Sarawakians via Sarawak’s Integrated System, is the module inside ALIANCE that covers everyone who is not Sarawakian. Under GENESIS sit four submodules: EXPRT for expatriates, SANSOLS for foreign workers, HAVEN for domestic helpers, and eVDR for the visa with reference. SAFHIS handles medical screening and JobSarawak handles advertising. One login at aliance.sarawak.gov.my reaches all of them.

There is nothing to refund, because you do not pay until the application is approved. GENESIS charges RM1,854 per approved expatriate, applications that are rejected or withdrawn are not charged at all, and the Approval Letter is only issued once full payment is received. The charge started on 1 January 2026 and applies to both new and renewal applications, but only to applications approved on or after that date. Foreign worker applications through SANSOLS work the opposite way: you pay up front and there is no refund.

You pay up front, and you do not get it back. From 22 January 2026 the separate SANSOLS payments for the Labour Licence, eVDR, SAFHIS and the Non-Sarawakian Identity Card are combined into one transaction at the start of the process, at the same total cost. GENESIS states that once the process has started for any of those steps the fees are deemed used, so there is no refund if the worker is not accepted. That is the opposite of the expatriate route, where you pay only on approval.

Your whole company account is suspended. Not the one application: everything, across every ALIANCE module. Full payment is due within 30 calendar days of approval. You get email reminders on days 7, 14 and 21, and if the balance is still outstanding on day 30 your account is suspended across every ALIANCE module, including access you already had. Nothing moves in any module until it is settled, and reactivation takes a further three to five business days after payment is verified. Payment is FPX only, in the FWTA payment portal, with no partial payments.

Yes, and only one. The DE Rantau Sarawak Nomad Pass is a Professional Visit Pass issued under Sarawak’s own authority, and it lets you live and work in Sarawak and in every state of Peninsular Malaysia. The federal DE Rantau pass run by MDEC does not cover Sarawak, which is why this one exists. Neither pass covers Sabah: you enter Sabah on a tourist pass either way. Full criteria are on our [DE Rantau Sarawak page](/de-rantau-sarawak).

More than USD 24,000 a year, from digital work. The profession has to sit in a digital domain: IT of every kind, digital marketing, digital creative content or digital content development. A remote worker proves it with an active employment contract from a non-Malaysian company running longer than three months. A freelancer proves it with project contracts, purchase orders or invoices stating duration and value, and a freelancer’s clients may be Malaysian companies.

RM2,160 per applicant and RM1,080 per dependant, both including 8% SST, plus an immigration pass fee of RM90 per three months or RM360 for a year. It is payable to SDEC on submission, before anyone assesses your file, and it is not refundable if the application is refused. You may appeal within one month of a rejection, but the fee is gone either way. Processing takes six to eight weeks.

Two years in total, and the Sarawak and federal passes share that ceiling. Each pass runs 3 to 12 months and renews once for another 12. If you are in year one of the federal DE Rantau pass you can move to DE Rantau Sarawak afterwards, but if you have already completed two years federally you cannot start a Sarawak one. You also pay Malaysian income tax on the pass, and most Malaysian banks will not open an account on a Professional Visit Pass.

Our private employment agency licence is JTKSWK0042-C/24, held by Agensi Pekerjaan Migratesafe Sdn. Bhd. (1034872-A). Check the number against that exact registered company name on the issuing body’s register, not against our website. Our Indonesian embassy accreditation, 0010.IE-KC.APS.2022, can be checked independently on the SIPERMIT register.

No, and nobody anywhere is. A JTKSWK licence is issued to a company, never to an individual, so “licensed consultant” is not a real credential. If an individual describes themselves that way, ask which company holds the licence and check that company on the register.

WhatsApp within one business day, which is the fastest route. Phone is answered immediately during office hours, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm. If there is no answer, WhatsApp instead. Enquiry form submissions are answered within one business day, and email within one to two business days.

The Kuala Lumpur address is a virtual office, so there is nobody there to walk in on. Federal cases are prepared and filed from Kuching, and we use part-time runners in KL for anything that has to be done in person. Kuching is our only staffed office.

Yes, before you pay anything. If a case will not be approved on its facts we say so, and explain what would have to change. An agency that never refuses a case is not assessing them.