2026 update: New process for Employment Pass in Sarawak

Since November 2025, the application for employment passes in Sarawak have moved online. Employers hiring expatriates in Sarawak on a permanent basis will now have to start the application on the ALIANCE platform to pre-register your company for eligibility to hire expatriates. Depending on the position, a job advertisement is required to be placed on JobSarawak before proceeding with the expatriate application.

The flowchart provides a quick overview of the new employment pass application process and ecosystem.

Changes to the administrative cost 

There are new administrative charges that will apply to new employment pass applications on the ALIANCE platform from 1 January 2026. Companies hiring expatriates will need to expense RM1854 per application (or RM2002.30 including SST). There is no information on whether any refunds would be provided if the application is not approved. These administrative charges are on top of administrative fees that are already applicable to foreign applicants from before. As usual, no federal levies apply to West Malaysian and Sabahan expatriates. But this new administrative fee will apply to all West Malaysian and Sabahan expatriates applying for employment passes in Sarawak. 

Changes to the process 

There are three key significant to the process. Firstly, the complete digitisation of the employment pass process means that now companies must start the application on the ALIANCE platform. The pilot phase started on 1 November 2025. Secondly, JobSarawak now replaces myfuturejobs as the job advertising portal of expatriate vacancies to Sarawakian candidates. Thirdly, companies now need to obtain a pre-registration prior to submitting an expatriate application. 

Changes to the State’s policy on expatriates 

There are no significant changes to the State’s policy on expatriates, except that now companies may need to apply for a labour quota to hire expatriates in Sarawak. The labour quota process already exist on the EXPRT module’s process flow, but specific policy guidelines have not been published about how the government will decide on labour quotas, or which industries will be prioritised. 

Manual processes remain for some applications 

The Professional Visit Pass, Spouse Programme Employment Pass, Dependent Pass, and Passes of Domestic Helpers of Expatriates are still proceeding manually with the Expatriate Services Division. No announcement has been made for administrative charges for these processes, since these processes remain manual with the Immigration Department. 

Renewal of Employment Passes

Holders of pre-existing employment passes must now renew their employment passes on the ALIANCE platform. Companies must register themselves on the ALIANCE platform before the renewal application can proceed. The administrative charges for renewal applications remain unclear, although it is expected that some if not all of the charges will apply for a newly onboarded renewal application. 

Conclusion

There are positives from these changes, as it is likely that with the digital adoption the process of applying for an employment pass will be much quicker than before. For positions that do not require advertising, companies can now expect an approval timeline of under 1 month as compared to 5 to 8 months as before. And jobs that require advertising can expect approvals within 2 months. The administrative charges of the new digital system has undoubtedly increased the cost of hiring expatriates in Sarawak. It is also expected that policy guidelines will become clearer and decision making will be more streamlined between the State Secretary Office and the Immigration Department. 

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