Complete Visa Guide for Malaysia with 2026 updates

Malaysia has various types of employment visas and residency permits to encourage investments and bring skilled talents to support the country’s robust economy. There are three broad categories - employment visas, residency long stay visas and family visas. 

Types of employment visas 

Employment visas are primarily managed by the Expatriate Services Division of the Immigration Department. Some visas are offered in conjunction with other government linked companies or agencies to offer specific incentives and attract special talents. Collaborations for employment visas exist between Talentcorp and MDEC and the Immigration Department. 

New update for 2026: Starting 1 June 2026, the salary requirements for Employment Pass I, II, and III in West Malaysia will double for the first time since 2016. Applicants can apply for longer work permits of up to 10 years for Employment Pass I and II, and up to 5 years for Employment Pass III. Employment Pass III holders will be allowed to bring dependents from 1 June 2026. Important note: these changes are for West Malaysia only and not for Sabah or Sarawak.

Indicated in blue are the incoming changes from 1 June 2026.

Immigration Pass	Duration	Condition	Purpose
Employment Pass I  West Malaysia only	Up to 5 years  From 1 June 2026, up to 10 years	Monthly salary above RM10,000  From 1 June 2026, monthly salary above RM20,000	To live and work in a permanent job in West Malaysia  Immediate dependents (spouse, children under aged 18 years old, elderly above 60 years old) allowed
Employment Pass II  West Malaysia only	Up to 2 years From 1 June 2026, up to 10 years	Monthly salary above 5,000 and up to 9,999  From 1 June 2026, monthly salary above RM10,000 and up to RM19,999	To live and work in a permanent job in West Malaysia  Immediate dependents (spouse, children under aged 18 years old, elderly above 60 years old) allowed
Employment Pass III  West Malaysia only	1 year  From 1 June 2026, up to 5 years	Monthly salary above 3,000 and up to 4,999 From 1 June 2026, monthly salary above RM6,000 and up to RM9,999	To live and work in a permanent job in West Malaysia, dependents not allowed   From 1 June 2026, immediate dependents allowed
Sarawak Employment Pass I Sarawak only	Up to 5 years	Monthly salary above 5,000	To live and work in a permanent job in Sarawak  Immediate dependents (spouse, children under aged 18 years old, elderly above 60 years old) allowed
Sarawak Employment Pass II Sarawak only	Up to 1 year	Monthly salary above 3,000	To live and work in a permanent job in Sarawak, dependents not allowed
Resident-Pass Talent  West Malaysia only	Up to 10 years	Monthly salary above RM15,000.  Worked in Malaysia on Employment Pass for more than 3 consecutive years. More info can be found here.   No changes announced for 1 June 2026	To live and work in a permanent job in West Malaysia with flexibility to change employers or be self-employed
MDEC Tech Entrepreneurship visa  West Malaysia only	1 year for new tech founders;  5 years for experienced founders, investors, and senior management	The requirements are rather flexible as long as you meet the parameters of a start up founder. More info can be found here.	For tech start up founders and investors to consider Malaysia as their start up HQ or a place to set up
MDEC Digital Nomad Visa (De Rantau) West Malaysia only	1 year + 1 year	Secured minimum USD 24,000 income for tech talent, and USD 60,000 income for non-tech talent. More info can be found here.	For digital nomads to choose to work, live and spend in in Malaysia for up to 2 years
Sarawak Digital Nomad Visa (launched under the Sarawak Digital Residency Visa Scheme) West Malaysia Sarawak	1 year + 1 year	Secured minimum USD 24,000 income for tech talent. Non-tech talent are not allowed to apply.  More info can be found here.	For digital nomads to choose to work, live and spend in Sarawak and West Malaysia for up to 2 years
Professional Visit Pass - Work Purpose West Malaysia only	1 year + 1 year	Skilled technician, consultant or any other eligible job titles with a monthly salary of more than RM3,000 monthly	For temporary placement or secondment  in West Malaysia for project work or process implementation
Professional Visit Pass - Work Purpose Sarawak only	6 months + 6 months	Skilled technician, consultant or any other eligible job titles with a monthly salary of more than RM3,000 monthly	For temporary placement or secondment  in Sarawak for project work or process implementation
Professional Visit Pass - Spiritual, charitable, volunteer purpose  West Malaysia only	1 to 3 years	Religious preacher or student, approved by the respective religious authorities or bodies; charitable organisation personnel carrying out works for Malaysia based charities, or volunteers	For religious, charitable or volunteer purposes without a commercial purpose

Types of residency long stay visas (non-family category) 

Immigration Pass	Duration	Condition	Purpose
MM2H West Malaysia only	10 years	Must live and invest in West Malaysia	To encourage retirees to spend their retirement in Malaysia
S-MM2H  West Malaysia Sarawak	10 years	Must invest in Sarawak and spend a minimum of 30 days a year in Sarawak. Permits stay in West Malaysia.	To encourage retirees to spend their retirement in Sarawak
Long Term Social Visit Pass (Medical)	Depends on medical need	Undergoing medical treatment in Malaysia	To support Malaysia’s medical tourism industry

Types of family visas

Immigration Pass	Duration	Condition	Purpose
Long Term Social Visit Pass	If sponsor is Malaysian, indefinite	Married to Malaysian, or child of Malaysian below 18 years old or elderly dependent above 60 years old	To allow non-Malaysian family members to live with Malaysian family members in Malaysia
Dependent Passes	Follows length of principal pass such as employment pass	Married to or is a child/ elderly dependent of an employment pass holder	To allow non-Malaysian dependents of employment pass holders to live in Malaysia with the employment pass holder
Permanent Residency	Indefinite	Married to Malaysian for more than 5 years and living in Malaysia	To provide permanent residency rights to foreign spouses of Malaysians including working rights equivalent to Malaysians
Citizenship	Indefinite	Spouse of Malaysian or child of Malaysian	To provide full citizenship rights to foreign spouses and child or children of Malaysians equivalent to Malaysians

Our website and its contents are provided for general information purposes only and nothing on this website or in its contents is intended to provide professional advice. Please contact us at info@migratesafe.org or +6082-295175 for more information.