FMM MEMBERS' ADVISORY: LATEST UPDATE: Media Statement from YB Home Affairs Minister on Foreign Worker Recruitment Policy

1. The Government on March 1, 2024 announced the following decision on foreign worker quota and employment:

a. The balance of active foreign worker quota in the formal sector with levy paid but yet to be issued Visa With Reference/ Visa Dengan Rujukan (VDR) will be cancelled after March 31, 2024 with the quota levy paid to be refunded to employers; and

b. The deadline for the entry of new foreign workers in the formal sector with VDR is May 31, 2024. No entry of foreign workers in the formal sector from the active quota balance will be allowed starting June 1, 2024.

2. The Ministry of Home Affairs on April 4, 2024 has agreed to extend the deadline for the Letter of Approval for VDR application at the Malaysian Immigration Department until April 21, 2024. This extension takes into account the number of active quotas that have not yet applied for VDR totalling 132,000 and technical distortions that occurred to the Foreign Worker Centralised Management System (FWCMS) on 21, 22, 23, 27, 28 and 29 March 2024. The extension will give an opportunity for genuine employers to complete the process to obtain the VDR Approval Letter and benefit employers in the critical sectors.

3. In this regard, employers are requested to make full use of the extension period that has been granted to obtain the VDR Approval Letter. Employers are reminded to plan early in order to avoid high traffic on the system especially on the last day of the extension.

4. The final date for entry of foreign workers in the formal sector remains May 31, 2024.

5. The government has agreed to terminate the services of the Malaysian Visa Application Processing Agency (APPVM) starting with Bangladesh on January 1, 2024 followed by 10 other source and 3 non-source countries (China, Singapore and Hong Kong) on May 31, 2024. The main objective of this termination is to improve the efficiency of the process of hiring foreign workers with reduced layer of bureaucracy that does not provide any value add to the government. Other than that, employers will not be further burdened with costs payable to the APPVM. In this regard, the government has given ID access to employers to submit their visa applications based on the category of foreign workers whose visa application process is now entirely handled by the employer.

6. For further enquiries on the press statement, contact Bahagian Komunikasi Korporat, Ministry of Home Affairs at 03-8886 8451 / 3406 / 8035.