Immigration update — Malaysia: ESD Projection applications to receive instant approvals

The Expatriate Services Division (ESD) has announced that effective from 1st April 2023, the process for ESD Projection (Quota) applications will be simplified, and instant approvals will be granted.

Who will be affected?

Companies who are under the Expatriate Services Division.

Background

The Expatriate Services Division (ESD) has announced that the process for ESD Projection (Quota) applications will be simplified, and instant approvals will be granted.

Companies will still be required to apply for a projection on expatriates for the current year, for both new and renewal applications of Employment Passes (EP) and Professional Visit Passes (PVP).

If a company has already submitted an application before 1st April 2023 and has not received any outcome following the implementation of the new process, they can resubmit the application. Any unused quota for the year will not be carried forward to the next year, which remains unchanged.

Implementation date

Immediate effective

Santa Fe recommendations

Although the news seems self-explanatory, some questions remain unanswered.

For example:

• It appears that quota approvals will be granted instantly upon application submission, rather than the previous 4-week processing time. However, it is unclear if the approvals will be granted for the same number of quotas/person applied for.
• The application requirements seem unchanged, and the company must still identify potential candidates/applicants, along with their details, justifications, job descriptions, and company information.
• Companies can resubmit applications that have not yet received an outcome, to be “instantly successful.” Currently, when an application is ongoing, a new one cannot be submitted. With this update, it seems possible.

We believe that these questions will be answered once live cases have been processed from the 1st April 2023. At the time of writing, the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has not issued a similar announcement.

For more information or assistance please contact:

Samson Poore
Immigration Manager, Malaysia
Santa Fe Relocation
Malaysia
D +60 3 5569 1856
M +60 19 601 6900
E: Samson.Poore@staging.santaferelo.com

Robert Day
Group Head of Immigration Operations
Santa Fe Relocation
London, UK
D: +44 7990 021125
E: robert.day@staging.santaferelo.com

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