A Quick Guide To Malaysian Employment Pass Rejections

In addition to handling fresh Employment Pass applications, MISHU also helps employers who have attempted to apply on their own and been rejected by Immigration.

When they turn to us, we take them through a few preliminary steps to understand if we can help. If your EP application has just been turned down, read on as we walk you through some key points.

Of course, feel free to skip the guide and get in touch for help.

Otherwise, let’s begin.

Returned applications

A returned application is not a rejection – it usually means the submission has minor technical, formatting, or documentation issues that prevent it from being processed in its current state, such as

• passport photo not meeting specifications (too small, blurry, or incorrectly cropped)
• applicant’s name not matching the Machine-Readable Zone (MRZ) on the passport
• missing company or document stamps
• unsigned or incomplete supporting agreements
• gaps in employment history not explained in the CV
• poor scan quality or incorrect document formatting
• missing documentation or documents not Certified True Copy

Immigration assesses each application with a fine-toothed comb, and even minor issues get flagged. The good news is if it’s just minor issues, the application can usually be resubmitted as soon as it’s corrected.

Rejected applications

A rejected application is more serious, and most commonly means the application has been determined to not meet Employment Pass requirements, including:

• insufficient relevant working experience
• role not considered specialised or high value enough
• company deemed not financially capable of supporting the expat
• position deemed fillable by a local candidate
• misalignment between job scope, job title, and academic background

If the employer wishes to press on, they have 14 days from the date of rejection to file an appeal through their ESD account – here’s an Immigration guide on the required documents.

Once submitted, it usually takes 30 days to process, and the employer will be notified of the results.

That’s it from us, and we wish you all the best with your appeal😊

Let MISHU handle your EP rejection

Our team enjoys a 98% success rate across our Employment Pass applications and renewals over the years and can provide end-to-end support from ESD account registration to securing MyFutureJobs support letters, handling Immigration queries on your behalf, and more.