3 Main Types Of Employment Passes In Malaysia

In addition to conventional Employment Passes (EP), Malaysia offers other visas that allow expatriates to reside and work in Malaysia for 12 months to 20 years and with varying levels of freedom.

While not explicitly named ‘Employment Pass’ they effectively serve the same main function and depending on work arrangement, can be an even better fit than a normal EP.

To help employers and expatriates choose, we’ve grouped these visas under three main types:

• temporary
• permanent but tied to company, and
• permanent and free to switch companies

Each visa has a brief description and our recommendation on who it’s for, and there will be links to full guides so you can read more on ones that sound like a good fit. 

Let’s begin.

Temporary employment

These are visas meant for short-term work arrangements with a known end date, and the employer and foreign hire understand that once the date is reached the latter returns to their home country.

Professional Visit Pass (PVP)

Validity: Up to 12 months (renewable once)

Where a conventional Employment Pass is strictly for long-term employment and is valid for one – five years, a Professional Visit Pass applies to a broader set of use cases including:

• research
• short-term contracts
• artistic performances
• religious sermons
• internships, and
• skill transfer programmes

Depending on the type of PVP issued, it can be valid for six to twelve months, but none of them allow bringing dependents.

For more information, see our guide to Professional Visit Passes in Malaysia.

Permanent but tied to employer

These visas require an expatriate to maintain employment with a Malaysian employer or run their own locally incorporated company.

So long as this is maintained the visa is infinitely renewable, and if they switch companies the current visa must be terminated and a fresh application made via the new employer.

Malaysian Employment Pass (DP11)

Validity: 5 – 10 years (renewable)

This is the default long-term pass for expats coming to Malaysia for work, and there are three categories with increasingly longer validity periods and higher requirements.

The highest is known as a Category 1 EP and is how foreign entrepreneurs appoint themselves as directors for their foreign-owned company.

To learn more, read our guide to Employment Passes in Malaysia.

MTEP and MD Status

Validity: 1–5 years depending on program

To qualify for an EP application in the first place, a company has to prove it has anywhere from RM250,000 – RM500,000 in paid up capital.

This makes it very foreign startup-unfriendly, which is where the Malaysian Tech Entrepreneur Programme (MTEP) and Malaysia Digital (MD) Status programmes come in.

Both cater to tech startups and work as follows:

• MTEP: You can apply for a visa without incorporating a company yet.
• MD Status: You need to incorporate, but it lowers PUC needs to just RM1,000+ to apply for an EP.

We suggest MTEP for tech startups and MD Status for established business owners.

Permanent and not tied to employer

Think of this as employment passes on steroids – they give expatriates the ultimate amount of freedom to work and live in Malaysia and freely switch employers without having to apply for a new visa.

Residence Pass–Talent

Validity: 10 years (renewable)

This is granted only to some expats who have held a conventional EP for at least three years.

If granted an RP-T visa, not only do you enjoy a minimum validity period of ten years, but:

• you are free to switch employers at any time, and 
• your spouse has full freedom to work

Neither are privileges given to conventional EP holders, making RP-T a highly-coveted visa that naturally comes with significant salary and education requirements.

If you’re interested, check out our guide to RP-T Malaysia.

Malaysia My Second Home Platinum

Validity: 20 years (renewable)

This is the only MM2H tier that allows holders to work and do business in Malaysia and meant for high-net-worth expatriates who want to retire AND keep the freedom to work / do business if they so choose.

In other words, it’s the only employment pass in Malaysia allows the holder to be unemployed and still live in Malaysia for up to 20 years!

Unsurprisingly, it comes with high fixed deposit and property purchase requirements, and to know more, check out our guide to MM2H Platinum.

remium Visa Programme

Validity: 20 years (renewable)

Malaysia’s PVIP is for investors and entrepreneurs who want to operate in Malaysia long-term.

PVIP holders can work or incorporate a foreign-owned company in Malaysia without an Employment Pass, bring family members, and come and go as they please throughout the visa’s 20-year validity period.

As you can guess, it’s not cheap, and you can read more in our PVIP vs MM2H comparison. 

Let MISHU handle your expatriate visa applications 

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