A Glance At Malaysian Employment Pass Categories
Malaysian Employment Passes (EPs) come in three categories and successful applications require role, candidate, and monthly salary to align with the category applied for.
Frankly, it’s easy to tell which EP category a role belongs to, and below we explain how they are defined to help readers decide which one to apply under.
Here’s how we’ve broken it down:
- a side-by-side comparison (updated for June 2026 revisions)
- use cases for each category, and
- the risks of applying under an incorrect category
Of course, you’re welcome to skip the guide and get in touch directly.
Otherwise, let’s begin.
EP categories (+2026 June updates)
Do note these passes are for West Malaysia and do not include East Malaysia (see our guide to Sarawak Employment Passes).
| Category 1 | Category 2 | Category 3 | |
| Max validity period | 10 years | 10 years | 5 years |
| Minimum pay | RM20,000 / month | RM10,000 / month | RM5,000 / month |
| Dependents |
|
|
|
| Interviewing local candidates | Not necessary | May be necessary | Necessary |
| Succession plan | Not necessary | Necessary | Necessary |
| Typical use cases | Shareholders, top leadership, and technical experts | Mid-level technical, managerial, and supervisory roles | Junior technical and semi-skilled roles |
Some notes to better understand the table:
- a succession plan is a detailed explanation of how the employer plans to replace the expatriate with a local employee within a specific period of time
- interviewing local candidates involves advertising on MyFutureJobs for 14 days, interviewing locals, and submitting a Hiring Outcome Report to secure a permission letter from PERKESO to hire an expatriate
Now let’s look at specific use cases for each of the categories.
Category 1 EP
Category 1 is exclusively for top leadership and decision-making roles such as:
- C-suites
- directors
- shareholders, and
- senior technical experts
Immigration is very strict about these roles being under Category 1, but good news is if the salary requirement is met and the candidate is qualified, applications are both faster and less complicated than other categories as there is no need to interview local candidates or prepare a succession plan.
See our guide to Category 1 Employment Pass applications for full details.
Category 2 EP
Category 2 is a general category for non-key positions with a minimum salary of RM10,000, so in theory can include every role in between the very top decision-makers and most junior of employees.
As it offers most of the benefits of Category 1 EPs at half the required pay, it is the most likely to be abused by employers who want to hire an expat as a senior leader but cannot afford the salary requirements.
Because of this, Category 2 EPs tend to be the most heavily scrutinised by Immigration, and in our experience even genuine applications can get returned over minor technical or procedural issues.
For more, check out our guide to Category 2 Employment Pass applications.
Category 3 EP
Category 3 is also a general category but with a minimum salary requirement of RM5,000 for junior roles. Following June 2026, holders are allowed to bring dependents, and the maximum validity period has been extended to five years.
While Category 2 is never a substitute for Category 1, it is possible to use Category 3 for what should more accurately be a Category 2 application.
However, always remember that Immigration reviews applications holistically, and if they suspect the application is fraudulent, they will likely reject it.
If this sounds like the right one, read our guide to Category 3 Employment Pass applications.
The risk of choosing the wrong EP category
If there is a mismatch between the role and EP category, ESD will likely reject it in which case it can only be appealed or resubmitted one year later, and all future applications receive added scrutiny.
If the employer is suspected of intentionally trying to apply under an incorrect category to take advantage of lower requirements, they may get blacklisted from hiring expatriates permanently.
We wish you all the best with your EP applications, and if you have more questions, we’re always here to answer them 🙂
Let MISHU handle your EP 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.