Malaysia Foreign Knowledge Worker Projections for 2018

December 13, 2017 Posted by ASEAN Briefing Reading Time: 3 minutes

By Dezan Shira & Associates
Editor: Vasundhara Rastogi

The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) on December 8, 2017 began accepting requests for foreign knowledge worker (FKW) projections. In Malaysia, companies registered with the MDEC must seek FKW projection approval in advance before applying for visa application (new or renewal) for their foreign employees.

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For hiring foreign workers in 2018, companies with Malaysian Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Status and those in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Sector can submit their FKW projections requests through the MDEC’s eXpats portals. It is important to note that no visa applications will be entertained in 2018 unless the FKW request has been submitted and approved by the MDEC.

The time period for application processing may vary from five to 10 working days, depending on the number of foreign workers a company is planning to hire in the next calendar year.

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Further, the companies must note that the unutilized balance of companies’ FKW projections for the year 2017 will be forfeited by December 31, 2017, and will not be carried over to the year 2018. Companies planning to apply for employment passes in 2018 must ensure that they immediately apply for approval of their 2018 FKW projection to avoid any visa disruptions next year.

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