Expatriates and Work Permits
The Malaysian government encourages employers in Malaysia to
train and employ more locals in tandem with the government's
policy and vision to have more locals trained and employed at all
levels within various organizations to reflect the multi-racial
composition of the country.
Nevertheless, the current shortage in the amount of employees or
lack in the availability of trained locals has resulted in
employers bringing in expatriate individuals to fill in the
respective posts, i.e. "Key Post", "Time Post",
"Executive Post" and "Non-Executive Post".
For expatriates wishing to work in Malaysia, they are required
to have work permits. These work permits are generally valid for
between 6 months and 5 years, depending on the respective durations
and salary ranges of the employment contracts and the types of
visas according to the requirements set out by the Expatriate
Services Division (ESD)1, a division under the
Immigration Department
