IMPACT – MEDIUM

What is the change? Malaysia’s Multimedia Development Corporation has announced its holiday schedule for the Hari Raya Aidil Fitri (Eid al-Fitr) holiday in July.

What does the change mean? To avoid processing delays, applicants must take note of the scheduled office closures and submission cutoff dates.

  • Implementation timeframe: MDeC’s e-Xpats Centre will be closed July 16-19.
  • Visas/permits affected: All immigration services.
  • Who is affected: Foreign nationals in Malaysia.
  • Impact on processing times: Holiday closures will impact processing.
  • Next steps: Applicants should plan to file applications according to the submission cutoff dates.

Background: In celebration of the holiday immediately following the month of Ramadan, the e-Xpats Centre will be closed July 16-19, resuming work July 20. MDeC has announced the following deadlines for Stage 1 and 2 applications prior to the holiday:

Application Type Submission Deadline Decision Date
(if submitted after deadline)
Foreign knowledge workers and related applications for companies under MSC and ICT (Stage 1) July 10 After July 20
Employment pass, dependent pass, resident pass, and other related passes and services (Stage 2) June 19 After July 20

Stage 2 applications received from June 19 onward will be processed without original passports for security reasons. Passport submission for Stage 2 processing will resume as normal on July 20. Applications submitted without an original passport must contain copies of the following pages of an applicant’s passport:

  1. Identity page.
  2. Current pass page (if applicable).
  3. Latest entry stamp page.
  4. Reference visa page (if applicable).
  5. Last page of the passport (only for Indian nationality).
  6. Three empty pages.

Note that the Stage 2 submission cutoff date only applies to MSC-status companies. The ICT-status companies may continue to file applications directly to the Immigration Unit as normal.

BAL Analysis: In order to avoid delays in processing time, employers are encouraged to submit applications according to the cutoff dates provided by the authorities.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our network provider located in Malaysia. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.

Copyright © 2016 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.