Companies registered under the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) must now obtain pre-approval from the Department of Labour Peninsular Malaysia (JTKSM) online portal before applying for an initial Employment Pass (EP). Employers must submit this approval with each new EP application, but it is not required for EP renewal applications. It will take JTKSM 7-14 business days to process the pre-approval, after which it will be sent to the employer via email (and it will be downloadable from the JTKSM online portal). The employer will then upload the JKTSM approval for each new EP application. Previously, this was only required for Foreign Knowledge Worker Projection applications submitted to MDEC and for EP and Professional Visit Pass applications for Expatriate Services Division companies. The Malaysian government has expanded the scope of this requirement to ensure increased visibility over all foreign nationals in the country.
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