The Ministry of Home Affairs will reclassify Category I, II and III Employment Pass (EP) applications submitted via the Expatriate Services Division (ESD) portal on September 1, 2017. The new classification will be based on the monthly base salary and duration of employment of the foreign national, according to a recent MYXpats Centre announcement. The new system will require higher monthly salaries on or after September 1.

The changes will be as follows:

There is no guarantee that the EP application will be approved for the maximum duration of five years even if the monthly base salary of the foreign national is RM 10,000 or above RM 10,000. Each EP application will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and approval will be at the discretion of ESD.

What This Means for Employers

Employers should take into consideration the changes to the monthly base salary, especially for EP Category I and III.

In order to qualify for an EP under Category I, the foreign national will have to have a monthly base salary of at least RM 10,000.

For EP Category III, if a new or renewal application is required for new or exisiting EP Category III holders, their monthly base salary will have to be at least RM 3,000 (for new applications) or increased to RM 3,000 (for renewal applications).

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