Others

Special Pass

Non-Malaysian citizens who obtained permits or visas must ensure, that they exit the country before the permit or visa expires. Overstay may be subject to penalties by the Immigration Department, such as fines, detention or being blacklisted from entering Malaysia in the future. Nevertheless, it can happen that foreign nationals encounter issues which restrict them from departing Malaysia. For such cases the Immigration Department issues a Special Pass, which is a temporary pass and allows foreign nationals to legally remain in Malaysia.

A Special Pass is a temporary pass (usually valid for thirty (30) days) which is issued by the Immigration Department to extend their stay in Malaysia due to special circumstances. This includes for example illness, an accident and conflict in the country of origin or the pending approval of a submitted permit which has not been renewed yet.

The Immigration Department will grant a Special Pass in three (3) common instances:

• Making arrangements to exit Malaysia;
• Pending approval of an Employment Pass or any related Pass;
• Completing in-country Immigration Process.

For Special Pass holders that making arrangement leaving the country must leave on the planned date and for those who wishes to stay due to pending approval, the person must remain in Malaysia. Otherwise, the Special Visit Pass will become invalid upon exit.

Transfer Endorsement (ToE)

All permit holders, who have recently obtained a new passport and whose current permit has a validity of more than three (3) months, need to transfer the existing pass from the old passport to the new passport. Therefore, it is necessary to initiate a Transfer of Endorsement (ToE) process within seven (7) days of obtaining a new passport.

The validity of the passport must be more than twelve (12) months upon submission of the application for endorsement to the Immigration Department and the passport must have a minimum of six (6) consecutive empty pages.

Rejections

In principle, any application for a visa or permit is not a guarantee that the visa or permit will be approved. Nevertheless, there are well-known reasons which can cause a definite rejection. Some of the main rejection reasons are as follows:

• Applying in the wrong category or incomplete/false documents
• Insufficient validity of the passport (for Visa on Arrival at least six (6) months on the arrival day and twelve (12) months on the day of submission for any permit application);
• Overstaying is a big criminal offense and may be one of the major reasons for Malaysia visa rejection;
• Unfulfilled photo requirements may also result in rejection. Visa and permit applications have clearly defined photo requirements, which need to be met;
• Any Israeli stamps in passport or any connection in curriculum vitae or visa stamps of a country with which Malaysia has no diplomatic relations.
• Any individual tax arrears.

If a visa or permit has been refused, there is still the possibility to lodge an appeal. ESD and MDEC offer checklists regarding the appeals of Employment Passes or Professional Visit Passes*.

* https://esd.imi.gov.my/portal/downloads/ (called on 11/01/2022).