Malaysia | ePPAx system enhancements

The Malaysian government announced that the Department of Labor Peninsular Malaysia (JTKSM) is improving modules and adding new functions to the Integrated Foreign Workers Management System (ePPAx).

Key Points:

• The upgrades specifically impact Employment Pass (EP) and Professional Visit Pass (PVP) applications and the process of initial approval under section 60K of the Employment Act 1955.
• Under section 60K of the Employment Act, employers are required to obtain prior approval before hiring new foreign workers, effective Jan. 1, 2023.
• This process does not apply to renewals of EPs, temporary employment visit passes or other passes.
• The announcement details that the government has added new functions to upgrade the ePPAx system, specifically the multi-tiered levy (MTL), to enhance the process for companies seeking to obtain initial approval to hire a foreign worker.

Additional Information: The Expatriate Services Division details that all applications for prior approval must be submitted through the ePPAx system at ePPAx Login.

Approval is granted to the employer only, and the approval documents are directly generated via the system on the application status check screen. The upgraded modules and functions went live on Dec. 2, 2024, and the government designed the ePPAx system enhancements to improve the process for employers to obtain initial approvals for hiring foreign workers.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group.

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