Malaysia Enhances Delivery Service For Expatriates

PUTRAJAYA, June 19 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday launched the Expatriate Services Division (ESD), aimed at streamlining and enhancing the immigration's delivery service for expatriates. The ESD would act as a one-stop-centre for expatriates to submit all expatriate-related immigration matters and one integrated data platform, said Najib during the launch. Speaking at the launch here, Najib said the ESD would improve the process of securing approval for work permit of expatriates, from more than a month to five working days. The ESD, an initiative to attract and retain top foreign talent, would offer an integrated service, covering all the needs of expatriates, including Employment Pass, Dependent Pass, Social Visit Pass, Professional Visit Pass and Resident Pass. "With the new processes introduced, major investors and businesses will experience a significant improvement in securing approval for work permits. "In the past, companies had to wait for more than a month to secure approval for employment pass. Going forward, the Immigration will commit to a client charter of five working days to process employment pass applications by companies registered with the ESD," he said. Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, said the ESD model here would be replicated in other states, beginning with Johor and Penang while the services system would also be expanded to cover expatriate approving agencies, such as Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC). "It is important that the government and leading employers continue to work closely to ensure our services remain relevant and responsive to your requirements, since businesses drive our economic transformation," he said. Acknowledging that talent was a critical ingredient to Malaysia's economic transformation, the prime minister said it was important to attract skilled employees from abroad, especially in an open growing and globalised economy like Malaysia. "Foreign talent helps address skill gaps and creates a more diverse and experienced talent pool. So we will continue to work to attract the best foreign talent to live and work in Malaysia," he said. Najib said more than 2,000 top expatriates approved for Residence Pass - were high end employees who contribute to the country's unparalleled growth and development. The transformation of ESD was executed through a joint cooperation between the Home Ministry, Immigration Department and TalentCorp, marking another milestone in the enhancement of public service delivery in the immigration services. -- BERNAMA