Foreign workers: Malaysia govt extends visa deadline to April 21

Malaysian government has extended the deadline for the visa with reference (VDR) application for foreign workers to April 21.

The new decision will allow source countries like Bangladesh more time to process VDR for intended job seekers in the Southeast Asian country.

The deadline was previously slated for March 31, reports New Straits Times (NST).

According to the website of High Commission of Malaysia, Dhaka, VDR is issued by the Malaysian Mission's office abroad to a non-citizen to enable visitor to enter Malaysia after the application is referred and approved by the Immigration Department of Malaysia. It is required for students, expatriates, dependants and professionals on a visit pass.

According to the NST report, Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail in a press conference on Thursday said the extension was due to the large amount of active quotas amounting to 132,000 that have yet to apply.

"This extension takes into account the approximate number of active quotas that have not applied for VDR, which is 1,32,000.

"It was also due to the technical glitches that occurred in the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS) on March 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, and 29," he added.

Saifuddin also said that an expected 1,05,600 workers would be granted VDR Approval Letters out of the 1,32,000 quotas that had not yet applied.

Saifuddin however said that the deadline for the entry of foreign workers in the formal sector would remain on May 31.

Previously, Malaysian industry associations requested that the VDR applications be extended to September from March 31 to meet their quota obligations.

They said that the longer time-frame was necessary due to the complex and time-consuming process of hiring foreign personnel.

More than four lakh Bangladeshi workers have migrated to the Southeast Asian nation after it reopened its labour market in 2022.

Last year, Malaysia was the second largest overseas job market for Bangladesh after Saudi Arabia after 3.5 lakh workers migrated there.