Kuala Lumpur: Special passes for investors or groups of expatriates will be issued starting April 1 to enable them to stay longer in the country for their respective business and investment purposes. Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail stated that this initiative employs a single window method to facilitate the entry of this group, with the issuance of passes being done electronically.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the Home Minister emphasized that the new passes are specifically for investors to enable easier entry and to ease the process of doing business in the country. He highlighted the importance of processing applications swiftly to improve the business climate, which is a key role of the Immigration Department. Saifuddin made these remarks during Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat, responding to a supplementary question by Lee Chean Chung (PH-Petaling Jaya) regarding the readiness of the Immigration Department to simplify processes and reduce reliance on agents, especially for foreign investors.
In response to Lee’s original question about service improvements, Saifuddin said the Home Ministry (KDN) is committed to completing the remaining 11,700 applications for entry passes and permits by June, aiming to enhance service delivery to the public. He noted that currently, 80 percent of entry permit applications are from foreign wives married to local citizens.
He further explained that the Immigration Department issues nearly three million passes annually, with the Temporary Work Visit Pass, Student Pass, and Spouse Pass being the most popular. Through the digitalisation agenda, several types of passes can now be managed online, which reduces government expenditure by saving RM13 million on printing pass stickers for passports.
Saifuddin also mentioned that pass holders are no longer required to use stickers, as they can simply carry a device displaying their pass status. This change affects employers renewing Temporary Work Visit Passes, who no longer need to visit counters to renew workers’ passes. Consequently, pass service counters have experienced a 70 percent reduction in congestion, aligning with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s call for public services to embrace digitalisation.