Working in Malaysia: Employment Pass, Minimum Wage, Tax and Contributions

A French national obtains the right to work in Malaysia with an Employment Pass, applied for by the employer. The company registers once with the Expatriate Services Division, attached to the Immigration Department, then files the expatriate’s application online. The process includes authorisation from the Labour Department of Peninsular Malaysia under section 60K of the Employment Act 1955, an advertisement on the MYFutureJobs platform where it applies, and a letter of support from the supervising authority for regulated sectors (Immigration Department).

• Pass duration: a multiple-entry visa of 1 to 60 months, depending on the employment contract and the approval of the expatriate committee; a signed employment contract and a fixed monthly salary paid by the Malaysian employer are required.
• i-KAD card: it is issued to Employment Pass holders; for a first entry, the endorsement of the pass and the card are done on arrival at terminals 1 and 2 of Kuala Lumpur airport.
• Family members: the spouse and children under 18 apply for a Dependant Pass; parents, parents-in-law, children aged 18 to 25 and the common-law partner fall under the Long-Term Social Visit Pass (Immigration Department).
• Contract and settling in: see the guide to working abroad and the page on living in Malaysia for arrival formalities.

The revised salary policy applies to all applications, new or renewals, received from 1 June 2026. The threshold is measured on the monthly basic salary, taxable in Malaysia: bonuses, allowances and pay received outside Malaysia are not counted (Immigration Department).

• Category I: MYR 20,000 and above (about €4,362), against MYR 10,000 and above previously.
• Category II: MYR 10,000 to 19,999 (about €2,181 to €4,362), against MYR 5,000 to 9,999 previously.
• Category III: MYR 5,000 to 9,999 (about €1,091 to €2,181), against MYR 3,000 to 4,999 previously. Applications in this category filed from 1 June 2026 carry the right to bring family members.
• Maximum employment period: up to 10 years for categories I and II, up to 5 years for category III, with a compulsory succession plan for categories II and III from 1 January 2027.
• Existing passes: they remain valid until they expire; a renewal filed from 1 June 2026 follows the new thresholds.

This policy aims to reserve passes for high-value roles and to encourage the training of local employees (Immigration Department). Euro amounts follow the ECB reference rate of 02/10/2026 (€1 = MYR 4.5849).

The DE Rantau Nomad Pass is a Professional Visit Pass that authorises remote work from Malaysia for employers or clients located abroad. It is aimed at remote employees of a company not registered in Malaysia and at freelancers, including those who also serve Malaysian clients (MDEC).

• Income: USD 24,000 a year for digital profiles (about €21,381), USD 60,000 for other roles (about €53,452), proven by contract, payslips or invoices and bank statements for the last three months; the contract must have started at least three months before the application.
• Duration: 3 to 12 months, renewable once for 12 months, or 24 months at most; the pass is valid in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan, and a stay in Sabah or Sarawak is made on tourist status.
• Costs: MYR 1,080 per applicant (about €236) and MYR 540 per family member (about €118), non-refundable; at endorsement, pass fees of MYR 90 per quarter or MYR 360 a year (about €79) are added.
• Conditions: processing in 6 to 8 weeks; a health insurance contract valid in Malaysia for the whole duration of the pass and a tax number are required for endorsement; the spouse cannot work on this pass, and a tourist visa cannot be converted into a DE Rantau.
• Taxation: after 182 days, income becomes taxable like that of a resident; for freelancers, a 10% withholding (or the treaty rate) may apply to Malaysian-source income during the first 182 days (MDEC).

For any other self-employed activity on site, immigration authorisation should be checked with the Immigration Department before starting: see the guide to digital nomad visas and the page on digital nomad insurance.

The Minimum Wages Order 2024 sets the minimum wage at MYR 1,700 a month (about €371), or MYR 8.72 an hour (about €1.90). It applies to all employees, excluding domestic workers, since 1 February 2025 for employers with five or more employees and in professional activities, and since 1 August 2025 for other employers (order P.U. (A) 376, Ministry of Human Resources). The amount in force should be checked on the National Wages Consultative Council portal.

• Contributions calculated on the minimum: for the EPF, a foreign employee’s contribution (excluding domestic workers) is calculated on at least the minimum wage in force (EPF).
• Monthly salary and contract: a fixed salary and a signed employment contract are the basis of an Employment Pass; the pass is issued for 1 to 60 months depending on the contract.
• Salary levels: the median salary in the formal sector is MYR 3,167 in December 2025 (about €691), with MYR 4,391 in Kuala Lumpur (about €958), MYR 3,500 in Pulau Pinang (about €763) and MYR 3,400 in Selangor (about €742); it reaches MYR 7,900 in mining and MYR 2,564 in agriculture (DOSM).

A foreign employer or an employee negotiating a contract also checks the health cover provided: the guide to secondment or expatriation helps you compare the statuses.

An individual is a Malaysian tax resident for a year when they stay in Malaysia 182 days or more in the year (section 7 of the Income Tax Act, according to MDEC). A resident is taxed on a progressive scale and benefits from reliefs; a non-resident is taxed at 30% with no relief. According to HASiL’s introduction page, foreign-source income received in Malaysia is exempt.

• Resident scale published by HASiL for assessment years 2023 to 2025: 0% up to MYR 5,000, 1% up to 20,000, 3% up to 35,000, 6% up to 50,000, 11% up to 70,000, 19% up to 100,000, 25% up to 400,000, 26% up to 600,000, 28% up to 2,000,000 and 30% beyond. A taxable income of MYR 60,000 (about €13,087) gives MYR 2,600 of tax (about €567); MYR 120,000 (about €26,173) gives MYR 14,400 (about €3,141).
• Taxation threshold: a single employee is affected above MYR 37,333 of annual employment income (about €8,143), with the employer operating the monthly deduction (MTD).
• Formalities: the tax number and the return go through the MyTax portal; before a final departure, the employer informs HASiL at least 30 days in advance and withholds the sums due until the tax clearance letter for departure is received.
• France-Malaysia treaty: signed on 24 April 1975, it was amended by the protocols of 31 January 1991 and 12 November 2009; it allocates the right to tax income between the two states and provides for the elimination of double taxation (Article 23): France in principle exempts income taxable in Malaysia, with a tax credit for certain income (notably dividends, interest and royalties) (impots.gouv.fr).
• Residence: in case of dual residence, Article 4 applies in turn the permanent home, the centre of personal and economic interests, the habitual abode and then nationality.

The French tax office for non-resident individuals advises on personal situations; the page on retiring in Malaysia deals with pensions.

Foreign employees with a valid passport and work permit, excluding domestic workers, contribute to the EPF, the funded pension fund, since the October 2025 wages, with 2% paid by the employee and 2% by the employer, up to age 75 (EPF). Permanent residents already contribute at the Malaysian rate. Foreign members benefit from the annual dividend and a withdrawal when they leave the country.

• Work accidents: paid by the employer (1.25%), since 1 January 2019 (PERKESO).
• Invalidity: 0.5% for the employer and 0.5% for the employee, since 1 July 2024 (PERKESO).
• 24-hour protection, Lindung 24 Jam: accidents occurring outside working time, since 1 June 2026, with an employee contribution of 0.75% in the first phase (PERKESO).

These schemes cover accidents and invalidity. Ordinary illness and hospitalisation not linked to an accident fall under health insurance, often provided by the employer. CLEISS (the French liaison centre for international social security) lists no social security agreement between France and Malaysia: EPF and PERKESO contributions therefore do not add up with the French schemes. Employees seconded by a French employer fall under specific rules. See the page on healthcare reimbursement in Malaysia and the glossary entry on the seconded worker.

The formal labour market has 7.08 million employees in December 2025 (DOSM). Sectors stand out by their pay levels: mining and quarrying, which account for 0.5% of formal employees, offer the highest median salary (MYR 7,900, about €1,723), while agriculture, with 1.8% of formal employees, shows MYR 2,564 (about €559).

• Currency: the Malaysian ringgit (MYR); the ECB reference rate is MYR 4.5849 per €1 on 02/10/2026, after 4.6147 the day before, a rate that moves every day and weighs on the purchasing power of a salary paid in euros.
• Work immigration policy: the raising of Employment Pass thresholds and the 2027 succession plan steer expatriate jobs towards skilled positions and the transfer of skills to local teams.
• Local salaries: the median is highest in Kuala Lumpur, ahead of Pulau Pinang and Selangor, which guides the choice of a city to work in.

Before accepting an offer, a candidate compares the basic salary with the threshold for their category, the health cover and the benefits; the guide to the Malaysian healthcare system helps you put a figure on care. Expavy offers a free diagnostic to compare insurance suited to a local or seconded contract.