Employment Visa to Malaysia: Some Doubts Cleared

The last one month that I spent in India was full of anxiety. I had to get my visa endorsed from the US High Commission and get a single entry visa to Malaysia. I was confused about the entire process as everyone had a different approach and suggestion in mind. Let me clarify a few doubts here;

• Attesting the Certificates: Once you get an offer letter from a company in Malaysia, you will be required to submit the copy of your certificates along with other documents. The certificates include education certificates, marriage certificate (for dependents visa for spouse) and birth certificate (for dependents visa for children). They ask you to get the copies attested from the High Commission of Malaysia or the Malaysian embassy before sending it to the employer in Malaysia to submit the application for employment pass. You do not need to get the certificates attested by the embassy/High Commission. Just get them notorized from a notary and they will accept it.
• Calling Visa: The calling visa will be sent to you by your employer. Now, there is a difference in calling visas from Malaysia and it depends upon how your employer is set-up in Malaysia. For any general employer, the letter has to come in a sealed envelope and it cannot be opened by the employer, candidate or any agent. It has to be opened by the embassy officials only. However, some companies have a different status in Malaysia. Their calling visas are issued by MSC and they are sent electronically by the employer. It seems, not many companies fall under such category and thus there is a little lack of knowledge about MSC in India
• Getting Single Entry Visa in India: One has the option to go to Malaysian embassies in Delhi, Mumbai or Chennai however, it needs to be pointed out in the beginning as it would be mentioned in the calling visa. There are loads of agents that can get the visa processed but most of them do not have much idea about the employment visas, especially when the calling visa has come from MSC. The agents keep asking about the sealed envelope, which the candidate will not have in case of a calling visa issued by MSC. The best way of getting the visa is through VFS. They have centers in major cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad....not sure about Bangalore) in India. It is the fastest and most economical way of getting the single entry visa processed. Even the officials of the embassy/High Commission ask you to get the application routed through VFS. And I must add that I found VFS extremely professional. They know all the requirements. Unlike the regular agents, VFS representatives knew about MSC
• Once Single Entry Visa is issued, a candidate has to travel to Malaysia and then the employer submits the application for the employment pass or long term multiple entry visa. Please note that the calling visa that will be sent to you will mention the duration of the visa. In my case, it is 3 years. Yet, you will be issued only a single entry visa in India and the long term visa will be issued only in Malaysia.
• Tax structure in Malaysia: Though this point is not relevant to visas, I would like to clarify it as there is lot of confusion about this. Expats have to pay flat 28-30% tax but if the employer has the special status (if the calling visa has been issued by MSC), then the tax would be much lower. I am yet to get my first salary but I have been told that the tax should be in the range of 12-15%. Much better, isn't it?

I hope this clarifies some of the doubts. In case you have any questions, please feel free to reach me on animesh.ajaykumar@gmail.com or on +60176675620