The real record of obtaining Malaysia Digital Nomad Visa [Approved in 2024]
With the spread of remote work and the freedom to work from anywhere, a digital nomad visa program (DE Rantau Nomad Pass) has been launched in Malaysia in 2022.
Until then, I was one of those people who thought “Oh, there is such a system” as if it were somebody else’s problem.
In the following year, I decided to change jobs and obtained a position as a marketer.
The job was a remote position without visa support, so I decided to take the plunge.
In this article, I disclose my experience from originally working as a locally hired customer support in Malaysia as a Japanese to changing my job title and visa type in less than a year and returning to Malaysia differently.
I would be happy to be of help to those who are interested in or plan to try the Malaysian Digital Nomad Visa.
What is Malaysia Digital Nomad Visa?
The basic premise is that you need a valid visa to stay in Malaysia for work.
Until now, the most common way to work in Malaysia has been to work for a company in Malaysia and have them support your visa.
The Digital Nomad Visa allows you to work in Malaysia with income from outside Malaysia.
In my case, I will be working in Malaysia with a Singaporean company.
The approval period for the Digital Nomad Visa is from 3 to 12 months and can be extended for another 12 months, which means I can stay in Malaysia for a maximum of 2 years.
Malaysia Digital Nomad Visa Requirements
There are two main forms of work: freelancer or remote worker.
In my case, I applied as a remote worker since I was working while affiliated with a company.
Eligibility
There are the following regulations for annual income and the type of work.
Tech Talent/Profession:
Digital freelancer, independent contractor, and remote worker whom are IT & digital professionals in various domains i.e. software engineers, backend engineers, UX, UI, cloud, cybersecurity, blockchain, AI (Artificial Intelligence), machine learning, data-related etc.), digital marketing, digital creative content, digital content development and etc.
The minimum income requirement: >USD24,000 per year
The applicant must be engaged in a position in the IT or digital domain and have an annual income of USD24,000 or more.
In May 2024, MDEC expanded the DE Rantau Nomad Pass to include professionals beyond IT and digital fields.
Non-Tech Talent/Profession:
Chief Executive Officer (Founder/ Managing Director/ President), Chief Operations Officer, Business Development (Growth Manager), Marketing Manager, Chief Financial Officer , Finance Manager/Accountant, Sales Manager, Customer Success Manager, Human Resources Manager, Legal Counsel, Public Relation Manager, Consultant, Customer Service Manager/ Customer Service Representative/ Customer Success Specialist, Communications & Public Relations Manager, Administration Manager, Technical Writer, Tax Specialist, Tax Accountant, Production Manager, Supply Chain Manager or any related position equivalent to the above positions.
The minimum income requirement
Non-Tech Talent/Profession:> USD 60,000 per year
Malaysia Digital Nomad Visa Application Fee
Applicants are allowed to bring their family members with them.
The application fee for the applicant is RM1,000 (Malaysian Ringgit) and RM500 for the accompanying family member.
News: an e-book about Malaysia Digital Nomad Visa was published
Required Documents for Malaysia Digital Nomad Visa
All applications are done online via the website.
According to the MDEC website, it is not allowed to apply through an agent.
At the time of application, I listed the documents I submitted.
Since I applied from Malaysia and not from my home country, what I submitted may be different from what I would have submitted from my home country, in my case, from Japan.
It seems that some items issued in the home country require translation or proof of translation, so it is best to check each time before proceeding.
All pages of the passport (at least 6 blank pages and at least 14 months of remaining validity)
I scanned it including the cover page and converted it to pdf just to be safe.
Latest CV (Curriculum Vitae)
Since I had mainly applied to Malaysian companies and foreign companies in my job search, I submitted a revised CV in English.
Bank balance certificates for the last 3 months
Since I was living in Malaysia at the time of the application, I downloaded the one from my local bank via online banking and submitted it.
Income certificates or latest tax returns for the last 3 months
I submitted the results of my tax filing in Malaysia.
Pay slips for the last 3 months
I was frequently asked to submit pay stubs from my current job during the application process.
I believe that they are carefully checking to see if the contract is still valid.
A valid employment contract with a contract period of at least 3 months
I submitted the Offer Letter that I received when I was offered my current position.
Good conduct letter (issued by the public authorities in your country or current place of residence)
I applied for the first time when I was hired locally, so I went to Putrajaya in Malaysia to have a good conduct letter issued.
You can apply online and need to go to the office to pick it up.
Letter of Identity（Fill in the prescribed form)
When you proceed with the application on the website, you will find a form to fill out when you ask MDEC to sponsor you.
You only need to fill in the required sections and upload the form.
Certificate of Highest Education
This was also required for my new job, so I submitted a pdf that I had scanned.
I was able to order it from the university online, and they mailed that to me.
Other
In addition to this, you will be asked to provide a report on your work through email correspondence after the application process begins. This is not initially stated, but it is better to be prepared.
At the final stage of the screening process? At around the time of the final stage of the screening, the supervisor who issued the offer letter was contacted by e-mail for confirmation of enrollment, so be prepared for that.
There are also some documents to be submitted after your visa is approved, such as insurance coverage, obtaining a tax number in Malaysia, etc.
My pre-application situation
I was interested in digital marketing and had studied and interned at the company of a business owned by my friend, but not as a full-fledged job.
When I received a job offer at my current Singaporean company in May 2023, it was in customer support working for a BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) company in Malaysia.
So I guess you could say I am applying for a challenge since I have changed jobs and am now fully engaged in digital marketing.
The MDEC, the organization that issues digital nomad visas, also handled visas for the BPO company where I worked before, so I applied with the light-hearted hope that I could switch visas without leaving Malaysia before starting my new job after receiving a job offer.
However, the reality was not that easy.
Overview from application to approval
May 2023 Applied for the visa online
June 2023 Rejected, asked to reapply after starting a new job.
September 2023 Reapplied with a detailed statement of the first salary at a new job.
October 2023 Submit job performance report
Dec. 2023 Request for resubmission of job performance report, resubmitted at the end of the month
January 2024 Passport expiration date is not enough for renewal.
February 2024 Approval
First application
I prepared the necessary documents and applied online on May 30.
Here is the situation at that time.
I think it is because my background at that time was not related to digital marketing, the application was returned.
If my job title at the time was related to that, I may be able to use past reports to support my application straight away.
During this time, my local hire job in Malaysia will end in mid-August 2023 and my new job will start immediately.
Since visas are not issued more than once to one person, I went to Singapore to end my visa for my previous job outside of Malaysia.
Second application
I thought it was too early, but I wanted the visa to be issued as soon as possible, so I resubmitted the application with a statement of my first salary as a no-go.
At that time, I was also asked to submit a report on the performance of my new job in digital marketing, but I told them that I would submit it as soon as possible.
I thought it would take several months to make a report on my achievements at work, so I was just taking it easy and expected to submit it by the end of the year.
To my surprise, I received an e-mail as early as October 10, stating that if I did not submit a job performance report within 10 days, my application would be rejected.
Report Submission
I was not allowed to make excuses for my lack of job experience, so I asked my colleagues to help me gather information and frantically prepare a report.
I also prepared and submitted a separate report on private activity that summarized my personal online activities, as I was personally active on social networking sites such as X and had launched a Kindle book.
Report Resubmission
After submitting the report, in November, I started receiving emails requesting various additional information, such as recent bank statements and current address, and I expected approval.
Then, on December 9, I received a message saying, “The report you submitted does not seem to include the marketing plan campaign and analytical report. Please submit this one.”
So I was honestly at a loss because our company was not really doing campaign related things.
I found a Facebook group where people were exchanging information about Nomad Visa, and when I anonymously asked a question there.
Someone advised that “if you don’t have a campaign report, you should submit an equivalent like SEO report or some other proof that you are involved in digital marketing.”
After some trial and error, I re-created the report and submitted it on December 27.
Passport Renewal and background check
Then, in 2024, I realized something important.
To my surprise, it was time to renew my passport, which comes once every 10 years.
My previous passport was valid until January 8, 2025, which meant that I did not have the required 14 months remaining.
However, in Japan, renewal is not possible until the remaining period is less than one year, so I can only wait until then.
I successfully renewed my passport, updated the information on the application site on January 17, and uploaded all the passport scans.
In late January, the email communication became active again.
On the 23rd, I was asked to submit the latest 3 months of bank statements and the email address of the current offer letter issuer
I responded immediately and waited about a week…
On the evening of February 2, I received an email stating that I had been approved and explaining the next steps.
From approval to travel
I was happy to receive the approval, but the approval letter was issued on February 25, so it took about 3 weeks after the e-mail was sent.
The process is as follows
(1) Contact for approval by e-mail
(2) Issuance of approval letter within 14 business days according to (1).
(3) Reference visa, insurance, and various other formalities and documents are submitted via email.
(4) After submitting the documents mentioned in (3), the necessary preparations for endorsement will be made in about 5 business days.
After the documents are submitted, it takes about 5 business days for the necessary endorsement to be completed, and travel to Malaysia is permitted at this stage (3).
In my case, I was able to obtain a Reference Visa online without going to the Malaysian Embassy in Tokyo.
For endorsement (4), I need to go to Putrajaya to have a visa sticker put on my passport after I arrive in Malaysia.
This photo is what it looked like when I actually went to the Putrajaya office in April 2024 to apply for my visa sticker.
I applied on April 1 and went to receive it on April 18.
Kindle Book Release Announcement
To share my experience not only with Japanese people but also with people around the world, I published my Kindle book in English.
I hope that people will be interested in Malaysia, which I love, and that they will be able to stay there in various ways of working.
