Illegal foreign workers with valid employers in Malaysia will be able to register and legalise their employment under the Immigration Department’s E-kad (enforcement card) programme, said the country’s Immigration Department Director General Mustafar Ali.
He said the government made the decision to legalise the employment of foreign workers following high demands from several sectors.
“The registration process will begin on February 15 at all of our offices in the peninsula and state immigration departments,” he told a press conference after visiting its Shah Alam headquarters today.
Registration for the E-kad will be free and it will be valid for a period of one year.
Only five sectors have been approved for the programme, namely, the plantation, agriculture, industrial, construction and services, said Mustafar.
He added that employers can apply for the E-kad between the period of February 15 and June 30.
He also warned employers not to apply to register their foreign workers through any middlemen or agents.
He estimated that around 400,000 to 600,000 foreign workers will turn up to register under the programme.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam today said that undocumented Bangladeshis in Malaysia, might be one lakh, will get two years to legalise their status and find jobs.
He told reporters after attending at a book launching on “Untold Stories of Migrants: Dreams and Realities,” organised by Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) at Dhaka University Senate Bhaban.
