Effective March 17, 2023, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has announced that a digital ePass will be issued for Employment Pass (EP) renewals and its related Passes.  The ePass is an electronic pass that will replace the current physical (sticker) Employment Pass and is intended to ease the renewal process of an EP and reduce the number of pages used in the passport.

Notable with this announcement are the following: 

• ePass is only for EP Renewals and its related Pass Renewals for dependants including Dependant Pass (DP) renewals & Long-Term Social Visit Pass (LTSVP) renewals.
• ePass will replace the physical Pass endorsement sticker that is currently affixed into the passport.
• ePass will only be issued for EP/DP/LTSVP renewals using the same passport (e., there is already an existing Pass in the same passport).
• These changes are not applicable to the following situations (these situations will require that the EP/DP/LTSVP be endorsed via a sticker affixed into the passport):

1. 1.    If there is a change in passports during the renewal process;
   2.    When there is a transfer of endorsement from old passport to new passport; and
   3.    For first time EP/DP/LTSVP approvals.

This is a positive change, as the physical passport will no longer be required during the process. MDEC’s FAQs do not address if the ePass is applicable for Change of Employer situations (we are awaiting further guidance from the MDEC).

The electronic ePass is not sufficient, on its own, as an identification document and the physical passport should still be always with the Pass holder as formal ID. The MDEC has indicated that the digital ePass should always be printed and kept together with the passport to demonstrate work authorization in Malaysia.

For specific questions, please reach out to the T&S (Tafapolsky & Smith) APAC global team for a consultation.