What to check, what to prepare and what to expect on this route. Every official name and link below comes from a government or ILO page we read; we say plainly where there is none.
Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE)
SLBFE licenses foreign employment agencies, registers migrant workers and takes their complaints.
How to check: Look the agency up in the SLBFE licensed-agency directory. If something is wrong, SLBFE takes complaints online and by phone.
SLBFE hotline 1989 or +94 11 2 880 500
Open the official list ↗ Official site ↗ Our guide for Sri Lanka →
Every candidate completes the same intake checklist. Your source country adds its own clearances on top. The destination side (visa type, medical, attestation) depends on the employer and your role, and your specialist confirms what currently applies.
Department of Labour Peninsular Malaysia (JTKSM), Ministry of Human Resources
Private employment agencies must hold a licence under the Private Employment Agencies Act 1981, and JTKSM publishes the list of licensed agencies. Check the agency there before you pay.
Last checked 29 September 2026. Links go to official sites we do not control; treat each site as the authority, not this page.
What the government and the ILO publish, in plain words. Laws change: your contract and the official page always win over this summary.
Moving to a new employer in Malaysia needs its own application through the employer-change process in the ePPAx system, and cross-sector changes are allowed. Ask any recruiter how a change would work before you sign.
Malaysian Department of Labour (JTKSM): foreign workers employment (Malay text). Read 8 October 2026An employer must prepare and sign a written contract of service for a foreign worker, with the terms the Employment Act 1955 requires.
Malaysian Department of Labour (JTKSM): foreign workers employment FAQ (Malay text), read 8 October 2026Foreign workers are entitled to the full minimum wage, the same as everyone else. The employer must also pay foreign workers' wages through a bank, at least at the Minimum Wage Order rate.
Malaysian Department of Labour (JTKSM): foreign workers employment FAQ and prerequisites (Malay text), read 8 October 2026An employer may transfer a foreign worker to a new employer only for reasons the policy lists: the original employer is bankrupt or closing, hit by a disaster such as fire, unable to afford the worker, restructuring or changing business status, changing company name or director, or has died. A change of employer needs its own prior approval under section 60K.
Malaysian Department of Labour (JTKSM): foreign workers employment FAQ (Malay text), read 8 October 2026Under the same amendment, wages must be paid through a financial institution, forced labour is banned, and discrimination in employment is banned. The general penalty under the Act was raised to RM50,000.
Malaysian Department of Labour (JTKSM): Employment Act 1955 (Amendment) 2022 FAQ (Malay text), read 8 October 2026For hiring Nepali workers under the Nepal-Malaysia memorandum of understanding, JTKSM attests the employer's demand letter. It said it attests demand letters for no other country at the time of reading.
Malaysian Department of Labour (JTKSM): foreign workers employment (Malay text). Read 8 October 2026Hiring a foreign worker without the section 60K approval is an offence, punishable by a fine of up to RM100,000, up to five years in prison, or both. The Department says employers must also have no conviction for forced labour and must advertise the vacancy on the government's MyFutureJobs portal.
Malaysian Department of Labour (JTKSM): foreign workers employment FAQ (Malay text), read 8 October 2026Before hiring a new foreign worker, an employer must obtain prior approval (Kelulusan Awal) from the Department of Labour under section 60K of the Employment Act 1955, with no exemption. Ask the recruiter for proof that the approval exists.
Malaysian Department of Labour (JTKSM): foreign workers employmentDomestic workers from Indonesia must be recruited through licensed private employment agencies.
Malaysian Department of Labour (JTKSM): foreign workers employmentAn employer may not keep a foreign worker's passport. The Department of Labour says holding it is an offence under section 12(f) of the Passports Act 1966.
Malaysian Department of Labour (JTKSM): foreign workers employment FAQ (Malay text), read 8 October 2026Anyone who recruits, including advertising as a go-between for employers and job seekers, must hold a private employment agency licence under the Private Employment Agencies Act 1981. A Licence C is the category that covers placing non-citizen workers in Malaysia, and Licence B covers foreign domestic workers; it requires paid-up capital of RM250,000 and a RM250,000 money guarantee. Ask a recruiter for the licence category and number, and check it against the Department's published list of agencies.
Malaysian Department of Labour (JTKSM): private employment agencies page and FAQ, read 8 October 2026To get an agency licence, at least 51 percent of the company must be held by Malaysian citizens, and its director must be a Malaysian citizen with no conviction under anti-trafficking or forced-labour laws. A licence lasts 24 months and must be renewed at least 60 days before it expires.
Malaysian Department of Labour (JTKSM): private employment agencies FAQ (Malay text), read 8 October 2026An employer may deduct accommodation charges from a worker's pay, including a foreign worker's, but not more than RM100 a month and only after the Director General of Labour has certified the accommodation. If the contract says accommodation is free, no deduction may be made. Employers applying for foreign workers must also provide accommodation for all of them and register them with the social security body (PERKESO).
Malaysian Department of Labour (JTKSM): foreign workers employment FAQ (Malay text), citing the 2020 maximum accommodation rent regulations, read 8 October 2026The Department of Labour takes complaints about labour disputes, including late payment of wages, no copy of your employment contract, no salary statement, unpaid maternity benefits, and an employer not paying the minimum wage. It lists the numbers 03-8000 8000 and 03-8888 9111 on its site.
Malaysian Department of Labour (JTKSM): complaints page and site footer, read 8 October 2026Money claims between employee and employer, such as unpaid salary or other payments due under your contract or the law, are heard in the Labour Court under section 69 of the Employment Act 1955, and workplace discrimination claims under section 69F. Employees earning over RM4,000 a month, other than manual workers, cannot claim overtime, rest-day or public-holiday pay, shift allowance or termination benefits.
Malaysian Department of Labour (JTKSM): labour case page, read 8 October 2026The 2022 amendment to the Employment Act 1955, in force from 1 January 2023, cut the working week to 45 hours and brought every private-sector employee under the Act whatever their pay. It applies in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan only: Sabah and Sarawak still use their own Labour Ordinances. Employees earning over RM4,000 a month, other than manual workers, do not get overtime, rest-day or public-holiday pay.
Malaysian Department of Labour (JTKSM): Employment Act 1955 (Amendment) 2022 FAQ (Malay text), read 8 October 2026Checked against the linked pages on 2026-10-08. This is general information, not legal advice.
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$50.00 USD + 18% VAT (Sri Lanka) = $59.00 USD (about Rs16,540 LKR + Rs2,977 LKR = Rs19,517 LKR)
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Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE). Look the agency up in the SLBFE licensed-agency directory. If something is wrong, SLBFE takes complaints online and by phone.
Department of Labour Peninsular Malaysia (JTKSM), Ministry of Human Resources. Private employment agencies must hold a licence under the Private Employment Agencies Act 1981, and JTKSM publishes the list of licensed agencies. Check the agency there before you pay.
Every candidate completes the same intake checklist: Passport (First Page), Passport (Last Page), Photograph, CV, Education Certificate, Health Declaration, Consent. Sri Lanka adds: SLBFE registration, SLBFE pre-departure orientation certificate. The destination side (visa type, medical, attestation) depends on the employer and your role, and your specialist confirms what currently applies.
It depends on the employer and your contract, and it should be written in your offer before you pay or travel. Use the offer checker to see what is missing.
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