KUALA LUMPUR - The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) will centralise expatriate application processes for the manufacturing and selected services sectors under a new digital platform beginning March 16.

The agency said the new system, known as the MIDA Expatriate System (MES), will eliminate duplicated procedures, shorten processing time and provide investors with transparent tracking of their applications, as reported by Business Today.

MES is built on the InvestMalaysia digital investment platform, MIDA’s official digital investment platform that has been operational since 2017.

The system integrates directly with the Malaysian Immigration System (MYImms) to manage the entire lifecycle of expatriate applications through a single login and one-time document submission.

Applications submitted through the Xpats Gateway platform will be channelled into InvestMalaysia.

The platform will manage all stages of the process, including company registration, expatriate post approvals, Employment Pass approvals and ePass endorsement.

MIDA said the integration would enable faster processing, consistent evaluation standards nationwide and clear tracking of application status at every stage.

Since June 2023, the authority has evaluated more than 50,000 applications for expatriate posts and Employment Passes.

The agency said the process is supported by established guidelines, experienced officers, governance frameworks and long-standing coordination with the Immigration Department of Malaysia.

MES digitalises and integrates procedures that were previously handled separately by bringing them into a single unified system.

MIDA said the system will streamline processes without creating new infrastructure or adding extra layers of bureaucracy.