Malaysia Digital Nomad Visa

The income threshold splits by professional group rather than sitting at one level. For tech talents and professions the minimum annual income is US$24,000. For non-tech talents and professions it is US$60,000, two and a half times higher.

The tech group covers digital freelancers, independent contractors and remote workers in it and digital domains such as software engineers, backend engineers, UX and UI, cloud, cybersecurity, blockchain, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data-related work, digital marketing and digital content creation and development.

The non-tech group covers managerial and professional titles including chief executive officer, chief operations officer, chief financial officer, accountant, marketing manager, sales manager, human resources manager, legal counsel, tax specialist, supply chain manager and equivalent positions

The duration of the pass sits in the timing cell; what this cell answers is who the pass is open to and how certain a grant is. On scope, the FAQ says the pass is open to applicants of all nationalities with a single exception, citizens of Israel, and the main pass holder must be over eighteen.

On certainty, the authority devotes two separate questions to lowering expectations, and both are worth recording.

First, submission does not guarantee approval: every application is assessed against the prevailing programme requirements, immigration regulations, security considerations and other applicable policies.

The FAQ even sets out an example in which an applicant files complete documents and pays the fee and is still rejected because the relevant authority identifies compliance concerns during assessment.

Second, programme requirements may change after submission: immigration laws, policies, procedures and programme requirements may be revised at any time, and applicants must comply with the latest requirements rather than those in force when they filed. A rejected applicant may re-apply whenever they meet the requirements.

The pass is a Pas Lawatan Ikhtisas, a Professional Visit Pass, granted for a period of between three and twelve months, renewable for a further twelve, giving a maximum stay of twenty-four months.

One document-validity condition can sink a file before income is even examined: the passport must be valid for more than fourteen months at the point of submission, not the customary six; if it falls short, a new passport must be obtained.

The applicant need not be in Malaysia to apply.

Someone already in Malaysia on a valid visa, a tourist visa for instance, may remain while the application is processed; but where the application is approved while they are in the country they must leave and re-enter, obtaining a Visa with Reference beforehand if their nationality requires one.

Only after re-entry does the endorsement process for the e-Pass begin, and throughout that endorsement the applicant must remain in Malaysia, renewals included

This pass does not cover the whole of Malaysia: it facilitates stay only in the states of Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territory of Labuan.

Travel to Sabah or Sarawak remains possible, but entry into those two states is made on a tourist pass rather than on this one. The pass allows multiple entries.

The programme is open to applicants of all nationalities with the exception of citizens of Israel, and the main pass holder must be over 18.

Conversion from a tourist pass to this pass is not permitted. One practical limitation worth knowing before arrival: most banks in Malaysia do not accept a Professional Visit Pass for opening an account, so a local bank account is a matter to raise with each bank rather than something that follows automatically

Only immediate family members of the main pass holder are eligible to apply, in four groups: husband, wife or common-law partner; a child, adopted child or stepchild under 18; a disabled child with no age limit, verified by experts; and parents, but only the parents of the main pass holder, not parents-in-law.

A spouse may not work in Malaysia under this pass. A dependant may enter Malaysia together with the main pass holder, or separately once that holder is in Malaysia. A child wishing to study in Malaysia must obtain a Student Pass through the school, except where the child is home schooled, in which case no Student Pass is required

The status this programme grants, whether a visa or a residence permit, does not replace the holder's passport. The holder still travels on the passport of their own country, so the figure below belongs to the Malaysia passport and becomes the holder's only once they are issued a Malaysia passport.

According to the Passport Index of Prosperous Intelligence, on data dated 30 September 2026, the Malaysia passport reaches 194 destinations without applying for a consular visa in advance. The figure combines three forms of entry and does not count an e-Visa that must be obtained beforehand:

It is therefore a measure of how easily the holder travels, not a count of visa-free countries in the narrow sense.

For comparison, on the same source and the same method of counting, the Vietnamese passport reaches 44 destinations. The two lists of destinations do not nest inside one another, so the difference is an indication rather than a list of places newly opened.

Prosperous Intelligence dates its data and advises checking with the destination’s official authorities before travelling.

The FAQ carries a dedicated tax section, and it splits into two groups with two different day thresholds.

For a foreign remote worker whose income arises outside Malaysia, no tax applies where the number of days stayed in Malaysia does not exceed 60, under the exemption in Paragraphs 21 and 22 of Schedule 6 of the Income Tax Act 1967.

From 61 days onwards the income becomes taxable under Section 4(b) or subsection 13(2) and Article 14 of the Double Taxation Agreement, at a rate set by residential status under Section 7.

For a foreign freelancer with worldwide income arising in Malaysia: withholding tax applies under Section 109B for the first 182 days of stay, at 10 per cent or the preferential rate specified in the DTA.

After 182 days the income is taxable under Section 4(a) by reason of classification as resident under Section 7 and of conducting business under Section 12; and the tax withheld during those first 182 days is credited under Section 110 once the income is properly declared.

The endorsement pack also requires an Income Tax e-Registration Slip issued by the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia

This route costs on four levels rather than one, and the two familiar figures are only the first level before tax. Level one, the processing fee: 1,080 ringgit per applicant and 540 ringgit per dependant, inclusive of 8% sales and service tax — that is, exactly 1,000 and 500 plus the tax.

It falls due on submission, is payable to Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation through its online payment channel, and is non-refundable on every outcome since 1 May 2025: rejection, cancellation, or withdrawal after filing all forfeit it.

Level two, the immigration pass fee, charged separately and paid at endorsement: 90 ringgit for every three months, or 360 ringgit for a year.

Level three, multiple entry visa charges, which vary by country and are set by the Immigration Department of Malaysia. Both of these are likewise non-refundable, including where the endorsement process is never completed.

Level four is a deposit rather than a fee. Where Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation acts as the sponsoring organisation, a regulatory requirement under the immigration framework that must be completed before the pass can be endorsed, a personal security bond is payable.

The bond follows a three-rate scale of 2,000, 1,500 and 750 ringgit according to nationality, and that sum is refunded in full when the pass expires.