KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, July 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Malaysia has completed a major step forward in expatriate talent management with the integration of MYFutureJobs and ePPAx hiring requirements into Xpats Gateway, simplifying the approval process for employers and strengthening the country’s digital governance.
YB Steven Sim Chee Keong, Minsiter of KESUMA (Middle) together with, from left, CEO MEF, Mr Sheikh Farouk, TalentCorp GCEO, Mr Thomas Mathew, Deputy Sec-General KESUMA, Dr Mohd Shaharin, Director General of Immigration, Ybhg. Dato’ Zakaria, Deputy Director General of MPC, Dr Norjayadi, and EuroCham CEO, Mr Karl Godderis.
Announcing the development today, Minister of Human Resources YB Steven Sim Chee Keong said the move reflects Malaysia’s commitment to raising productivity, improving regulatory coherence, and enhancing the ease of doing business.
“Xpats Gateway brings together the core departments and agencies under the Ministry of Human Resources (KESUMA) to deliver a more efficient and business-friendly system,” said YB Steven Sim. “By streamlining processes across PERKESO, JTKSM, and TalentCorp, we are advancing rekayasa in government service delivery, raising productivity, and reinforcing Malaysia’s position as a competitive, investment-ready economy.”
He also commended TalentCorp for leading the platform’s development and integration, noting that the work was delivered in-house.
“TalentCorp’s delivery of this platform internally reflects the strength of talent within our public sector, while ensuring sensitive data remains secure and governed within Malaysia,” he added.
Director-General of the Immigration Department, YBhg. Dato’ Zakaria bin Shaaban, stated that the Immigration Department of Malaysia supports the integration of the ePPAx and MYFutureJobs requirements into the Xpats Gateway platform. This integration is expected to shorten processing times and enable transparent and integrity-driven documentation in the approval of Expatriate Employment Passes in Malaysia.
“This collaboration between the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN) through the Immigration Department, and KESUMA is an example of a whole-of-government approach to strengthening investor confidence, upholding national security, and delivering more trustworthy and transparent public services,” he added.
Fulfilling Key Regulatory Requirements
With this integration, employers can now meet mandatory Employment Act requirements as governed by JTKSM, and obtain MYFutureJobs acknowledgment letters by PERKESO, all within Xpats Gateway. These initial steps are mandatory for all expatriate hires, regardless of sector.
Digitising And Coordinating Across Government
Launched in June 2023, Xpats Gateway was developed by TalentCorp as a single-window platform to streamline expatriate application procedures. It connects 26 regulatory and approving agencies across government. The integration of MYFutureJobs and ePPAx for mandatory regulations requirements, which went live on 1 July 2025, marks the operationalisation of Malaysia’s end-to-end digital expatriate approval ecosystem.
With this integration:
a. Redundancies are eliminated:
- ESD-registered companies can streamline their processes, reducing repetitive data entry by up to 70%.
b. Approval timelines are shortened:
- Processing time for JTKSM and MYFutureJobs approvals is reduced to 10 working days each.
- Applications can be submitted concurrently, improving overall efficiency.
c. Greater transparency and fraud prevention:
- The Client Charter now provides clearer timelines, and employers can track application status in real time.
- All data and documents are sourced directly from official systems (e.g. Companies Commission of Malaysia, JTKSM, PERKESO), reducing the risk of fraudulent submissions.
The initiative was delivered in close collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN), the Immigration Department of Malaysia (JIM), the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC), and TalentCorp under KESUMA.
Malaysia’s streamlined approach to workforce approvals is already making an impact. The country rose 11 spots in the 2025 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking, driven by improvements in business efficiency and digital readiness. Xpats Gateway is a key enabler of the MADANI Economy framework, which aims to position Malaysia among the world’s top 12 most competitive economies by 2033.
For more information, visit www.xpatsgateway.com.my.