On 27 April 2026, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) conducted a briefing on the implementation of its new expatriate employment policy and the rollout of the MIDA Expatriate System (MES). This follows the official launch of MES on 16 March 2026, which introduced an enhanced expatriate module within InvestMalaysia and Xpats Gateway as part of centralizing and digitizing the end-to-end processing of expatriate pass applications for companies under MIDA's purview. Under this framework, the entire expatriate application process, including ePASS issuance, is managed by MIDA. Effective 1 June 2026, eligible companies operating in the manufacturing and selected services sectors under MIDA's purview will be required to submit applicable expatriate applications via MES, instead of the existing Expatriate Services Division (ESD) online portal. Additionally, MIDA has introduced a new pass type, the Employment Pass — Foreign Graduate (EP-FG), which allows international fresh graduates of higher education institutions within Malaysia to seek employment in the country, which will also need to be applied for via MES.

A Tax Alert prepared by EY's People Advisory Services, and attached below, provides additional details.