How long to get visas?
 

I was wondering how long it takes to get visas sorted for moving to Malaysia.

We're due to leave very shortly and the HR department at my husband's company is being incredibly slow about everything. Our visas haven't yet been obtained and they haven't even asked for the details of myself or our daughter. We have to be out of our house here soon, his start date is several days later, and I'm getting worried!

Any idea if visas can be obtained quickly? Thanks!

Re: How long to get visas?
 

For whatever it's worth, and please take this with a large grain of salt because I'm relying on information filtered through HR: the Malaysian government changed the work permit requirements a few months ago and had a backlog to work through, so it took at least a month longer than HR anticipated to get that approved. I believe they submitted the paperwork in early July and the approval came somewhat after the middle of August.

We don't actually have the visas yet, just the work permit - something about the visa process still needs to be done in KL, and HR says we/they will do that next week.

Re: How long to get visas?
 

That's what I was afraid of. They've been absolutely useless so far, so the fact that we leave in 2 weeks and nothing is done doesn't surprise me. I'm so glad we've sold our cars, most of our belongings and got our house let!

Re: How long to get visas?
 

For nationals of a lot of countries, you will get 90 days stamped in your passport on arrival. If the worst comes to the very worst, pop down to Singapore for a weekend a couple of weeks before expiry and on re-entry you should get another 90 days without much trouble. That in effect will give you 6 months to geth the visas sorted.

Back in 2006 if I remember correctly it took about 3 weeks to get my work visa sorted. Of course things have moved on since then, but I wouldn't have thought it would normally take more than that. However, even at the 6 or 7 weeks Kedara has indicated, provided the application is straightforward, then it should be taken care of within your first 90 day visa anyway.

Re: How long to get visas?
 

Thanks, Bluenose.

We were told by other people working there that they didn't get their visas until several months after arriving, so to not worry.

No one in HR seems concerned about the short timeline and they've booked our flights, so I'm guessing everything is okay.

However, I'm just curious if we'll be entering Malaysia as tourists? Or will there be some sort of work permit and dependent residence permits that are obtained temporarily while waiting on the visas? I'm used to the stringent immigration procedures of the US, UK and Canada, so this process is confusing, and I'm having issues finding any information online.

Re: How long to get visas?
 

You will get a 90 day visit pass each stamped into your passports. That actually states that you are not entitled to work. Again, I can only give you my example from 2006, and I was being employed on a consulting basis, but I arrived in late February and my employer didn't really start the process until August!

My first stay was about 8 weeks, and during that stint I had a long weekend in Singapore. I think I returned to the UK another twice or 3 times prior to the visa being applied for. In those visist, I spent another 3 weekends in Singapore. On one occasion, I actually went 2 weekends running!

On every return into Malaysia, I was given another 90 days visit stamp. Only once was I asked about whether I was working, and was told that I should have a work visa. That was on a return visit from Singapore and I explained that I was working for 1 company (as a consultant) but employed by another (sub-contracted to Malaysia from the UK) and there had been a mix-up as to which of them was applying for the visa. They let me in without any further problem!