PUTRAJAYA – The deadline for Visa with Reference (VDR) applications at the Immigration Department has been extended from March 31 to April 21, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said this was due to a high number of active quotas who were yet to apply for the visa, as well as technical issues that affected the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS) late last month.
“This extension takes into consideration the high number of active quotas that have not applied for VDR, which has reached 132,000, as well as technical issues on the FWCMS system from March 21-23 and March 27-29.
“This extension will provide all genuine employers with an opportunity to complete the process to obtain a VDR approval letter soon,” he told a press conference at his ministry here today.
Saifuddin forecasted that 105,600 of the total active quota would be approved, after explaining that the trends for approved-quota entry for the last five years did not exceed 80% of the entire quota.
He then urged all employers to make use of the extension period to obtain their VDR approvals, noting the FWCMS website would experience high traffic at the eleventh hour.
However, the minister also said the deadline for the entry of formal sector migrant workers remained on May 31, and no more workers under active quotas would be allowed beginning June 1.
On March 1, Saifuddin said employers’ quotas for formal sector migrant workers would be cancelled if the VDR was not issued by March 31.
To facilitate employers, he said the processing times for migrant-worker levy refunds would be shortened to introduce more employer and industry-friendly refund policies.
Meanwhile, Saifuddin said the ministry was in the final phases of an agreement with the UN High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR) to share data on refugees, which would streamline future steps for the government.
Following a meeting with Thomas Albrecht, the UNHCR’s representative in Malaysia, Saifuddin also said they were mooting capacity building and training for refugee management. – April 4, 2024