Important Asian Visa Articles:
Malaysia has been a popular remote work destination for Digital Nomads, with over 3400+ remote workers as reported by Nomad List. However, with no digital nomad Visa, people have commonly been using Tourism Visas to visit and work in the country. Recently that changed, with the official Malaysian Digital Nomad Visa (De Rantau) released on the 1st of October. In this article, we’re going to share the exact process of obtaining the Malaysian remote working Visa.
This is a supporting, more in-depth article for our huge list of Digital Nomad Visas in Asia.
Table of Contents
Requirements For Malaysian Digital Nomad Visa
The requirements for remote workers, business owners, and independent contractors will all slightly differ. For instance, if you are a digital marketing agency with contracted work, you will need to submit these contracts for approval of the Visa.
But what happens if you don’t work for anyone? You earn from YouTube, Adsense, Affiliate revenue, or some other form of digital platform like Shopify?
We’ve left everything you need to know below for each specific case, so you can apply for the digital nomad visa with ease.
To be eligible for the Malaysia Digital Nomad Visa (De Rantau) you must:
- For remote workers:
- Proof of contract of employment that is greater than 3 months
- Proof of $24,000 or more per year income
- A sponsor from a Malaysian company or deposit payment for MDEC
- For digital freelancers:
- Proof of a contract of work with a company for greater than 3 months
- Proof of $24,000 or more per year income
- A sponsor from a Malaysian company or deposit payment for MDEC
- For digital content creators, business owners with no contract of work:
- Income reports from the digital platforms that you earn money from
- Proof of $24,000/year income from these digital platforms
A sponsor from a Malaysian company or deposit payment for MDEC.
How Do I Get A Sponsor for Malaysia?
If you are unable to find a sponsor, MDEC can support your application. For this to happen, you must follow some requirements.
The following terms and conditions apply:
- A deposit paid to MDEC.
- The amount is similar to the security bond required for work permits (which is $5000)
- The payment can be made via online transfer/bank draft.
- To sign an agreement with MDEC to be the sponsor
You might be able to find some companies online that could act as sponsors, but we would advise against doing this, as many are Ghost Companies. There are some shocking reports of people being kicked out and blacklisted from countries after the country cracked down on Visas.
How To Apply For The Malaysian Remote Worker Visa
The application process for digital nomads wanting access to the De Rantau Visa is fairly simple.
To apply for the Malaysian Digital Nomad Visa you can follow these steps:
Sign Up For An Account
Head to mdec.my/ms/derantau/foreign/ and create and account using your email. You will have to enter a verification code which they will send to the email you have signed up with.
Choose Your Application Type
There are 4 options to choose from:
- Malaysia Digital – for startups and talented persons/investors
- De Rantau Digital Nomads (Local) – Malaysian person to receive the same benefits as Digital Nomads
- De Rantau Digital Nomads (Foreign) – for foreign digital nomads
- De Rantau Hubs – for people looking to provide accomodation services and co working spaces
If you are a foreigner looking to relocate to Malaysia and make use of the Visa, you will want to choose the “De Rantau Digital Nomads (Foreign)”. Then, after this, you will be presented with 2 options.
These 2 options are:
- Digital Freelancer/Contractor – choose if you run a business or freelance for other companies
- Remote Workers – choose this if you are a remote worker for a company with employment
Fill Out Your Information
You will have to upload your passport photos and upload all of the data needed to prove your income and current state of employment. This needs to exceed 24,000 USD/year. You must also prove you have a contract of employment for greater than 3 months.
If you don’t have this, then you must upload all the income details from the digital platforms you earn from
Get A Sponsor
You need to get a sponsorship from a Malaysian company. If you cannot get a sponsor from a Malaysian company, then you can use the MDEC (Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation). This requires paying a security bond of $5000. You must contact them to be able to do this.
The email is expatctr@mdec.com but when I emailed them it wasn’t found. So here is the other contact email clic@mdec.com.my
Paying Taxes In Malaysia for Remote Workers
Tax treatment for people who are digital nomads hasn’t been determined by tax administrators around the world yet. This includes Malaysia and means that you can work tax-free in Malaysia on the De Rantau Visa, until this legislation has caught up. This is true until you reach 182 total days in the country over a year. After this, you are considered a tax resident.
Based on current legislation in Malaysia, digital nomad income is not taxable as Section 7 of Income Tax Act 1967 for individual and permanent establishment under the Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) for enterprises explains.
This means that you must pay taxes in the country where your business or self-employment is still registered.
There are different rules for different countries and if you reside in another country permanently, you may not be liable to pay taxes to your citizen country. Please check with a professional tax adviser on this as it is extremely complicated and constantly changing
The income tax rates in Malaysia are:
| MYR Amount | Tax rate |
|---|---|
| 0 – 5,000 | 0% |
| 5,001 – 20,000 | 1% |
| 20,001 – 35,000 | 3% |
| 35,001 – 50,000 | 8% |
| 50,001 – 70,000 | 14% |
| 70,001 – 100,000 | 21% |
| 100,001 – 250,000 | 24% |
| 250,001 – 400,000 | 24.5% |
| 400,001 – 600,000 | 25% |
| 600,001 – 1,000.000 | 26% |
| 1,000,001 – 2,000,000 | 28% |
| 2,000,001+ | 30% |
Staying in Malaysia on The De Rantau Visa
Foreign nationals can only stay in Peninsular Malaysia with the De Rantau Digital Nomad Visa. To enter Sabah or Sarawak, you must get Tourism Visa to do so. You can’t stay and work in either of those states.
Peninsular Malaysia is the entire West Malaysia. If you want to travel to East Malaysia, you will have to get a Tourism Visa.
FAQ
How Much Does The De Rantau Visa Cost? (Digital Nomad Visa Malaysia)
The cost to apply for the Malaysia De Rantau Visa is 1000 MYR ($220) for a single person. Each dependent is a further 500 MYR ($110).
How Long Is The Visa Valid For?
Here is everything you need to know about the validity of the Malaysian Digital Nomad Visa:
- Valid 6 months from approval. This is not extendable
- 3 to 12 months stay in Malaysia
- Option to extend for 12 months, 2 months before the first 12 are up
- Can bring dependents, but they must be legally your dependents
- Dependents cannot work on your Visa, and they must apply for their own
How Many Entries Does The Digital Nomad Visa for Malaysia Offer?
This Malaysian Digital Nomad Visa is a multiple-entry Visa. This means that, during your valid period of stay, you may leave and re-enter the territory as much as you please. You will need to get Visas for travel to other countries, however.
How Long Does It Take To Process My Visa Application?
It takes 4 weeks to process your Visa application and you can check the progress on the Malaysian embassy website: https://mdec.my/derantau/foreign/
What Documents Do I Need To Prove My Income?
If you are a remote worker, you need proof of an active employment contract from your current employer. If you are freelance, you need to provide proof of income from digital payment platforms. This would be in the form of multiple screenshots or PDF reports downloaded from where you earn money from.
Will I Get A Refund If I’m Rejected?
You will receive a 75% refund if you are rejected due to the administration and processing fees of the application process.
Can I Get A Malaysian Bank With Malaysia’s Digital Nomad Visa?
At current, most Malaysian banks do not accept the De Rantau Visa or the professional visit pass to open a bank. You will have to check with the bank you want to join if they do. However, you can use a Big Pay card, which is essentially a tourism debit card you can top up with cash to pay for things.
We’re Harry & Iris – and we were tired of the same old “10 best places I’ve never been but I’m writing about for some reason” blog posts. So… we’re two young travelers on a mission to travel the world and share our true, unfiltered experience, including all the gristly details. From packing our life into one bag for a year to traveling Vietnam by motorbike, to sorting out Visas for specific countries – we’ve done it all, are doing it all and only give our advice on things we have done – not regurgitated cr*p from another source *cough* most publications *cough*. So bear with us! This project will take some time to grow, and will take a fair bit of money. But we’re determined to make it the single best source of information about traveling on the internet.