The Home Ministry has extended the deadline for the application for Visa with Reference (VDR) approval letter at the Immigration Department from March 31 to April 21, 2024.
Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said on Thursday (April 4) that this extension takes into account the active quota of 132,000 individuals who have not yet applied for VDR, as well as technical glitches that occurred in the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS) over several days in March.
Saifuddin added that the trend of influx of approved quotas in the past five years has not exceeded 80% of the total approved quotas, and therefore, about 105,600 foreign workers out of the 132,000 quota holders are expected to be granted VDR approval letters.
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Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said on Thursday (April 4) that this extension takes into account the active quota of 132,000 individuals who have not yet applied for VDR, as well as technical glitches that occurred in the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS) over several days in March.
Saifuddin added that the trend of influx of approved quotas in the past five years has not exceeded 80% of the total approved quotas, and therefore, about 105,600 foreign workers out of the 132,000 quota holders are expected to be granted VDR approval letters.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 I would like to refer to the government's decision earlier
00:05 on the remaining formal sector foreign workers' salary quota
00:11 which is still active and has been paid in levy.
00:17 But the visa has not yet been approved.
00:22 On 31 March 2024, it will be cancelled with the city's levy payment being returned.
00:29 That was the decision before.
00:32 The deadline for the new formal sector foreign workers' salary
00:37 with VDR is 31 May.
00:41 At the same time, there will be no more formal sector foreign workers' salary
00:45 from the active quota allowed starting from 1 June.
00:50 That was the decision I made earlier.
00:52 In light of this matter, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
00:55 agreed to extend the deadline for the application for a visa with a levy
01:02 at the Immigration Department to the new date, 21 April 2024.
01:10 The original date is 31 March, we will extend it to 21 April.
01:14 This extension, after we take into account
01:18 the number of active foreign workers' salary that has not yet been requested for VDR,
01:24 is 132,000.
01:28 Now, as of 31 March, we have received 132,000.
01:36 In the time before 31 March,
01:40 there was a little technical disruption to the system.
01:45 This happened on 21, 22, 23, 27, 28 and 29 March.
01:53 But now, the system is back to normal.
01:56 So we believe that this extension will give more space to genuine employers
02:04 to complete the process to obtain a VDR application immediately.
02:09 I also want to share that the trend of the quota that has been passed
02:14 for the past five years,
02:17 we look at the trend,
02:19 when the quota is passed, the levy payment and all the processes,
02:24 we look at the trend of the past five years,
02:28 it is not more than 80% of the total quota that has been passed.
02:33 The pattern shows that.
02:36 Therefore, we expect a total of 105,600 workers
02:42 will be given a VDR application
02:46 from 132,000 cities that have not yet requested for a VDR application.
02:52 This extension will certainly benefit employers,
02:56 especially in the critical sectors such as the field.
02:59 So in this regard, I like to take this opportunity
03:04 to invite employers
03:07 to make the best use of the extension period
03:12 to obtain a VDR application.
03:14 This reminder is important to avoid high traffic in our system
03:20 at the last minute, as has just happened.
03:24 I gave the dates earlier, the dates that have been finalized.
03:27 While our announcement about the expiration of the date has been announced for a long time.
03:32 So it has become the habit of employers to be immediate at the end.
03:37 So of course, it contributes to the disruption of the system.
03:41 And this time, when we continue on 21 April,
03:45 we hope they can be in order so that they do not wait until the last week.
03:51 However, the final term of the entry of foreign workers in the formal sector
03:55 remains on 31 May.
03:58 This is in line with the market sentiment that requires workers
04:02 to be immediate to avoid a situation of high-interest.
04:07 Thank you.
04:08 [END]