Remote workers and freelancers in technology and professional roles may qualify for Malaysia's DE Rantau Nomad Pass, with family allowed to join.
Next Visa Step places your role in the right income band, builds the three-month evidence MDEC asks for, and plans the visa and endorsement steps that follow approval.
Income, technology roles
$24,000 / year
Family can join, with no extra income figure. When the second band arrived
The short answer
Two annual figures. Your role decides which one is yours.
The band is one question, the evidence another. MDEC asks remote workers for the last three months of payslips and bank statements, and freelancers for three months of invoices with proof of payment. We make sure those three months tell the same story as the annual figure.
What the government charges
MDEC charges RM1,080 per applicant and RM540 per dependant, including 8% sales and service tax, and keeps it whatever the outcome. Immigration adds a pass fee of RM360 a year, and the visa fee is set separately. Insurance is your own cost. Our fee is separate.
Documents
What MDEC's FAQ names for the application, and for endorsement once you arrive.
Clients abroad, some in Malaysia
Contracts, three months of invoices, and the payments that match them.
An employer outside Malaysia
A contract that says remote, three payslips, and the salary landing in your account.
Founder or managing director
No separate owner category. Founders sit in the higher band as a listed role.
What the FAQ does not list. MDEC's FAQ names no police certificate, apostille or translation. That is what the FAQ says, not a promise the portal will never ask. We keep your documents in English and ready to supplement.
Approval is not yet the pass. The approval letter is valid for six months and cannot be extended. Inside that time you get the Visa with Reference or eVISA, enter through a normal immigration counter, and complete endorsement within one month of the entry stamp. The e-Pass, a Professional Visit Pass, usually follows within a week.
Filing from Pakistan: you apply online and do not need to be in Malaysia. MDEC aims to decide within six to eight weeks, and Pakistan is on Immigration's visa-required list, so plan the visa into your dates. Read MDEC's DE Rantau page before you submit.
From experience
Usually because the role, the band and the three months do not line up.
01
A founder or sales manager applies against the technology figure. The job title decides the band, and the file is measured against the higher one.
How we handle itWe match your title and duties to MDEC's role lists before anything is uploaded.
02
Payslips show one salary, the bank shows another, or invoices never appear as credits. Three months is a short window and every gap shows.
How we handle itWe line up each payslip or invoice with its credit and explain any difference in writing.
03
MDEC wants the remote work arrangement in the contract itself. An offer letter from a company registered in Malaysia fails the remote worker test outright.
How we handle itWe check the clause and the employer's registration, and ask for an addendum where it is missing.
04
Since 1 August 2026 MDEC accepts no appeals, and the fee stays paid. A rushed first file now costs the fee and the time.
How we handle itWe review the full file against the FAQ before you pay, not after a refusal.
Working with us
Three stages. The first decides whether the other two happen.
Stage 1
We review how you earn, your last three months of payslips or invoices and the documents supporting your ongoing work. You receive a clear explanation of any gaps to address before applying.
Stage 2
We help organise the portal application, contracts, income evidence and dependant details. Your checklist reflects your role, your band and whether family members are included.
Stage 3
We guide you through the MDEC submission and fee. After approval we explain the visa, the entry and the endorsement steps so the pass is issued inside its deadlines.
Questions
$24,000 a year for technology roles and $60,000 a year for the other roles on MDEC's list. Both are annual figures in MDEC's own FAQ. Monthly, that is about $2,000 and $5,000, which is our arithmetic rather than Malaysia's.
It follows your role. Software, cloud, cybersecurity, data, AI, UX and UI count as technology, and so do digital marketing and digital content creation. Founders, managing directors, finance and sales managers, consultants, legal counsel and customer service roles sit in the higher band.
Yes. MDEC says the pass is open to all nationalities except Israel. Pakistan is on Malaysia's visa-required list, so after MDEC approves you, you also need a Visa with Reference or an eVISA before you travel.
Yes. A spouse or common-law partner, children under 18, a disabled child of any age, and your parents can be added. There is no extra income figure for them, but each dependant pays RM540. MDEC says a spouse cannot work in Malaysia on this pass.
Between three and twelve months, with one renewal of up to twelve more, so 24 months at most. You can renew up to three months before expiry. It covers Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan; Sabah and Sarawak treat you as a tourist.
It depends on your profile. A remote worker's employer must not be registered in Malaysia. A freelancer works mainly with foreign clients, and MDEC says they may also serve Malaysian clients.
MDEC says six to eight weeks from a complete submission, longer if it asks for more documents. Since 1 August 2026 it accepts no appeals, and the processing fee is not refunded on refusal. The first file has to be right.
MDEC charges RM1,080 per applicant and RM540 per dependant, including 8% sales and service tax. Immigration then charges a pass fee of RM360 for a year, and the visa fee is set separately. Our fee is separate.
Possibly. MDEC's FAQ says a remote worker's foreign income is not taxed for stays up to 60 days and can become taxable after that, and that freelancers face withholding tax in their first 182 days. Endorsement also needs an income tax registration slip. Speak to a Malaysian tax adviser.
The pass ends. In 2024 the Ministry of Digital said holders could then consider the Malaysia Tech Entrepreneur Programme or Malaysia Digital status. No official page we read describes a route to permanent residence from this pass.
Every figure on this page comes from MDEC's FAQ, version 10.0 of 28 August 2026. We do not give tax advice.
Tell us your role, how you are paid and who is coming with you. The first conversation gives you a straight read on your band, your three months of evidence and the documents, and it costs nothing.