PUTRAJAYA must allow equal access to employment for foreign spouses of Malaysians who currently face bureaucratic red tape in finding employment, said a support group today. 

The Foreign Spouses Support Group (FSSG) said the government must include equal access to employment for these foreign spouses in the upcoming Budget 2025 that is set to be tabled on October 18.

FSSG said this would be in line with the government’s comprehensive sets of measures under its “Raise The Floor” and “Raise The Ceiling” thrusts to improve the quality of life and opportunities for Malaysians. 

The group said it was regrettable that the foreign spouses of Malaysians were being overlooked.  

It added that in 2023, 161,531 Long-Term Social Visit Passes (LTVSP) were given to non-citizen spouses of Malaysians residing in the country, but unfortunately they are “unrecognised latent human resource (who are) not tapped into despite the country facing serious case brain drain”.

“Foreign spouses holding LTSVP face severe limitations on their right to work due to the employment prohibition stated on their visas.  

“This not only confuses potential employers but also restricts these spouses’ access to job opportunities, despite their professional qualifications and assurances from authorities that they can work if offered employment.  

“As it is, LTSVPs are usually issued for one to three years on a renewable basis, depending on the discretion of the immigration authorities, and this already creates uncertainties for potential employers.   

“It is important to note that the beneficiaries of foreign spouses’ earnings are their Malaysian families,” said FSSG in a statement. 

The group pointed out that these foreign spouses also faced difficulty in finding employment in licensed professions such as engineering, law, and medicine as they all required Permanent Resident (PR) status, which was extremely difficult to obtain in Malaysia. 

In a 2021 survey conducted by Family Frontiers that had more than 70% of its respondents holding bachelor’s degrees or higher qualifications, it was revealed that 77.2% of respondents acknowledged having difficulty finding employment and 34.2% of respondents indicated that companies were very unwilling to hire them after seeing the statement of prohibition from employment.  

FSSG gave examples of two foreign spouses who were struggling to find employment in Malaysia due to the government’s confusing policies.  

Basset, a pharmacy graduate, had been unable to obtain PR status despite being married for nine years and fathering three Malaysian children. This prevented him from pursuing a career as a pharmacist in Malaysia, forcing him to change career fields.  

His struggle was compounded by lack of clarity in the immigration process, delays in obtaining work endorsements, and frequent rejections by companies due to visa-related restrictions, despite his qualifications and strong candidacy.  

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Immigration Department’s delays in renewing his work permit left him without work or pay for four months. Even though his employer chose not to fire him, having PR status would have meant not having to go without salary for four months.

In the second case, local woman Suraya’s foreign husband, a skilled engineering professional and top student from a Malaysian university, faced significant challenges in securing a job in Malaysia due to his foreign status and lack of PR status. 

Despite his long stay in the country, adherence to local rules, and efforts to integrate, he faced difficulty applying for PR status in 2020.  

With limited career prospects in Malaysia, he eventually secured a scholarship in Indonesia, highlighting a missed opportunity for Malaysia to utilise his expertise and leaving Suraya to manage on her own.

“A level playing field for foreign spouses of Malaysians must be in place. This includes offering social protection for all segments of society and ensuring employment with fair access, and most of all keeping families together in wellbeing,” said FSSG. – August 20, 2024.