Expert Info

Posted by
on 8 Aug 2012
Hi I am planning to move to KL for a job. My girlfriend would like to come with me. She's from Moldova and she has Moldovian Passport. How long can she stay? If she wants to move permanently, what does she have to do? Thanks PaoloG
Anonymous (not verified) on 10 Aug 2012 - 09:20
Hi Paolo

With a Moldovian passport she can stay in Malaysia for one month without a visa, as long as her passport is valid for at least six more months on the day she arrives. If she wants to stay longer she will need to get a work permit, which can take a while. See Work permits for Malaysia for more info. She needs to be over 23 if she works in IT or over 27 for all other types of work, and there are a few industries where expat jobs aren't encouraged.

As far as I know she will either need to get a job and apply for a work permit/visa before she leaves, or she'll need to exit and re-enter the country before her one month is up. It'll be expensive to fly home again just to get a visa, but that way she can look for a job in her one month there, which might be easier than trying to find one from wherever you are now.

If she doesn't work in a suitable industry or is too young to get a work visa - you two might need to get married if you want to stay together in KL! It isn't a good idea to try work illegally as Malaysia has strict laws about this.

The Malaysian Immigation Department web site (www.imi.gov.my/index.php/en/) is quite a good one - look at Main Services -> Visas for more precise information about the documents you'll need, and Main Services ->Expatriate for all the details on how to go about getting a job and applying for a work permit.

Good luck!

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