Malaysia will let the spouses of certain expatriates take up paid work from January 1, 2027, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced while tabling the 2027 budget in the Dewan Rakyat on October 9, Free Malaysia Today reported. The right applies to spouses who hold a Dependant Pass whose expatriate partner holds a Category I Employment Pass — currently Malaysia’s top income tier for foreign workers, requiring a monthly salary of at least RM20,000 since a salary-policy revision took effect June 1, 2026.
Under the rules now in force, a Dependant Pass does not itself carry a right to work: a spouse who wants a job must apply case-by-case for a work endorsement tied to a single employer, or give up the Dependant Pass and apply for their own Employment Pass. Anwar said the new route is meant to keep Malaysia attractive to top expatriate talent “without requiring their spouses to give up their careers,” according to Free Malaysia Today’s report of the speech.
The spouse measure was one of several expatriate-facing changes in Budget 2027. The same speech extended Malaysia’s DE Rantau digital nomad pass by two years for existing holders who have reached the programme’s limit, and enhanced tax incentives for the Global Services Hub from January 1, 2027, according to a separate report by SAYS.
The budget speech named only Category I Employment Pass holders’ spouses — reporting so far has not described the measure as covering spouses of Category II or III pass holders. Neither Free Malaysia Today nor other outlets covering the speech named the “stipulated conditions” Anwar referred to, or said which agency will administer applications; Erickson Immigration Group’s summary of the budget likewise notes the measure has been announced, not yet gazetted, with implementation details still pending.
References
Free Malaysia Today – Expatriates’ Spouses Allowed to Work in Malaysia From Jan 2027 / SAYS – Belanjawan 2027: Digital Nomad Pass Extended by 2 Years / Erickson Immigration Group – Malaysia Budget 2027 Expands Work Rights for Expat Spouses
