Irish man married to a Malaysian National - do I need a work permit?

Yes you will need permission to work  or a work permit (employment pass). You can either live in Malaysia as an expat employed on expat terms i.e. Job paying RM5k per month minimum.  Otherwise, when you arrive you will need to apply for a Long Term Social Visit Pass. That does require your marriage to be registered in Malaysia. If you don't come on an employment pass as mentioned earlier, you would just need to find a job and once you have a letter of offer your LTSVP is endorsed saying you have the right to work so in essence its not a work permit. So the choice will be yours when the time comes.  One important thing is probably for your wife not to renounce her passport and nationality, because with the current rule about property purchase, she and you both would be under the RM1 million minimum rule. Only Malaysians can purchase property at a lower price. Speaking BM is of course very useful, but not essential, but it all depends on what is your professional area.  There are some where it is hard for foreigners to find work, often when they are very popular or prestigious occupations here. This website can probably give you an overview of working, owning a business, and immigration in Malaysia.

http://malaysiabizadvisory.com/malaysia … oreigners/

Thanks Gravitas - that's a very detailed answer - it's much appreciated.

It gives me a good idea of what's involved.

Hi is your wife a returning expert? I met someone her who got PR in 6 months (can work anywhere) as his wife was an expert returning under a Talent Corp programme.

Whether it is worth coming here depends on what you do for work.

Also often when returning after a long spell abroad marriages break up as the Malaysian partner gets massive reverse culture shock that affects the relationship. Beware of that risk!

Hi Nemodot - thanks for that. We're only looking at options for the future for now. Very good point on reverse culture shock.

Speaking Malay is not essential although may be helpful (at times). The fact is, most Malaysians speak English having been a former British colony. Thus working in the private sector means that you hardly need to communicate in other languages apart from English. Of course that depends on the nature of your job. But for the most part since Malaysia is a multi racial country, we tend to gravitate to speaking English as we (the city folks) find it a neutral language. The same cannot be said if you were to be live and work in an isolated and rural village for example. If that is the case then the main language will be that of the most common race in that locality. Having a Malaysian spouse, you would already know that the country is made of 3 primary races (Malay, Chinese and Indians).

Thanks Philip - that's helpful.

Hello,  I am a Malaysian women married to a man from Limerick.  We came back to Malaysia in 2012.  I had been away for 22 years.  We have since lived in KL for a year and 6 months ago moved to Sabah.  It has been a great move for us and my husband loves it and has picked up a good standard of conversational Malay.  We don't intend to return to Europe and see ourselves staying permanently.  We have both had to adjust but it has not been as difficult as we thought it might be.  There have been anxious moments but it has been worth it.  We have a standard of living that we could not afford in Europe.  You should look up the "returning expert programme" to see whether your wife qualifies under this.  It will allow you to apply for a PR for West Malaysia and this gives you the freedom to work in any company without a work permit.  Otherwise you will need a work permit but that is easier to obtain nowadays.  We hope this helps.  The type of work you do will influence how well you settle.

Thanks Tighe - I hear Sabah is really nice Thank you for your interesting information. The returning expert programme sounds like something worth looking into. How do you find the quality of life in Sabah compared to KL?

I think it depends on how you measure a quality of life,  how old you are and whether you have kids.  We moved to KL first because of the job opportunities, of which they are more.  Actually loved the life we had in KL.  KL was great for the social life, fun,  great shopping and you can access a lot of other places to visit in terms of travel and holidays.  Either by car or plane. 

We moved to Sabah because I was offered a position I could not refuse and my husband quickly fell into a job he is really enjoying.  I am also originally from
Sabah and have family here.  Living in Sabah is more out doorsy. Lots of very fit people enjoying the weather and views by running, jogging and climbing mountains.  People are a lot nicer than KL and the driving is less likely to give you a heart attack.  My kids are also enjoying being part of an extended family they previously did not have.  It is also safer than KL. 

The other downside for you, if your wife is not Sabah is that it had different immigration laws and even West Malaysians need a work permit.

Yeah, my wife is from KL - never realised she needed a work permit for Sabah. Thanks for that. The life style sounds nice though.

rm 5k minimum monthly pay.. that's about it, and lill creativity from the employer will fix it no matter what so np. Malay or Chinese is great to have but I get by just fine with English.
Quality of life well its a pending on how one look at it I would say Malaysia only has one thing that everyone will enjoy and thats the food. But garbage everywhere and horrible air quality is a huge downside.

good evening,my husband is foreigner and we already set up company here by both party,u can work even do business even use spouse visa,u can request at immigration office,they will give u one year visa at first time ,after that 5 year.no need for the DP10 visa that required 5k salary,it will cost u alot of documentation plus with high bond payment.even u dont need BM,mostly the company request just fluent english