Change Job when Visa Expired

1) Is there any cooling period for EP-II holder?
No

If I leave Malaysia on 31st of October, when can I re-enter to Malaysia?
Hopefully Company B will have got the Stage I approval before 31/10/17

Does Company B need to wait for certain period so that I can join with them?
No, you in theory can join them on 1 November, as long as the Stage I has been approved.

If Stage I is slow then Company B could apply for a Special Pass to cover the period.

However, if Stage I is rejected, then it would be an Appeal etc. and you could either leave or hopefully have the Special Pass in place.

2) What about my tax? I know that I should do tax clearance before leave the country. Will 28% tax be applied to me again (for first 6 months) when I have joined the Company B?

Company A should file a Leavers Form. You can do the tax clearance at the tax office. The tax situation is important because it is needed to change jobs so dont delay (I am enclosing link which states this (https://esd.imi.gov.my/portal/pdf/esdguidebook-v3.pdf)

You don't say what is your tax position, but I guess you are tax resident, i.e. have worked in Malaysia for 182 days during 2017? You don't revert to non-tax resident just because you change jobs (https://www.pwc.com/my/en/assets/public … ooklet.pdf)

This is a step by step guide to the tax clearance process from the employer and YOUR perspective (https://www.3ecpa.com.my/resources/mala … 22a-cp22b/)

Hi Gravitas,
Thank you so much for your feedback.
I have passed my 6 months period since last month (August).

Best Regards,
-Rp

Hi Gravitas,
Sorry.. I have another question about tax clearance. Based on my case, which form do I need to submit, CP21 or CP22A?

As far as I know, CP21 is for people who will leave the country more than 3 months and CP22A is for people who will resign/retired/terminated from their job. But then, I will leave the country due to I finish my contract (do not want to extend) and get the new job. I don't think I will leave the country more than 3 months (maybe less) once I get the new visa and have to join with the new company immediately.

Thanks,
-Rp

Your employer completes the Leavers Form and it is CP22A (end of employment). This is assuming you have had monthly tax deductions from your salary by them, i.e. they are running their own payroll and not using an agent.

Hi Gravitas,
I just want to confirm, so that means my current company need to submit both CP21 (Leavers Form) and CP22A, or it's only CP22A?

Yes, they do direct payroll.

And I need to know, which part we need to do first, Cancelling the Visa or Tax Clearance first? Because those two are need my original passport.

CP21 is an interim tax statement. You need the full end of contract one which is CP22A done by the company (they will know what to do).

You said the visa had already been shortened? Do tax immediately. The company will withhold your last month's salary until the clearance is done (apparently it takes about 10 days)

The new company will need your tax clearance when they submit their application to hire you to immigration.

Hi Gravitas,
I'm afraid my HR is not familiar with those kind of forms because this is their first time hire foreigner.

The visa already shortened means: my company has submitted via online to MDeC, but not totally shortened and get final chopped from Immigration.

Anyway, thanks for your responses.

Regards,
-Rp

Yes, You would have to submit your passport to immigration to get the pass cancelled. But it seems you are leaving the country so it will run out while you are away?

The "normal" procedure is to submit a copy of the flight ticket outbound and then immigration put a date a couple of days after the flight into the passport and a stamp which states the pass comes to an end.

But of course it is possible just to leave and let the pass expire.

There is supposedly a connection now between the immigration database and HASIL. People are getting stopped trying to leave if they have not finalised tax issues...... Hence do the tax stuff immediately as things take time......

Hi Gravitas,

I have booked my flight ticket on October 20th, 2017 and we also have submitted via online to MDeC since last Friday (September 22nd, 2017). My cancellation date that's submitted to MDeC is October 30th, 2017. I hope there's still enough time to settle everything.

I asked my HR to prioritize the tax clearance first in this week, instead of send my original passport to MDeC first. Then after that, we'll submit the original passport to MDeC to get a chopped.

Do you think it's still enough time or I should reschedule my departure date? Is my plan/step above correct?

Based on these schedule, is there any effect/correlation with my new visa application status regarding the Stage I, II, etc. ?

Thanks & Regards,
-Rp

Hi,
Finally, I got the job and moved to the new company (with new EP). I just want to share my experience during this job transition. This is what I have done during the job transition:

a) I asked my previous HR from old company to prepare NOC/Release Letter and Tax Clearance (EA form, both CP-21 and CP-22). At the same time, my previous HR staff shortened the previous EP as I had a plan to leave Malaysia (go back to my home-country).

b) I went to LHDN for doing the tax clearance, and they requested only: Passport Copy (Full-Page), EA form, and CP-22 form. I didn't say anything about leaving the country. In this case, they hold your tax refund until the next year during e-filling or tax reporting. I just realized it after I call them. It takes about 1 hour for the tax clearance. The officer will give two copy letter, one for me and the other one for my company.

c) I submitted my passport to MDEC, they gave a stamp in your passport for the shortened date (which is based on your ticket itinerary). It takes about 7-10 working days until they returned my passport.

d) Leave Malaysia and wait the new company to get Acknowledgment Letter from MDEC for my new EP. Once I received the Acknowledgment Letter, I start to apply the single entry visa and so forth. Same process like the beginning! In this case, there's no cooling period to wait until I get the new visa.

e) Landed in Malaysia again and start to work!

Hopefully, It can help everyone who wants to change the job in Malaysia. But, please be aware and ask your HR/recruitment agency since I heard there's a changing on the Immigration system start from November 2017 and so on.


p.s.: probably I should revise the topic title into "Changed the Job before Visa Expired". 

Warm Regards,
-Rp

Thanks for the update. Did you have to do a medical and get the single entry visa from the Malaysian Consulate in India?  I am wondering if only Professional Pass Category III do the medical?

Hi Gravitas,
I'm from Indonesia. Therefore,  I don't know about the medical that you're referring to. And I'm an EP II holder. I am afraid,  I can't answer your question.

Regards,
-Rp

Hi @Gravitas, Hi, I find this forum very interesting. I just have few questions regarding EP cancellation and Tax Clearance.

I have been working here in Malaysia for 4 years now and this is my first time to change employer. My new employer said that I don’t need to leave the country so long as I can provide all the necessary documents specially release letter and tax clearance. I have given them a release letter but I’m still waiting for Tax clearance because my current employer is following dates from Hasil.

Now, my problem is my current visa will end on January and my starting date on my new job will be on end of February. From Feb 1-27 I don’t have a valid visa. What can I ask for my current and new employer to help me sorting this while waiting for my Tax Clearance?