Freelance with dependent Visa

No, because you should be paying income tax and therefore need to register a company in Malaysia to offer consultancy services.

You can of course take up an employment offer and work for a corporate entity who would be able to get your dependent's pass endorsed with the right to work.

Thanks Gravitas for your propitious reply.

In this circumstances, would it be better to prepare the dependent visa and come to Malaysia and start searching for a job, or to get a job 1st and then come along with work permit... Knowing that I m a freshly graduated and not sure if I will find a job that meet the WP requirements.

The application for a dependent's pass can submitted at the same time as your spouse's  employment pass.

If you are married to a Malaysian, then its something completely different i.e. Long Term Social Visit Pass (not dependents pass). You can only apply for that six months after your marriage, when the marriage is registered in Malaysia, and when you are resident in Malaysias with your spouse.

Even if you are the spouse of a Malaysia citizen, if you get a job you can apply for an empoyment pass in your own right and not be on a LTSVP. However, it may be difficult as the minimum age is 27 yo and 2 years professional experience.

Actually My finacee just started working in Malaysia, she s a foreigner like me, and she s in the process for applying for a WP, with her company. But I am not sure weither I should join her there or wait until I get a job offer on my own.

For the age requirement, I am 30 years old so this shouldn't be a problem, and also I have a 2 years experience, as I ve been working and studying at the same time.

So far still don't know how to maximize my chances to get a job in Malaysia, as, for what I ve seen so far from the job offers, most companies are looking for a candidate who might have already the right to work in there, which may, in my opinion lower my chances.

What do you think?

You probably will have to be married to get a dependents pass. It is very rare that the authorities will issue one unless the relationship is recognised in some way as a legal partnership in one of your countries of origin. 

Its difficult to get work in Malaysia. Networking is the best way. If you dont have a portfolio of work to show prospective clients that will make it even more difficult. If you have no legal partnership you will be subject to usual immigration rules about visas and max length of stay if a visa is not required.

The issue is that in your kind of work the employer is unlikely to be MSC registered and therefore not capable of employing foreigners.

Setting up a company requires a lot of paid up capital and is probably not an option. Also not very advisable as you really cant tell if you will be successful in getting any contracts. Interior design here is mainly for offices, restaurants and public places rather than homes. 

The large architectural firms have departments or subsidiaries that deal with the interiors.  A lot of small interior designers own shops and offer their services based on retail outlets, that way they have a connection to potential clients. There are no real niche areas in Malaysia and there are Chinese-owned firms in enormous numbers.