Sarawak non-resident worker applications now take about 60 days, minister says
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Sarawak employers are being told that non-resident worker applications now take about 60 days to process, down from 191 days. The figure is a reported improvement, not a promise that every application will be approved within two months.
Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department for Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring Datuk Gerawat Gala gave the update at an industry session in Miri on Sept 30. The Foreign Worker Transformation Approach, or FWTA, brings recruitment procedures onto a digital platform involving both state and federal agencies.
For businesses planning staffing in Kuching and elsewhere in Sarawak, the important distinction is between a shorter processing period and a completed approval. Different agencies still have their own procedures, and the platform is being introduced in phases. Domestic helpers are currently being addressed, with expatriates to follow.
Gerawat asked employers to raise application problems with FWTA or the Immigration and Labour Management Unit, ILMU, so they can be referred to the relevant agencies. A dedicated email channel was raised by industry representatives, but the announcement did not provide an address or confirm its launch.
The next practical test is whether the shorter turnaround holds across those remaining phases. Employers should not treat the 60-day figure as a new guaranteed deadline, or assume that the proposed email channel is already available.
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