The Laws of the Land says :
All Foreigners who want to work in Malaysia have to apply for a work permit from the Immigration Department.
There are many categories of work permits for different nature of work.
Immigration Laws requires potential worker to apply for a visa (just to enter) from the Malaysian Embassy in your country for the purpose of completing the application of a work permit jointly by a prospective employer. It is a joint employer/employee application.
Immigration Laws states that the worker have to have a entry stamp in passport failing which the visa is “null and void” and be deny entry (NTL).
Upon arrival with the required documentation MY IMi will stamp a Visit Pass of 30 days of which is for the purpose of applying for a work permit. This is the “temporary residency permit”.
Upon successful application of a work permit, a Multiple Entry Visa (in sticker format) will placed in the passport pages.
The validity of this permit sticker depends on the contract validity period and is subject to renewal on a yearly basis. For PWP (Professional Employment Permit, it is usually 2 years validity period.
The critical points are :
a. Correct visa to enter
b. Existence of compulsory entry stamp in the passport
c. Visitor Pass (Tourism) cannot be converted into another type of “Pass”
Sample : EP (Employment Pass)
