Foreign companies are allowed to bring in staff to fill positions that have a shortage of trained Malaysian citizens to fill those positions.

In terms of policy, trade officers are only allowed to work in Malaysia for a period of 10 years. Requests for exemptions must be referred to the Immigration Affairs Division for consideration and approval. The Immigration Affairs Division will consider the second appeal after being rejected by the Malaysian Immigration Department.

The Immigration Affairs Division will issue an acknowledgment of the trade officer's appeal to the applicant within 1 working day after the application is received at the counter by the Immigration Affairs Division. The applicant will also be notified if the trade officer's appeal application is incomplete or does not comply with the regulations.

The Immigration Affairs Division will process and submit a decision regarding the trade officer position appeal application within 14 working days after the complete application is received.