The home ministry is preparing special criteria to enable foreigners with Malaysian children to apply for entry permits in the event their marriage to a Malaysian spouse ends.
Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said non-citizens married to Malaysians can currently obtain a long-term social visit pass, which allows them to reside in Malaysia and eventually apply for permanent residency (PR).
However, he said this pass is no longer valid if the marriage ends due to death or divorce.
“The ministry is preparing special criteria for entry permit approval for non-Malaysian former wives or husbands who have children with Malaysian citizenship.
“This is to support the family institution and ensure that non-Malaysian parents are not separated from their Malaysian children,” he said in a written parliamentary reply in response to Taufiq Johari (PH-Sungai Petani).
Taufiq had asked whether the ministry would consider a special PR pathway for such parents.
Saifuddin also said the ministry had implemented other measures, including clearing 19,205 backlogged entry permit applications submitted between 2013 to 2023.
He said the eligibility requirements have been revised, whereby foreign wives can apply for an entry permit after three years of marriage and one year on a long-term pass, while foreign husbands can apply after five years of marriage and holding a five-year pass.
Saifuddin added that a new standard operating procedure would also take effect on Sept 1, requiring all related applications to be decided within six months.
