GENESIS Sarawak: Step-by-Step Foreign Worker Application Guide (2026)

GENESIS stands for Gateway and Employment for Non-Sarawakians via Sarawak's Integrated System. It is the Sarawak Government's umbrella platform that coordinates the management and issuance of all foreign-worker passes, licences, and approvals for non-Sarawakians working in the state. If you have read about SANSOLS, HAVEN, EXPRT, or eVDR — they are all submodules under the GENESIS umbrella, each handling a different worker category. ALIANCE is a separate Sarawak Government submission portal that you may also encounter alongside GENESIS in practice.

This guide walks through how the platform is organised, what each submodule does, and the typical sequence a Sarawak employer follows from registration to a fully endorsed PLKS.

What GENESIS Is

GENESIS is the centralised, Sarawak Government-regulated platform for the management and issuance of all government permits, visas, and licences for foreign workers in Sarawak. It is not a single application form — it is a portfolio of submodules, each tailored to a specific worker category, all coordinated under one platform identity.

The portal lives at genesis.sarawak.gov.my. ALIANCE, at aliance.sarawak.gov.my, is a separate Sarawak Government submission portal — not a GENESIS submodule. In practice, both portals are used in the same Sarawak foreign-worker flow.

For physical, in-person matters — endorsements, biometric registration, document verification — applicants attend the Immigration & Labour Integrated Centre (ILC) in Kuching. Divisional ILC branches in Sibu, Bintulu, and Miri are planned but not yet open.

The Submodules: SANSOLS, HAVEN, EXPRT, eVDR

Choosing the right submodule depends on the worker category. Use the table below as a quick decision guide:

In practice, SANSOLS is the high-volume entry point for most general and skilled foreign workers. HAVEN is the family-side portal for Indonesian, Filipino, and Cambodian domestic helpers. EXPRT is the executive / professional / managerial tier — the federal Employment Pass equivalent on the Sarawak side. eVDR handles the entry-visa step once the AP is approved and the worker is ready to travel into Sarawak.

For a deep look at the physical counter that backs the platform, see our ILC Kuching guide.

Step 1: Registration and Account Setup

Before any application can be lodged, the employer entity needs an account on the platform. The first screen is the Create Company form — these are the fields it will ask for.

Required fields:

• Company Name — as registered with SSM
• Company Type — selected from the dropdown (Sdn Bhd, Bhd, Enterprise, Partnership, etc.)
• Tax Identification Number (TIN) — issued by LHDN
• Company Email — official correspondence email for the entity
• Phone Number — main company line
• Address Line 1 — Sarawak business address
• Postcode, District, Division, State — full Sarawak address breakdown
• MSIC Industry — the standard Malaysian industry classification matching your activity
• Supporting Document — PDF, JPG, or PNG up to 8 MB (typically your SSM business profile or premise licence)

Optional fields:

• Logo — company logo upload
• Company New Registration Number — the new SSM format (post-2019)
• Company Old Registration Number — the pre-2019 SSM format, for entities that still operate under it
• SST Registration Number — only if the company is SST-registered
• Address Lines 2 and 3 — for longer addresses

Account verification typically takes a few business days. First-time registrants undergo a more thorough review than established Sarawak employers — the same pattern as the AP review itself.

Step 2: Pre-Application — Hiring Outcome Report

Before lodging an AP through the platform, employers must demonstrate genuine local-recruitment effort.

The Hiring Outcome Report (HOR) requirement involves:

• JobSarawak advertisement — minimum 14 days, listing the position with sufficient detail
• RTM (Radio Television Malaysia) listing — broadcast advertisement
• PERKESO open interview confirmation — confirming no suitable local candidates were available

Once the HOR is issued, you carry it into the AP submission. Without HOR, the AP cannot proceed (with limited exemptions for key posts, shareholders, specialists, and cross-postings).

For details on the HOR step, see our AP quota guide.

Step 3: AP Lodgement via the Right Submodule

For manufacturing, plantation, construction, and services workers — lodge through SANSOLS:

• General Worker classification or Skilled Worker classification (set in the application)
• Source-country selection — default list is Indonesia, India, and the Philippines. Other source countries can be applied for on a case-by-case basis.
• Sector-specific document upload (manufacturing licence, MPOB cert, CIDB cert, etc.)
• Quota request based on local-to-foreign ratio benchmark for the sector

For expatriates and Employment Pass applications — lodge through EXPRT:

• Position justification (why a foreign professional, not a local hire)
• Salary tier and qualification documents
• Company financials supporting the position

Lodgement, document upload, and status tracking happen on the GENESIS portal at genesis.sarawak.gov.my. Some Sarawak employers also use ALIANCE at aliance.sarawak.gov.my — a separate Sarawak Government submission portal that runs in parallel for certain steps.

Step 4: Labour Licence and Permit Issuance

Once the AP is approved through the appropriate submodule, the application moves to:

1. Source-country processing — for Indonesian helpers via SIPERMIT/KJRI Kuching, for Filipino helpers via POLO, for other workers via their respective sending-country bodies
2. Labour Licence application with JTKSWK — using the JTKSWK 27A-1 / 27B / 27C / 27D form pack via the platform
3. Visa with Reference (VDR) — issued via the eVDR submodule on GENESIS, to authorise the worker's entry into Sarawak (for workers still in source countries)
4. Worker entry into Sarawak — under a Visit Pass (Temporary Employment), endorsed for the specific employer and sector

The platform tracks each of these milestones — applicants can log in and see where the file stands at any given time.

Step 5: Sarawak Health Checkup via SAFHIS

Once the worker enters Sarawak, they must complete a state-approved health screening before the work permit can be issued. The booking is made through SAFHIS — the Sarawak Foreign Worker Health Information System — which operates as a SANSOLS sub-module and is also accessible from the ALIANCE portal.

• Book the appointment at a SAFHIS-registered panel clinic in the worker's intended division (Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu, Miri, etc.)
• Worker attends the screening — physical exam, blood tests, chest X-ray, and the standard FOMEMA-equivalent panel
• Result is uploaded to SAFHIS — clinics submit the SUITABLE / UNSUITABLE outcome directly into the system
• Suitable outcome unlocks the next step. An UNSUITABLE outcome triggers a follow-up review and, in most cases, return to source country

Booking promptly after entry matters — Sarawak gives a limited window for the screening before the entry pass status is queried.

Step 6: Work Permit Processing at JIMS for PLKS

With a SUITABLE health result on file, the application moves to JIMS (the Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia Sarawak's processing system) for issuance of the PLKS — Pas Lawatan Kerja Sementara — which is the actual work permit. JIMS verifies the worker's documents against the AP and Labour Licence already approved through GENESIS, and prepares the case for endorsement.

Most of this step is back-office; the visible output is the readiness notification telling the employer or agency to attend the ILC for the in-person endorsement covered next.

Step 7: ILC In-Person Steps

Some steps cannot be completed online. Workers and employer representatives attend ILC Kuching — currently the only operational counter; divisional branches in Sibu, Bintulu, and Miri are planned but not yet open — for:

• PLKS sticker endorsement — the actual permit affixed to the passport
• Biometric registration (NSIC) — fingerprints and photo for the Non-Sarawakian Identity Card
• Document verification — counter-side check of the file before final endorsement
• Personal Bond / Security Bond posting — finalised at the counter

In-person attendance is the moment when the digital file becomes a physical pass. Online lodgement, in-person stamping — that is the pattern.

Step 8: Status Tracking and Renewals

The platform persists across the worker's tenure with you. From the same account, you can:

• Track active passes for all workers under your sponsorship
• Lodge renewal applications before pass expiry (renewals lodged after expiry are problematic)
• Lodge cancellations when a contract ends
• File abscondment reports when a worker disappears
• Apply for additional source-country approvals if your need expands beyond the default list
• Update employer-side records — premises, accounts, authorised representative changes

Most employers underuse this — they treat the platform as application-only and forget that the renewal management lives there too. Setting calendar reminders 60 days before any pass expiry is a simple discipline that prevents lapse.

Common Issues and How to Resolve

A short list of issues most first-time applicants run into:

• "Submodule routing rejected" or "wrong category" — the application went through SANSOLS when it should have gone through HAVEN, or vice versa. Re-lodge through the correct submodule.
• Source country not on default list — apply through the case-by-case approval pathway. The platform allows it; the AP will be reviewed individually.
• Document upload size limits — keep files under the platform's per-file cap. PDF is preferred over image formats for multi-page documents.
• Account verification stuck — usually a missing or mismatched SSM detail. Resolve through admin.genesis@sarawak.gov.my.
• Status not updating — file may be in clarification queue. Check messages tab; counter staff sometimes request a missing item without escalating to "rejected".

For most genuine difficulties, contacting +60 16-811 0799 or admin.genesis@sarawak.gov.my during office hours moves things faster than re-lodging.

Frequently Asked Questions

References

• GENESIS portal — genesis.sarawak.gov.my
• ALIANCE submission portal — aliance.sarawak.gov.my
• SANSOLS — sansols.sarawak.gov.my
• Jabatan Tenaga Kerja Sarawak (JTKSWK)
• Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia Sarawak
• Immigration Act 1959/63 (Act 155), Part VII — Sabah and Sarawak
• Sarawak Labour Ordinance (Cap. 76)