Sarawak Work Permit 2026: What Changed (and How to Apply Now)

Most of what an employer needs to know about hiring a foreign worker in Sarawak has not changed in 2026 — sectors, source-country lists, AP processes, and the role of the Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia Sarawak remain in place. But five specific changes between mid-2025 and now reshape parts of the process. This post is the consolidated picture: what changed, what it means for you in practice, and where to dig deeper.

The Five Changes at a Glance

The rest of this post unpacks each change and what to do about it.

Sarawak Labour Ordinance Amendment Act 2025 (Act A1754)

The Sarawak Labour Ordinance (Amendment) Act 2025, gazetted as Act A1754, came into force on 1 May 2025. It is the largest update to Sarawak's labour-law framework in over a decade and was designed to align the Ordinance with the federal Employment Act 1955 amendments that took effect on Peninsular Malaysia from 2023 onwards.

For foreign-worker employers, the most material elements are:

• Working hours — recalibrated maximum weekly hours and rest-day rules, bringing Sarawak in line with the federal 45-hour standard
• Paternity leave — newly recognised at the state level
• Flexible work arrangements — formal mechanism for employees to request flexibility
• Sick leave and hospitalisation leave — rules updated to match federal standards
• Pregnancy and termination protections — strengthened, with employer obligations clarified
• Employee Consultative Body — referenced for workforce-level disputes

For most Sarawak foreign-worker contracts, the practical effect is ensuring your employment contract template reflects the post-1-May-2025 standards. Pre-May 2025 contracts may need refresh on renewal.

A separate Sarawak employment-pass process update has also taken effect for skilled-pass applications.

Indonesia's Domestic Worker Protection Law (UU PPRT)

Indonesia's parliament passed the Domestic Worker Protection Law (Undang-Undang Pelindungan Pekerja Rumah Tangga, or UU PPRT) on 21 April 2026 after a long legislative cycle.

For Sarawak employers hiring Indonesian helpers, the law:

• Sets source-country protections for Indonesian domestic workers heading abroad — formal contracts, working conditions, repatriation rights
• Tightens pre-departure compliance through Indonesia's BP2MI / P3MI framework
• Reinforces the role of accredited agencies on the source side — Indonesian recruitment agencies must hold sending-side accreditation, and Malaysian receiving agencies must hold corresponding receiving-side certification through the Indonesian Consulate

The practical effect is that the SIPERMIT / KJRI Kuching registration certificate (covered below) becomes more central to verifying that an Indonesian-helper recruitment is on the right side of both jurisdictions.

For the deeper analysis of UU PPRT, see our Indonesian Domestic Worker Law guide.

RTK Replaces PKPA in Public-Facing Communications

The Labour Recalibration Programme — the regularisation route for foreign nationals already in Sarawak whose status has lapsed — is now consistently referenced as RTK (Program Rekalibrasi Tenaga Kerja). The earlier "PKPA" abbreviation that floated through 2020–2024 is no longer the standard naming.

The programme itself, in practice:

• Mandatory exit and re-entry — current Sarawak windows operate with a leave-and-return requirement, not in-place regularisation
• Sector-eligibility list — published per window; domestic helpers generally excluded
• Disqualifies absconders — workers flagged on the Immigration absconder list are not eligible
• Open in windows — not continuously available; runs when announced by Sarawak Immigration and JTKSWK

If your situation involves an undocumented worker already in Sarawak, see our RTK guide for the full eligibility, document pack, and timing nuances. If the worker is not yet in Sarawak, RTK is not the right route — you are looking at standard overseas recruitment.

Personal Bond vs Security Bond — Terminology Clarified

A recurring source of confusion in Sarawak foreign-worker administration is the bond posted with the Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia Sarawak on each worker. Two terms appear in practice:

• Personal Bond — the term used for many Sarawak foreign-worker pass types
• Security Bond — the term used historically and for certain federal-pass scenarios

The distinction matters less than employers fear. The mechanism is the same: a financial guarantee posted on the worker's behalf, forfeited if the worker absconds, refundable on lawful pass cancellation. The exact term varies by pass type and posting arrangement, but the financial impact is identical.

If your documentation says "Personal Bond" and your insurer says "Security Bond" and your agency uses both interchangeably, that is normal. What matters is:

• Bond is posted before pass issuance
• Bond is held with Sarawak Immigration
• Bond is forfeited on worker abscondment
• Bond is refundable on contract-end repatriation

KJRI Kuching Registration Certificate (SIPERMIT) for Indonesian Helpers

For Sarawak families hiring an Indonesian domestic helper, the KJRI Kuching Registration Certificate — issued via the SIPERMIT system run by the Indonesian Consulate-General in Kuching — has become the verifiable credential that says an agency is recognised on both the Malaysian and Indonesian sides.

What this means for hiring families:

• A licensed Sarawak agency holding only a JTKSWK licence (Malaysian side) but no current KJRI Kuching certificate is not approved on the Indonesian side for new helper placements
• The certificate is renewed annually and can be verified directly with KJRI Kuching
• Both sides matter — Malaysian licence for legal hiring in Sarawak, Indonesian certificate for legal sending from Indonesia

For verification details, see our SIPERMIT and KJRI Kuching guide.

What Has NOT Changed

It is worth being explicit about the parts of the framework that remain stable, so the changes above do not get over-extrapolated:

• Sarawak immigration autonomy — unchanged. Sarawak still issues its own work passes; federal Peninsular passes do not transfer.
• AP and quota system — unchanged. The AP quota framework operates as before.
• Approved sectors — unchanged. Manufacturing, plantation, construction, services / F&B, domestic helpers all remain primary sectors.
• GENESIS / SANSOLS / ILC — the platform infrastructure is in place and operating as before. See our ILC Kuching guide and GENESIS application guide.
• Source-country list shape — periodic adjustments, but no wholesale removal of major sources. See eligible source countries.
• PERKESO / SOCSO Foreign Worker Scheme — unchanged.

How to Apply Now: The 2026 Sequence

Putting the changes together, the current sequence for a Sarawak foreign-worker application:

1. Establish or confirm your Sarawak entity — SSM presence, premise licence from local council, sector-specific Sarawak registrations. For Peninsular employers expanding into Sarawak, see our West Malaysian employer guide.
2. Run the Hiring Outcome Report (HOR) — JobSarawak advertisement (14 days) + RTM listing + PERKESO open interview confirmation, where required.
3. Lodge the AP application — through GENESIS (via SANSOLS, HAVEN, EXPRT, or eVDR depending on category) and ALIANCE for the steps that route through it. See our AP quota guide.
4. Apply for the Labour Licence — JTKSWK 27A-1 form pack.
5. Apply for the work permit (PLKS) — via Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia Sarawak, with VDR for entry.
6. Worker arrival, medical, and PLKS endorsement — at ILC Kuching or relevant divisional ILC.
7. Post-arrival onboarding — accommodation, PERKESO, SPIKPA insurance confirmation, NSIC registration.
8. Update your employment contract to reflect post-1-May-2025 Sarawak Labour Ordinance standards.
9. For Indonesian domestic helpers — verify your agency's KJRI Kuching SIPERMIT certificate before signing.

A complete file from a clean first-time applicant typically reaches worker-arrival in 3–6 months depending on sector and source country. See our permit-by-sector guide for sector-specific timelines.

Frequently Asked Questions

References

• Sarawak Labour Ordinance (Amendment) Act 2025 (Act A1754) — gazetted, in force 1 May 2025
• Sarawak Labour Ordinance (Cap. 76) — as amended
• Employment Act 1955 (Act 265) — federal reference for amendment alignment
• Indonesia: Undang-Undang Pelindungan Pekerja Rumah Tangga (UU PPRT) — passed 21 April 2026
• Immigration Act 1959/63 (Act 155), Part VII — Sabah and Sarawak
• Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia Sarawak announcements 2025–2026
• JTKSWK directives 2025–2026