All 15 approved foreign worker source countries
Malaysia currently approves foreign worker recruitment from 15 source countries. Each carries its own sector eligibility and gender restrictions set by KESUMA — getting this wrong is one of the most common causes of a rejected quota application.
Countries with sector or gender restrictions
Most approved source countries carry no sector restrictions — these three are the exceptions:
Philippines
Male workers only — female workers are not currently approved from the Philippines.
India
Restricted to Services (restaurant cooks only), Construction (high-tension only), Agriculture, and Plantation.
Indonesia
Male workers not permitted in Manufacturing. Female workers permitted across all sectors.
Sector & gender eligibility by source country
| Country | Male | Female | Allowed Sectors / Restrictions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | ✓ | ✓ | All approved sectors |
| Cambodia | ✓ | ✓ | All approved sectors |
| Kazakhstan | ✓ | ✓ | All approved sectors |
| Lao PDR | ✓ | ✓ | All approved sectors |
| Myanmar | ✓ | ✓ | All approved sectors |
| Nepal | ✓ | ✓ | All approved sectors |
| Pakistan | ✓ | ✓ | All approved sectors |
| Sri Lanka | ✓ | ✓ | All approved sectors |
| Thailand | ✓ | ✓ | All approved sectors |
| Turkmenistan | ✓ | ✓ | All approved sectors |
| Uzbekistan | ✓ | ✓ | All approved sectors |
| Vietnam | ✓ | ✓ | All approved sectors |
| Philippines | ✓ | ✗ | All approved sectors (male only) |
| India | ✓ | ✓ | Services (restaurant cooks only), Construction (high‑tension only), Agriculture, Plantation |
| Indonesia | ✓ | ✓ | Male — not permitted in Manufacturing. Female — all sectors permitted. |
Eligibility rules are set by KESUMA and subject to periodic policy revision. We verify current eligibility for your sector before any quota application is submitted.
Deep-dive guides for our top 5 source countries
Pakistan
Recruitment process, Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment coordination, and broad sector eligibility under JTKSM approval.
View guide →India
Recruitment process, MOIA coordination, and sector eligibility under JTKSM approval.
View guide →What applies across every source country
Individual bilateral MoUs and government-to-government arrangements — like Bangladesh's G2G-Plus mechanism — layer additional terms on top, but two baseline rules apply regardless of source country. First, the Private Employment Agencies Act caps worker-paid placement fees at one month's basic wage for non-citizen workers — in practice, Andaraya's zero-fee policy goes further and passes this cost to the employer entirely, per the RBA Employer Pays Principle. Second, recruitment must run through an agency licensed on both sides of the corridor: JTKSM Licence C in Malaysia, and the equivalent sending-country authority (BMET/BOESL for Bangladesh, DoFE for Nepal, BP2MI for Indonesia, and so on) — recruitment through an agency lacking either license carries compliance and, in disputed cases like Nepal's current 25-agency restriction, operational risk. Some corridors are more tightly managed than others at any given time; see our Nepal guide for a live example of a corridor currently under an active, disputed agency restriction.
Source country eligibility FAQ
How many approved foreign worker source countries does Malaysia have?
Which source countries have sector or gender restrictions?
Not sure which country fits your sector?
We'll match the right source country to your industry and role requirements.