More than 27,000 foreign nationals guilty of immigration offences in Malaysia have utilized the government’s Migrant Repatriation Programme to return home by paying a nominal fine.
The initiative, which began on March 1 and is set to conclude on December 31, has generated RM13.12 million (US$2.96 million) in fines, according to Kuala Lumpur Immigration Department director Wan Mohammed Saupee Wan Yusoff. Speaking to local media on Monday (Dec 9), he said the department processes over 350 applications daily.
Under the programme, individuals wishing to return home must pay fines ranging from RM300 to RM500, depending on the nature of their offence, such as overstaying or breaching visa conditions. Applicants are required to provide valid travel documents and flight tickets, and they may seek assistance from their embassies if needed.
“No agents or third parties are authorised to handle applications on behalf of the Immigration Department,” Wan Mohammed cautioned.
For some, the programme provides a safe and straightforward way to leave the country. Yogendra, a 26-year-old worker from Nepal, expressed relief at the opportunity. “My passport recently expired, but I only needed to pay a RM500 fine to return home without fear of detention,” he told Malay Mail.
Similarly, Zainuddin, an Indonesian worker, travelled from Johor to Terengganu to avoid long queues at larger Immigration Department offices. The 37-year-old, who worked on palm oil plantations since June 2022 without proper permits, said, “We were promised permits, but our employer kept delaying.”
The World Bank estimates there were between 1.2 and 3.5 million undocumented migrants in Malaysia between 2018 and 2020, mostly from Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. In contrast, the number of documented migrants during that period ranged from 1.4 to 2 million.
Most migrant workers in Malaysia are employed in labour-intensive sectors such as construction, agriculture, and manufacturing, often in jobs categorized as dirty, dangerous, or demeaning (3D jobs).