On the first of this month, the team at TalentCorp took a moment out of their busy lives to raise a glass to their achievements in the past 12 months, as 1 April 2012 marked exactly a year since the very first Residence Pass-Talent (RP-T) was handed to Edwin Raspe, one of the many expats seeking to continue their careers in Malaysia.

The RP-T is a 10-year, renewable work visa that allows highly-qualified expats the flexibility to work on a long-term basis in Malaysia. If foreigners have real talent to offer Malaysia, a RP-T allows them to remain in the country for a decade and work for various employers without having to re-apply for a pass, as is the practice with the Employment Pass (EP). Pass holders can bring their family with them, and their spouses are also allowed to work – a marked improvement from the normal EP and one of the many reasons that applications for the RP-T continue to flood in.

The RP-T began its life back in December 2010, when the Prime Minister announced that a 10-year pass was ‘on the way’. In the three months that followed, TalentCorp was established and the team applied for the necessary policy approvals, set themselves up online and had started taking applications as April began.

A year on, the progress continues to be impressive. Already more than 560 applications have been approved, and many more will come as TalentCorp continue to work closely with the expat community and the government to find ways of liberalising the requirements and reviewing the application process.

Already, TalentCorp have managed to ease the condition that required an applicant to have 3 years continuous work experience in Malaysia. Applicants now only need to prove 3 years of cumulative work experience in the country; a far more achievable standard for the many expats whose work takes them all over the region. Another new announcement from TalentCorp is that the Residence Pass-Talent will be diversified to cater for a certain category of entrepreneurs.

While the RP-T is undoubtedly great for the long-term expats seeking work, it is also a fantastic chance for Malaysia to enhance its talent pool and aid the government in its visions of becoming a high income nation by 2020. Many of the approved applicants are highly-qualified talents finding employment in many of the National Key Economic Areas such as Business Services; Oil and Gas; Information and Communication Technology; Financial Services; and Education, to name but a few. These are all areas that the Economic Transformation Programme is pushing forward in order to boost the economy, and TalentCorp are proud to be doing their bit to support the country on its way to greatness.

But RP-T holders are not just numbers, they are people working for some of the top companies in the country – TalentCorp are engaged with such industry leaders as Petronas, Shell, Standard Chartered, IBM, Intel and Accenture – and all are delighted to get the chance to continue their careers in Malaysia.

“People ask me, ‘why Malaysia?’” says Shareen Yee Joy, Director of CIMB and holder of a RP-T, “and I tell them it’s the best place to be! I work for a multinational company, and simply by working with the local people I found myself drawn to Malaysia. There is so much culture here, and so much talent.”

Raza Amin, a Managing Director for Trident Consultant Far East (O&G Sector) was delighted at the speed and ease of applying for his pass. “I must admit that it is very swift,” he says. “I put my application together in a couple of days and it went through. It was quite painless!”

Another pass holder, Shirish Madhukar Kaner, a Senior Industrial Staff Engineer at Motorola who is working on the design of walkie-talkies at Motorola’s Penang Design Centre, was also pleased with the ease of the application process and, more importantly, was thrilled to find that the country wanted to have him. “I’m very glad to receive RP-T status. I’m pleased to know that talent from other countries is respected and the local government wish to retain it.”

The country’s talent pool is increasing with every passing day, and TalentCorp are directly involved in helping enthusiastic, highly-qualified people from all backgrounds and industries share their skills with the local talent. There will be many more announcements to come from TalentCorp as they continue to ease the process for talented people to live and work in Malaysia.

For the latest updates from TalentCorp or to apply for a Residence Pass-Talent, visit www.talentcorp.com.my

Source: The Expat April 2012 
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This article has been edited for ExpatGomalaysia.com