Lowyat.NET: Latest topics in Expatriates

Working in Qatar,

ben3003 — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 20:36:14 +0800

Hi, recently I have passed interview and generally agreed on commercial for a job offer in Qatar. I will be based in Doha but often travelling as my work may require me working outstation or offshore.

Anyone worked there before can share what should i prepare and what can i expect in terms of cost of living, transportation etc? I will be relocating alone. The offer is an all in package with basic and fixed allowance for housing and travelling.

This is first time i working abroad in the Gulf, so i would love to hear from anyone who worked there before.

Thanks!

Working in Bermuda,

shindosai — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 02:01:55 +0800

I got an offer to work in Bermuda, wondering anyone here who is wrking or has work there-wanted some insights from fellow malaysian.

Working in Indonesia, Looking for Malaysian community there

Mixxomon — Thu, 09 May 2024 11:17:39 +0800

Hi, I got a job offer in Indonesia, working at the Bekasi Region east of Jakarta.

I wonder any online resources or groups available which is more catered to Malaysians working there. So far major facebook group are filled with western expat and most post are domestic workers asking for jobs.

Travel to singapore by Bike with L license,

xiaojin3308 — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 11:50:32 +0800

Hi. I am employment pass holder. I starting to work in june and want to know if I have L license for my motorcycle, can I enter Singapore through Johor? And what are the cost I should aware of when entering and exit Singapore?

Any Malaysians Working in Ireland ?, Please Share Your Experiences

vinoth — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 16:03:16 +0800

Hi All,

Exploring the idea of working in Ireland. Done all the internet researches but it's always good to have the first hand info.

Just checking if any Malaysians are already working there or in midst of moving over.

What route did u use to secure a job (LinkedIn, headhunted, through recruiter) and subsequently the work permit (Critical skills EP, general EP, spouse EP) ?

Is there a huge Malaysian community there and generally how are the locals towards South East Asians?

one thing i cant seem to confirm is the living cost for an individual in Dublin or Cork.

Would welcome any sharing since there is no dedicated thread on this.

Thank you.

Insurance suggestion of long stay in Japan,

edwynkim — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 03:55:31 +0800

I will be traveling to Japan for one year and looking for insurance coverage. I make understand that travel insurance do not cover stay more than 90 days.

Any recommendations for this?

Thx

Working remotely from Malaysia,

disco333 — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 11:08:00 +0800

I am currently an Australian PR and will be getting my citizenship later this year. My current employer allows me to work overseas for up to 3 months at a time which is great but I would like to work from Malaysia permanently if possible. It's very early days but my intention is to move back to Malaysia when I get citizenship here in Australia and work remotely for either an Australian company or some other overseas organisation. I work in a field where there is reasonable demand for my services and I can get work quite easily here for around AUD150k to 200k p.a. but if I move back to Malaysia and work in a similar role I think my earning capacity will be around RM120k to RM180k only. This is why I want to take advantage of possibly working for an Australian or other overseas entity from Malaysia on a remote working arrangement (I'd happily take a 10/20% discount on the salary if it means I can work from Malaysia on a permanent basis).

The purpose of me starting this thread is to understand if anyone is on a similar work arrangement? If you have experience in this area, can you please help me with the following queries:

1. What are the type of companies who would hire on this basis? Per my understanding and discussion with tax personnel at my current place of work, for Australian companies there is a risk that that allowing an employee to work overseas creates what they referred to as a 'permanent establishment' overseas and this results in complex tax implications which is why they avoid it. Are US based regulations more accommodating of these type of work arrangements? If not the US, where else should I be potentially focusing my attention i.e. which countries have the most relaxed remote working laws?

2. Is it better to set up a local company and invoice the hiring the company as a consultant? This would obviously mean I don't get annual leave, long service leave and other employment benefits but from a local tax perspective would it be favourable?

3. If it ends up being contract work - would you recommend getting an agent? If you have a good one operating in the finance space can you please PM me information (if not possible - no worries)?

Thanks - any input at all would be greatly appreciated.

Working in China, Visa Applying for China working permit

BlueWater1993 — Sat, 18 Dec 2021 18:41:55 +0800

hello everyone... would like to get your thought about this...

i'm malaysian and working in SG. currently i back to msia to prepare for my uni transcript, CGC and my previous working letter... so i went to ITBM for english to chinese translation, then i also got my endorsement from MOHE and MOFA.... but i soon to leave msia and back to SG for work...

Question is.... i wondering will the China Embassy in SG do the endorsement for me? or should i get the China Embassy in Msia?

Oversea Job Offer in TW, Need advice plz

ckryan — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 09:40:06 +0800

Hi Guys,

Good day! I just got an offer for an engineering position in Kaohsiung, TW. This is a MNC company in semiconductor industry and is offering me to go over to be based in KH,TW. I would expect an "expat package" to be offered. Unfortunately, this is a "local hire" that turning me down for most of the benefits that one would entitle especially like a foreigner like me to go over there. There are a few things that puzzling me of my decision to accept/decline the offer. I am married with 2 kids. My elder kid is 6 yo and will be boarding into standard 1 next year and the youngest is 3 yo. My wife is still working at home right now and I guess once we all moved there, she will still be able to wfh at all time.

Few things that puzzling me right now:

1. If it is not an expat package, this offer does not provide like housing allowance. I believe the house rental, typical studio types like 500-600 sqft size would easily hit NT$20,000. I would definitely need to count into my monthly paycheck.

2. Kid education fee is not covered. I am concerning about where would my kid be boarding into the public elementary school or international school? Are all the public schools in TW allowing the international enrollment? How's my kid education would be going on if later we come back to Malaysia?

3. How's the payable tax impose for foreigner holding a valid working permit? If not mistaken it is about 18%. I will need to pay this tax.

4. How's the insurance coverage or medical coverage of my family? I guess most of the MNC do provide subsidiary to the immediate dependents. Is that really sufficient to cover that?

What's your thoughts or inputs are all welcomed!

Thanks!

Food tech in UK/EU, Please drop some advices

Layla_Layla — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 15:49:49 +0800

Hii. May I know if anyone here is working in fmcg industry in UK? I recently graduated with a degree in Food Science and my dream is to work as a professional in UK or any other European countries. I'm not sure if I should pursue a Master's degree or just gain professional experience in this sector to increase my chances... Anyone has any advice? ☺️ Thank you!

Guidelines for US visa,

dragonball_dude — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 08:10:52 +0800

Hello. Can i check how yo work in US? There is a us company who is keen to hire me but seems like they need to talk to a legal immigration specialist as it is out of their expertise to hire foreigner. My question is, is it difficult to get the working visa? I googled seems like HB-1 is the one to go? Or am i missing anything? Is the visa quota full ? Thanks.

Migration to Canada,

Kesh1018 — Sun, 21 Feb 2021 16:28:18 +0800

I'm looking for an immigration agent to migrate to Canada, there seems to be very little information on Canada compared to Australia.

It seems like Rayford is the only licensed agent that does it, anyone has any experience using them?

The visa I'm applying for is a Common Law visa (Partner is canadian)

How to apply for Permanent Residence in M'sia?,

lorkh — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 17:33:01 +0800

Hi,

I have a friend who is 50yo. She has an old red M'sian IC; not MyKad. Her father is a red IC holder too. Her mother is a Singaporean citizen. She has gained a HK passport and has been living abroad for the past 20 years but now wants to return to Malaysia. Is she eligible to apply for Permanent Residence? How's the process of applying?

Hope someone can assist me in this. Thank you.

Employment pass and travelling within Malaysia,

sovietmah — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 10:27:31 +0800

Hi, I am going to join another company but needed to hand over my passport to Mdec for the new employment pass.
This probably will take 1-2 weeks.
Can I still travelling within Malaysia without my original passport? Should I keep a copy of color photostat passport?

Korea overstay how?,

moiskyrie — Sun, 20 Sep 2020 09:00:16 +0800

anyone know how korea law work?
cos i cant find lastest immigration law/rules...

mu auntie son few year ago go korea using travel visa to illegally work,
but last time (almost 2 year ago) he no come back cos want continue work...
passport expiry and visa also expiry almost 2 years...

this year before june, hear korea gov got program ti white wash all illegaly stay/worker,
but he no go apply cos work (he say cos no china worker, got plenty of job)

but now want come back as the gf got pregnant already (both illegally overstay almost 2 year, passport/visa expiry almost 2 year)

will got what punishment?
he ask he sister to book flight,
but if immigration cant get pass, got ticket also no use?

so anyone know?

sorry for my bad english...

Working in China (Shenzhen), Advice and Tips

edwin96 — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 17:03:24 +0800

Hi all sifus,

Been struggling to find a job ever since MCO. Has about 2 years of working experiences including part time.
Recently interview with a China company based in Shenzhen.
After 2 interview, they decided to hire me, but will work from home now until Government allow us to travel to China, then will move to Shenzhen and work there.

So far the package is okay for me since I will work from home until I am able to travel, then salary will get adjusted.

Need some tips and advice for those who has experiences working in China or friends that work in Shenzhen:

1. The living cost there, especially room rental cost and eating cost. I will get allocation fees when I relocate to China. Just want to know roughly how much each month.
2. Environment
3. Any experience or tips also can share share with me.

Thanks alot!

Learning German,

A+Ve — Sun, 02 Aug 2020 10:31:28 +0800

Dear All,

I am international tax consultant and is considering gaining some international exposure. Since this thread had lots of discussion about working abroad. Just wanted to ask of anyone's experience working in Germany? I understand that there is a language requirement and was wondering if there are any other requirements in order to get an upper hand in obtaining a job in Germany.

Also in Malaysia, i understand that there are a few centers that provide tutoring on foreign languages. Even so, will there be other avenues for us learning foreign language to practice on a daily basis? For example people who are learning German and are living in Germany are able to practice it easily due to their surroundings but in Malaysia, do the centers have like forums or study partners for this? Learning a language works better when you start conversing other than theoretical practice.

If you have suggestions of language centers that are good Please fee free to respond to the thread. Really appreciate your help!

Stay safe!

(salary related) how much should i ask for,

N900rocks — Tue, 12 May 2020 10:48:05 +0800

so ive just done an interview and ive good feeling that i might get an offer, im wondering how much salary should i ask for to survive and save money in cambodia

backgroud of the company, licensed casino (founder is malaysian, i think u guys smart enough to know which one it is)

post: investor relations

my background:
3 years in msia banking industry
single, 28
commitment, only insurance and car

we didnt discuss about accommodation and benefits in the interview.

so it would be best if daigor2 here can enlighten me how much should i ask for.

thanks

Getting back to KL these days,

Kwallace — Tue, 05 May 2020 08:54:09 +0800

Hi all, does anyone know what flights are still flying to Malaysia? (international)

I am a white fella expat in Australia but I am looking to return to Malaysia but it's hard to find a link of flights that lets me do it.

Malaysian in banking industry to go to UK?, Discussion about getting a job in the UK

ChasingLondon — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 01:43:25 +0800

Hi all, would really like to seek your opinion/thoughts about the difficulty of getting a job in UK financial industry from Malaysia.

I used to study in the UK for my bachelor degree, I did not attend one of those prestige uni, but a rather outskirt uni down south. I did accounting and finance for my degree and graduated with a 2:1. When I was a student there I did try to apply for the graduate programmes, but only got to the assessment centre stage.

Yup so here I am back in Malaysia now. I only started my career in the banking industry as credit analyst about 3-4 months ago and I reaaaaaallyyyy wanna get a job in the UK asap. I know it is super difficult to get a sponsorship visa there, I am well prepared for that.

What would you say in terms of how many years I need to actually make it back to London? What role within the banking industry would be an advantage/beneficial or even more sough after in the UK?

Also, I have a few friends who’s an auditor made it back, but so far I have not heard people within the banking industry made it back to UK. Do you guys have friends who worked within the banking industry made it back?

Any thoughts are welcomed!