Edition 9 September 2026
The Malaysia DE Rantau nomad pass
DE Rantau asks USD 24,000 a year for digital and tech roles and USD 60,000 for every other remote job (MDEC). It grants a twelve-month Professional Visit Pass. You can renew it once, with no sponsor and no deposit. The non-tech bar dates from MDEC's rule change on 7 June 2024. You file online for RM1,080 ($267). You do not get the fee back.
Current at 9 September 2026. Dollars at MYR 4.05 to US$1, the rate of 8 September 2026.
Twelve months, renew once, then the pass stops
DE Rantau is a Professional Visit Pass with a brand name (mdec.my, read 10 September 2026). It runs three to twelve months at first grant. You can renew once for up to twenty-four months total. It is multiple entry, with no per-stay cap and no minimum stay (MDEC, DE Rantau Pass FAQ v10.0, 28 August 2026). It covers Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan only, so Sabah and Sarawak still need a tourist pass.
MDEC does not renew it by default. MDEC checks your income and insurance again, and takes another six to eight weeks (emerhub.com, read 10 September 2026). Start two to three months out. The approval letter is valid exactly six months. You get no extra time.
Dependants are allowed: a spouse or partner, children under 18, disabled children at any age, and your parents. You can apply from anywhere, including from inside Malaysia on a valid tourist stamp. That stamp cannot convert in place. Once you are approved, you exit and re-enter on the visa your approval names (MDEC, read 11 September 2026).
Your job title decides whether the bar is USD 24,000 or USD 60,000
| Category | Income floor a year | At MYR 4.05 | Set by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital and tech roles | USD 24,000 | RM97,200 | MDEC |
| Every other remote profession | USD 60,000 | RM243,000 | MDEC, from 7 June 2024 |
The digital bucket covers software engineering, UX, cloud, cybersecurity, blockchain, AI, data roles and digital marketing (MDEC, DE Rantau Pass FAQ v10.0, read 11 September 2026).
Everyone else sits at USD 60,000, a bucket MDEC created on 7 June 2024. Its FAQ still names it: founders, chief executives, accountants, legal counsels and consultants (MDEC, DE Rantau Pass FAQ v10.0, read 11 September 2026).
So a content marketer clears the bar at USD 24,000 and a consultant on the same money does not. A job title moves it by 2.5 times. Income must be foreign-sourced. Prove it with a signed contract. You also need three months of payslips or invoices, and three months of bank statements (MDEC, DE Rantau Pass FAQ v10.0, read 11 September 2026).
There is no fixed deposit, no property purchase and no bank balance test. USD 24,000 is the lowest income test on any nomad pass in the region. Indonesia's E33G remote-worker KITAS asks USD 60,000 (sea101 ch.10).
| What you pay | Ringgit | USD |
|---|---|---|
| MDEC fee, main applicant, with 8% SST | RM1,080 | $267 |
| Each dependant, with SST | RM540 | $133 |
| Immigration pass fee, 12 months | RM360 | $89 |
| Total, one applicant, one year | RM1,440 | $356 |
MDEC's own fee schedule settles the arithmetic. It is RM1,080 per applicant and RM540 per dependant, both with 8% SST. Add RM360 a year for the immigration pass at endorsement. A solo twelve-month applicant pays RM1,440 in total. You do not get any of it back, a rule since 1 May 2025 (MDEC, DE Rantau Pass FAQ v10.0, 28 August 2026).
Chapter 10 of Living in Southeast Asia 101 ranks the long-stay routes of 7 countries.
What the pass will not let you do
You cannot work for a Malaysian company. You cannot bill Malaysian clients either (emerhub.com, read 10 September 2026). DE Rantau is not an Employment Pass and does not turn into one.
You cannot get a Malaysian driving licence on this pass. This pass is not on the allowed list for one, so converting a foreign licence is closed to you. Your foreign permit covers you for twelve months. Then you stop driving.
A ringgit account is closed to you in practice. Most banks decline the Professional Visit Pass outright (MDEC, DE Rantau Pass FAQ v10.0, read 11 September 2026). The Touch 'n Go eWallet is the Malaysian fix. It takes a phone number from abroad and a foreign card. It pays DuitNow QR at two million merchants.
CHECK The lease is the unclear one. A rental portal lists the passes landlords accept. DE Rantau is not among the names (speedhome.com, 29 June 2026, updated 12 August 2026). That is silence, not a no. Holders take co-living at RM1,200–2,200 a month ($296–543). That is why renting in Kuala Lumpur carries the same chip.
No permanent residence follows. Your dependants get no work rights.
The compliance load is light and the tax date is the risk
There is no 90-day report. You do not sign up your address. The Malaysia Digital Arrival Card is the one entry chore. It has been required since 1 January 2024. It is free. Long-term pass holders are exempt. So an endorsed pass ends it.
File the MDAC in the three days before you land, counting the day you file. It is a maximum window, not a minimum (Immigration Department of Malaysia, MDAC portal, read 11 September 2026).
Sign up with LHDN, the tax board, whether or not you owe anything. 182 days in the calendar year makes you a tax resident. Days that continue a stay straddling the year before or after count too, which is often good news. A non-resident pays a flat 30% on Malaysian-sourced income and gets no reliefs (LHDN, read 11 September 2026). This page is not tax advice. Get some before you rely on it.
Foreign-sourced income is exempt for individuals through 31 December 2036 (Ministry of Finance Malaysia, Budget 2026 tax annex, tabled October 2025).
Overstaying is compounded rather than prosecuted in most cases. The Immigration Act caps a court penalty at RM10,000 ($2,470) and five years. The compounding regulations cap what the Department will accept instead, at RM3,000 ($741) (Immigration Department of Malaysia, read 11 September 2026). Since 5 September 2025, the home minister, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, has set what is actually charged inside that RM3,000 ceiling. A good reason, such as illness, can keep the charge lower.
| Days overstayed | Compound since 5 September 2025 | USD |
|---|---|---|
| 1–30 | RM30 a day, capped at RM900 | up to $222 |
| 31–60 | RM1,000 | $247 |
| 61–90 | RM2,000 | $494 |
| Over 90 | An investigation paper, so a court | — |
Who should file something else, and what to file instead
| If this is you | The problem | Instead |
|---|---|---|
| Local clients or a local employer | Both banned | An Employment Pass |
| More than two years | 12 plus 12, then it ends | MM2H, 5 to 20 years |
| Driving past your first year | No licence on this pass | MM2H, which converts |
| A ringgit account | Most banks decline it | An Employment Pass |
| Income under your floor | You fall short | Cambodia's E visa, no income test, USD 285–300 a year through an agent |
Take DE Rantau for the lowest income bar in the region and a one- to two-year stay. It wants USD 24,000 for digital and tech roles, USD 60,000 for everything else, twelve months renewable once, about RM1,080. The catch is what it does not get you: no licence conversion, and a lease that is hard to find. People moving to Kuala Lumpur for longer should treat it as the trial run.
What this page does not cover
- The 7 papers MDEC wants, and how long the passport must stay valid
- The border run after you are approved, and where the 6 to 8 weeks go
- The 4 passes Malaysian banks accept, and how to run a year on Touch 'n Go
- DE Rantau against MM2H against an Employment Pass, compared side by side
All of it is in Living in Southeast Asia 101 — 60 pages, $49. See what's inside
Related
Timing decides both the border run and the lease, so settle the month to arrive in Kuala Lumpur first. If two years is not enough, MM2H's four tiers test a deposit instead of an income. Still choosing the country? Compare all ten cities on rent, visas and air.
Written by Mihailo Pavlovic. We last changed this page on 21 September 2026.