Immigration director-general Ruslin Jusoh said this collection marked an increase from the previous year’s RM5.13 billion, surpassing the RM4.5 billion target, Utusan Malaysia reported.

He added that the entry of over two million foreign workers last year contributed to the RM3.31 billion earned from foreign worker levies.

“Additionally, revenue from the immigration department’s service processes amounted to RM654.6 million, making it the second-highest contributor to our revenue,” he was quoted as saying.

“The passport renewal process recorded a revenue of RM522.1 million, work permits for foreign workers totaled RM379.9 million, and visas amounted to RM228.5 million.”

In other developments, Ruslin said there were a total of 2.38 million registered foreign workers across various sectors in 2023, with Bangladesh accounting for 36.28%, followed by Indonesia (23.55%), Nepal (17.61%), Myanmar (7.7%), and India (5.7%).

With an estimated 2.4 million foreign workers required by 2025, Ruslin said the government is currently formulating specific measures, with discussions held between the home and human resources ministries.

He added that one of the specific measures includes reducing the time taken to process the documentation for foreign workers.

“In the past, the process from the beginning (once the quota was given) until the issuance of temporary work visit pass took 29 months and 13 days. It was indeed a long time.

“Hence, the government has agreed to reduce it to 15 months and seven days, which is a 46% reduction from the original period,” he said.