Malaysia’s new policy opens doors for Bangladeshi recruiting agencies

Malaysian government has given the green signal to all eligible Bangladeshi agencies to participate in its labour recruitment process under a new uniform selection system. Dhaka now sees renewed prospects for a major boost in manpower exports.

Previously, only a limited number of Bangladeshi recruiting agencies were permitted to operate in Malaysia, while agencies from several other labour-sending nations enjoyed broader access.

The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment confirmed the development in a press release issued on Wednesday.

The decision follows repeated requests from the Bangladesh government to ensure transparency and equal opportunity.

Malaysia has now finalised and shared a new "Recruiting Agent Selection Criteria", the ministry said.

During the 3rd Joint Working Group meeting held in Dhaka on May 21–22 this year, the Malaysian delegation committed to adopting a selection process consistent with that applied to India, Nepal, Pakistan and Myanmar.

According to an official communication received yesterday, private recruiting agencies will need to meet several key eligibility criteria.

These include a minimum of five years of satisfactory operations after obtaining a licence, a record of deploying at least 3,000 workers abroad in the last five years, and experience in sending workers to at least three different destination countries.

Agencies must also have valid licences from the relevant Bangladeshi authorities, a certificate of good conduct, and a clean record free from allegations of trafficking, forced labour, extortion or unethical migration practices.

To qualify, agencies must operate from a permanent office space of no less than 10,000 square feet, in continuous operation for at least three years, and maintain their own training and assessment centre with accommodation, technical training and induction facilities.

Each applicant must also submit five letters of commendation from international employers and evidence of compliance with the laws and recruitment procedures of destination countries, including Malaysia.

Bangladesh will now officially request the Malaysian authorities to enlist all local recruiting agencies that meet these criteria without exception.

The ministry has invited validly licenced Bangladeshi agencies to apply with the required documents by November 7 this year.