Immigration Dept sets RM3.5bil revenue target

PUTRAJAYA: The Immigration Department is aiming for RM3.5bil in revenue this year, saying it is banking on the improving economy and its convenient online and epayment fronts to meet the target.

Director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud (pic) said revenue would mainly be from levies, permits and passes for foreign workers as bosses seek to employ more hands.

He said collection from illegal immigrants participating in the repatriation recalibration programme was also expected to contribute significantly, with the programme being extended until June 30.

“We anticipate that more illegal immigrants will opt to return to their homelands, with Ramadan and Hari Raya approaching,” he said in an interview.

As at Jan 5, 178,339 out of the 200,000 illegal immigrants who registered for the programme so far have headed back, with the department bagging RM100mil in compounds.

The labour recalibration programme, under which 136,210 applications have been approved to date, saw RM200mil collected from deposit payments.

Khairul Dzaimee said the department’s revenue collection had always been significant but the figures dipped over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We believe the collection this year can go back to the pre-pandemic days as we have also developed several systems to make it easier for payments,” he added.

In 2019, the department collected RM4.5bil but due to the pandemic, the amount dropped to RM2.4bil and RM2.5bil in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Khairul Dzaimee said a silver lining was the department being able to develop new and innovative systems and work procedures.

These include the ePLKS for the renewal of work permits, ePLSI where professional visit passes and spouse visas can be renewed, as well as evisas for visitors from 26 countries to apply online to enter Malaysia.

“Our online initiatives have received support and encouragement from the Home Minister and the ministry. We have a great team in the IT division who worked tirelessly to come up with the new systems,” he said.