From the October 2025 wage month, employers must register non-Malaysian citizen employees holding a valid passport and work pass with the EPF and contribute 2 per cent of monthly wages, with a further 2 per cent deducted from the employee. This is a permanent statutory rate set by Part F of the Third Schedule, not a phase-in. Domestic servants are excluded, and the employee must be below 75. The first payment fell due by 15 November 2025.
- 2 per cent employer and 2 per cent employee, effective from the October 2025 wage month with first payment due 15 November 2025
- Part F is a permanent rate in the Third Schedule — a flat percentage with no wage bands, no ceiling and no phase-in schedule
- Scope is non-Malaysian citizen employees with a valid passport and work pass issued by the Immigration Department, below 75 years of age
- Domestic servants are excluded — maids, cooks, gardeners, cleaners, babysitters and drivers among others
- The old elective regime, under which the employer paid a flat RM5 a month, was abolished when Parts B and D were deleted by Act A1760/2025
- Contributions must be calculated on at least the minimum wage rate under the prevailing Minimum Wages Order
Who this applies to: Employers of foreign workers and expatriates in Malaysia, and payroll administrators configuring non-citizen contribution logic.
On this page
For twenty-seven years, EPF for a foreign worker was something an employer could largely ignore: the employee could elect to join, and if they did, the employer’s share was a flat RM5 a month regardless of salary. That arrangement no longer exists. It was not amended — it was deleted.
Since the October 2025 wage month, contributions for non-Malaysian citizen employees are mandatory at 2 per cent from the employer and 2 per cent from the employee, under a newly inserted Part F of the Third Schedule to the EPF Act 1991.
Is 2 per cent permanent or a phase-in?
Permanent, on the face of the statute.
Part F does not contain a wage table, a ceiling, or a staged schedule. It states the rate as 2 per cent of the amount of wages for the month by the employer and 2 per cent by the employee, adds that the total contribution including cents is rounded to the next ringgit, and stops. There is no sunset clause and no scheduled escalation.
This is worth stating plainly because a genuinely phased scheme launched in the same period — PERKESO’s LINDUNG 24 Jam, which moves from 0.75 to 1.0 to 1.25 per cent over six years — and the two are being conflated in commentary. EPF Part F is flat. SKBBK is phased.
Who exactly is covered?
The EPF describes the liable group as non-Malaysian citizen employees who:
- hold a valid passport and work pass issued by the Immigration Department of Malaysia;
- are employed under a contract of service or apprenticeship;
- have wages paid in the form of money; and
- are below 75 years of age.
Registration and contribution are the employer’s responsibility. The employer pays both shares to the EPF and may deduct the employee’s share from salary.
Domestic servants are out
The single carve-out is domestic servants. The EPF applies the definition in section 3 of the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1952, which covers people working as, among others, maids, cooks, gardeners, cleaners, babysitters and drivers.
A household employing a live-in helper therefore has no Part F obligation. A company employing a driver on its own payroll should look carefully at which side of that line the role sits.
What replaced the RM5 regime?
Parts B and D of the Third Schedule — the elective regime for non-citizens who registered from 1 August 1998, under which the employee contributed a percentage and the employer paid a flat RM5 monthly — were deleted by Act A1760/2025.
The change is structural rather than incremental:
| Before | From October 2025 wages | |
|---|---|---|
| Participation | Elective, at the employee’s option | Mandatory |
| Employer share | Flat RM5 per month | 2 per cent of wages |
| Employee share | Percentage under Part B or D | 2 per cent of wages |
| Schedule Part | B (under 60) or D (60 and over) | F, regardless of age |
One consequence deserves emphasis. Non-citizens who had already elected to contribute before 1 August 1998 were never in Parts B and D — they sit in Parts A and C alongside permanent residents, at the full 13, 12 or 6.5 per cent rates. That small legacy population is unaffected by this change. Everyone else who is not a citizen or permanent resident moves to Part F.
What do you actually have to do?
Register. Non-citizen employees must be registered with the EPF. The EPF has introduced automatic registration to reduce the manual burden on employers, and publishes guides for handling non-citizen employees through e-Payroll, the i-Akaun (Employer) web portal and the i-Akaun (Employer) app.
Contribute by the 15th. The deadline is the same as for every other EPF contribution: on or before the 15th of the month following the wage month. The EPF’s own worked timing for the first cycle — salary for October 2025 falls in the November 2025 contribution month and had to be paid on or before 15 November 2025.
Pay in whole ringgit. EPF contributions must be paid in ringgit denominations without any cent value, and Part F directs that the total including cents is rounded to the next ringgit.
Use at least the minimum wage as the base. The EPF states that for contribution purposes the amount for non-Malaysian citizen employees, excluding domestic helpers, must be calculated on at least the minimum wage rate prescribed under the prevailing Minimum Wages Order. Enforcement of the Order itself belongs to the Ministry of Human Resources, but the EPF applies its own floor when computing what you owe.
How this sits alongside the other schemes
Foreign workers are not uniformly in or out of Malaysian statutory payroll. The pattern is scheme by scheme, and this is where employers make errors of generalisation:
- EPF — in, at 2 per cent both ways under Part F.
- SOCSO — in.
- LINDUNG 24 Jam (SKBBK) — mandatory for foreign workers, while being voluntary for locals. The reverse of the intuition most employers have.
- EIS — confirm before configuring; see SOCSO and EIS.
Common mistakes
Still paying RM5. The provision authorising it was repealed. This is the error most likely to be sitting in a payroll system today, because it ran unchanged for over two decades.
Treating Part F as optional. The whole point of the change is that election was abolished. Neither employer nor employee can decline.
Applying wage bands. Part F has none. It is a straight 2 per cent on actual wages, unlike Part A where the table governs below RM20,000.
Applying a lower rate to non-citizens aged 60 and over. Part F sets 2 per cent for both stages — under 60 and 60 and above alike. The age-graded reductions in Parts C and E do not reach Part F.
Assuming expatriates on high salaries are outside it. There is no ceiling in Part F. A pass holder earning RM30,000 attracts RM600 from each side.
Contributing for domestic helpers. They are excluded, and the exclusion is defined by reference to the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1952.
What’s next
Pull a list of every non-citizen on your payroll, confirm each has a valid work pass and an EPF membership number, and check what rate your system is applying. If it shows RM5, or nothing at all, you have arrears running from the October 2025 wage month.
For the rest of the Third Schedule — including why percentage arithmetic is not permitted for citizens and permanent residents below RM20,000 — see the EPF employer guide. For how this duty sits among the other four monthly remittances, see the payroll compliance calendar.
Is the 2 per cent rate a phase-in that will rise later?
No. Part F of the Third Schedule states the rate flatly as 2 per cent of the amount of wages for the month from the employer and 2 per cent from the employee, with no staged increases and no sunset. It is drafted as a permanent statutory rate. This distinguishes it from PERKESO's LINDUNG 24 Jam scheme, which genuinely is phased.
Which pass holders are covered?
The EPF describes the covered group as non-Malaysian citizen employees holding a valid passport and a work pass issued by the Immigration Department of Malaysia, employed under a contract of service or apprenticeship, with wages paid in money, and below 75 years of age. The EPF does not draw distinctions between pass categories on its employer guidance — the test is a valid work pass, not a particular pass class.
Are domestic helpers included?
No. Domestic servants are expressly excluded. The EPF applies the definition in section 3 of the Workmen's Compensation Act 1952, which covers among others maids, cooks, gardeners, cleaners, babysitters and drivers.
Does the RM5 flat employer contribution still exist?
No. Parts B and D of the Third Schedule, which contained the old elective non-citizen regime with its flat RM5 monthly employer contribution, were deleted by Act A1760/2025. Any payroll system or guide still applying RM5 is operating on repealed law.
What wage do I use if the worker is paid below minimum wage?
The EPF states that for contribution purposes the amount for non-Malaysian citizen employees, excluding domestic helpers, must be calculated based on at least the minimum wage rate prescribed under the prevailing Minimum Wages Order. Enforcement of the Order itself falls to the Ministry of Human Resources, but the EPF sets its own floor for computing the contribution.
The following are deliberately unstated or described only qualitatively until confirmed by a subject-matter expert:
- Confirm whether any specific pass classes — for example student passes, dependant passes with work endorsement, or Professional Visit Passes — fall outside the Part F requirement, against KWSP directly; the employer guidance reviewed does not enumerate pass classes
- Confirm the treatment of non-citizen employees aged 60 and over under Part F, and whether any reduced rate applies, against KWSP directly
Sources
- Contribution For Non-Malaysian Citizen Employees — KWSP
- Third Schedule effective 1 October 2025 — KWSP
- Employer Mandatory Contribution — KWSP
Change history
| Version | Date | Change | By |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01.00 | 20 Jul 2026 | Approved and published. | — |