Living in malaysia and finding a job in the tourism field

Hi everyone :)
My fiance is considering moving to malaysia to study next year and I will be coming with him. Can you tell me what its like moving there? I'm from New Zealand so everything will be quite different for me. I'm a tourism student so would be keen on finding a job in that industry. How is the tourism there? Do I need to know the language or will english suffice?
Thanks :)
Olivia

Welcome to EB. Some initial thoughts on your posting. You will probably find it difficult to find a job in tourism because of lack of experience. Usually 2-3 years is expected in order to qualify for a work permit (called professional pass).

It is possible however to stay if you are on an internship (which are usually paid a small salary). This is under a Professional Visit Pass (PVP). The company offering it would need to qualify in terms of their paid up capital and structure**, and then process the request with immigration before arrival. This type of pass can be for 12 months maximum. This link is to the guidelines and p. 24 mentions internships.

https://esd.imi.gov.my/portal/pdf/esdguidebook.pdf

You would be subject to normal tourist immigration processes if you don't have any other pass issued. These days visa runs say every 90 days are becoming difficult as they have been used to avoid declaring work and income in Malaysia..

** it is only worth approaching large tourism companies in Malaysia as they are the only ones likely to have the required structure to have foreigners employed or on internships. Most companies will be locally owned because foreign ownership is not permitted under company establishment rules, although multinational companies in tourism do have local presences. These may be just for branding purposes and have an underlying local company.

That doesn't sound very promising but it needs to work or I won't be able to be with my fiance for maybe four years :(

Hi your chances are slim. I knew a Swiss couple who after many years tourism experience (in various roles) including 6 months in Maldives couldn't get a job in Malaysia despite not being fussy. They blew their savings trying.

Hotels pay 900 RM a month  (min wage) for most roles a - expats are usually highly experienced and sent not hired locally. Best you hunt for a job first before arriving. Pay will be very low - some Europeans do get hired as interns.