Talent Corporation Malaysia Bhd said it will review the application pathway under its Returning Expert Programme for Malaysian healthcare professionals following the direction of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to improve the process for Malaysians seeking to return and contribute their expertise to the country.
TalentCorp said the review would focus on the application journey for returning Malaysian professionals, including medical and healthcare experts, while ensuring that the necessary professional and regulatory requirements continue to be met.
For healthcare professionals, the return process involves the REP administered by TalentCorp as well as professional registration requirements to practise medicine in Malaysia.
These include, where applicable, registration with the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) and the National Specialist Register (NSR).
TalentCorp said healthcare REP applications undergo additional technical assessment because healthcare is a regulated sector.
The assessment is carried out through the Joint Working Committee for Healthcare Talent (JWC-HT), comprising TalentCorp, the Ministry of Health (MOH), MMC and relevant healthcare regulatory and professional bodies.
A complete healthcare REP application would typically take about 60 working days to process, subject to the committee’s meeting schedules.
During this period, TalentCorp verifies the application and supporting documents to ensure the information is complete and accurate before it is submitted for assessment and a decision.
TalentCorp said it had received 774 healthcare REP applications since 2011, of which 495 had been approved and 351 applicants had returned to Malaysia.
As of July 2026, all healthcare REP applications received by TalentCorp for processing had been processed, it said.
The agency also clarified that applicants whose required MMC or NSR registration remains pending may continue progressing through the REP process if they are otherwise eligible.
Such applicants may receive conditional REP approval, while full approval and access to REP benefits will only be provided after the required MMC and NSR registrations have been completed and submitted.
TalentCorp said it has been engaging with MOH to review the healthcare REP pathway and strengthen coordination among the agencies involved.
This included an engagement with the MOH secretary-general on June 22, 2026, while a meeting with JWC-HT members was scheduled for Aug 21.
In line with the Prime Minister’s direction, TalentCorp said it would continue working with the Ministry of Human Resources (KESUMA), MOH, MMC and relevant regulatory and professional bodies to improve the end-to-end journey for returning healthcare professionals.
As part of the effort, TalentCorp also intends to formalise its collaboration with MOH through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
