The guidelines by the Immigration Department stipulate that employers must take appropriate steps to renew the work permits of their workers 3 months before their expiry. We would advise employers to place importance on this annual medical examination to avoid unnecessary inconvenience due to last minute registration. We also wish to caution employers that they may be subject to compound/fine by Immigration Department for late renewal.

The quota system was imposed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to ensure a fair and equitable distribution of the number of foreign workers to be examined under the health-screening program amongst doctors registered with Growarisan. Each doctor is allowed to examine up to 500 foreign workers annually as directed by MOH. However, the MOH grants approval for exceeding the quota for exceptional cases, where there are insufficient doctors in the locality especially in remote areas, taking into consideration the number of registered doctors with Growarisan and the number of foreign workers in the area. The MOH provides clear guidelines for the approval of such requests for an increase in quota to ensure that the employers in the affected areas are not inconvenienced. Growarisan implements the MOH's directive.

The reasons could be that:

• the chosen doctor may have achieved the stipulated quota for the year;
• the chosen doctor may not be in service with Growarisan temporary; or
• the doctor is no longer in practice.

No. It is the responsibility of employers to choose the doctor for their foreign workers' for medical examination. To facilitate the selection by employers, detailed listings of the panel of registered doctors are publicly displayed at all Growarisan branches or at Support Page. We stress that, Growarisan and its staff are not responsible for the selection. Disciplinary actions have been taken against those found doing so.

If an employer provides a valid reason, Growarisan can change the selected clinic. Otherwise an administrative fee of RM20 is levied for each change. The fee is a deterrent measure introduced to curb the abuse of our system. It also enhances the integrity and quality of medical examination and minimizes disruption to counter services.

The decision to disallow private hospitals to carry out foreign workers' medical examination is a directive from the MOH. However, the MOH permits any registered doctor of a private hospital to carry out medical examination on foreign workers who are employed by the staff of that hospital.

At that point in time, there are no results to transmit. Foreign workers must undergo the required medical examination at the chosen doctor's clinic and x-ray centre before the doctor can submit the results to Growarisan. We advise employers to start the process of medical examination early to avoid unforeseen circumstances or delay.

It is crucial for the purpose of verification of the identity of the foreign workers under this mandatory health-screening program. Growarisan has detected attempts by irresponsible parties/employers using substitutes to undergo medical examination on behalf of unhealthy workers. It is our standard operating procedure that doctors must not carry out the medical examination unless the identity of the foreign worker is ascertained.

Only the original passport is the legal document for the purpose of identification under this mandatory annual health-screening program.

No, it is not valid for the purpose of this crucial procedure of verification of identity.

We wish to explain that a doctor is physically only capable of carrying out a limited number of medical examinations per day. As a guide, a through medical examination based on our standard format of medical examination takes about 15 minutes to complete. Therefore, we advise employers to make an appointment with the doctor concerned to schedule the medical examination of their workers if they intend to bring a large number of workers.

This can happen when either the x-ray findings or the laboratory's test results or both have shown abnormalities and these concerned have transmitted their findings accordingly. Despite the findings of abnormalities by X-ray clinic or laboratory, your chosen doctor had certified your worker SUITABLE. In such a situation of inconsistencies, our system of monitoring automatically detects them and upon our investigation (and based on criteria set by the MOH), the worker's status will be amended to UNSUITABLE. An example would be where the laboratory test detected the presence of hepatitis B antigen but the doctor chooses to transmit the certification as SUITABLE. This is the essence of the health-screening program under our system, to detect and prevent inconsistencies or likely abuses.

Yes, if we have subsequent evidence that the worker has not met the criteria of SUITABLE certification even though the examining doctor had initially certified the foreign worker as suitable. This mainly arises from our auditing of the X-ray films by our X-ray Quality Control Centre, where the X-ray film was initially misread as 'normal'. In such a situation, Growarisan will inform the employer, the doctor and the Immigration Department accordingly that the foreign worker's status has been amended to UNSUITABLE.

The medical examination under Growarisan is a screening program and not definitely diagnostic in nature. The criteria used for certification of foreign workers' health status are determined by the MOH and Growarisan adheres strictly to them. Doctors who are not as Growarisan panel for the foreign workers' health-screening program may not have the criteria for certification for SUITABILITY FOR EMPLOYMENT. A doctor may have the opinion that the worker is fit to work at the time of medical examination despite having detected the likelihood of a communicable disease. Common examples are medical results of workers having indication of tuberculosis (PTB) or old tuberculosis (OTB) which may re-activate anytime after the medical examination. In such cases, the benefit of the doubt is given to the state and not the foreign worker. As such, under the criteria set by the MOH, the worker will be certified as UNSUITABLE FOR EMPLOYMENT where there is an indication of communicable diseases even though the diseases are not active at the time of medical examination.

When the employers choose the registered doctor, the X-ray facility has already been pre-assigned to that doctor as indicated in the Growarisan Registration Form - Form 1A (Receipt). The X-ray clinics are assigned to the doctors when they register with Growarisan, based on criteria set by the MOH taking into account the independence of operation and the integrity necessary under this annual mandatory health-screening program.

Under normal circumstances, Growarisan will be able to transmit the certification of the medical status to the Immigration Department Headquarters within 10 workings days from the date of examination by the doctor of your workers. (Please note that it is not from the date of registration with Growarisan).

Growarisan is required to transmit the medical status of foreign workers only to the Immigration Department Headquarters' database. The medical status is then re-transmitted from the Immigration Department Headquarters to the respective state Immigration Departments. Therefore, a time lapse of some duration may arise when connectivity is affected between the state level Immigration Department and the Headquarters. In such situations, you can always seek Growarisan's assistance.

The medical status of foreign workers are only available for 3 months at the Immigration Department from the date of medical examination.

The fee was determined by the Government in 1997 based on the requirements and standard format of medical examination as stipulated by the MOH. The fees have not changed and it is lower than the recommended fee by the Malaysian Medical Association for similar medical examination.

The frequency of the medical examination under the mandatory screening program has been determined by the MOH. Furthermore, medical examination in principle is only valid for a limited period of time. Certain diseases may be in remission or inactive during the previous examination. These may relapse or reactivate subsequently. Also, some diseases may be freshly acquired.

The Government has accepted and recognised Growarisan as an independent agency to monitor and supervise the medical examination for this mandatory health-screening program. The system of monitoring and surveillance is tailored to ensure the quality and integrity of the medical examination and to prevent likely abuses by agents, employers, doctors and others in the medical examination of foreign workers. In addition, the Government is able to access timely, centralised and nationwide information on the foreign workers' health status for appropriate actions. It is a centralised process to facilitate and coordinate the renewal of work permits.

Yes, you are allowed a refund. However, an administrative charge of RM20 will be deducted from your registration fee (RM180 or RM190). Please also be reminded that you have to fill in a form (available from any of our branch office) and attach all required documentations to support why your worker is not undergoing the medical examination they are registered for. For example, you will need to furnish a police report, Check Out Memo (from Immigration) and/or resignation/termination letter (from employer) in the event of worker absconded or has been terminated.
NOTE: The process of refund may take 2-3 months depending on the accuracy and full compliance of your refund submission.