PR card only issued to foreigners after clearance from Immigration Dept
KUCHING: The National Registration Department ( NRD) here says they will only issue permanent residency ( PR) card to foreigners after they ( NRD) have got clearance from the Immigration Department.
The guidelines and criteria in the process of issuing the PR status to foreigners are quite stringent, said state assistant NRD director who heads the Citizenship Unit Mohd Azfar Mat Nor.
He said for permanent residents to become Malaysian citizens and carry the Blue MyKad would not be so easy because the NRD has to maintain national security at all times.
On a latest development, Azfar said NRD Sarawak is still awaiting formal instruction from federal NRD before it can change any red IC (or My PR card) held by permanent residents to the blue IC or MyKad (citizenship) for applicants above 60 years old.
“I believe people at the top are still finalising the matter. Therefore we are still waiting for the formal instruction although we are aware of the announcement made by the Prime Minister,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, during a press conference at the Parliament in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 14, 2018 announced that permanent residents above the age of 60 who applied for citizenship and fulfilled all conditions, will soon be granted full Malaysian citizenship.
According to media reports, the decision was made after a meeting the previous day with the Indian community representatives, Pakatan Harapan lawmakers and senators.
“The red IC is a permanent residency card. If they are already 60 and above, they can go to the National Registration Department and fill in the necessary forms to change their red IC to blue,” Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying.
The Prime Minister however did not provide a timeframe as to when the citizenship would be approved.
He nonetheless mentioned that this was one of the 100- day pledges to be fulfilled by the PH government when taking over power, and the decision shall be applied to all races in the country.