Bangladesh Opens Applications for 112 Free Malaysia Jobs, Targets December Flights

112 jobs put the December recruitment plan into motion

Bangladesh has invited applications for 112 jobs at DHL Supply Chain (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd with a monthly basic salary of 1,700 ringgit and no migration costs for selected workers, as the government targets December 2026 for its first two or three flights under an employer funded recruitment initiative.

The state recruiting agency, Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL), announced the vacancies on November 5. Applications open at 10am on November 6 and close at 4pm on November 8, leaving applicants a short window to seek positions as operations assistants or technical skill workers.

The recruitment gives a concrete starting point to a government pilot intended to send 10,000 Bangladeshis to Malaysia through BOESL without recruitment charges. The 112 advertised positions represent 1.12 percent of that planned total, making this a small first recruitment exercise within a much larger initiative.

Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury outlined the December target at a meeting with recruiting agencies at Probashi Kalyan Bhaban in Dhaka's Eskaton. He said Malaysian employers would bear the recruitment expenses for the free placements.

Chowdhury described the payment requirement for workers selected through the BOESL initiative in direct terms:

Zero, zero, zero – not a single penny,

Private recruitment is also being discussed, with agencies proposing migration charges of Tk 250,000 to Tk 300,000. Those proposed charges belong to the wider private recruitment route, while the advertised BOESL jobs require no payment from selected workers at any recruitment stage.

Who can apply for the DHL positions?

Applicants must be between 22 and 35 years old, hold a valid passport and apply for only one position. Applications are to be submitted online through the BOESL registration portal.

Operations assistant applicants need at least a Secondary School Certificate, or an equivalent qualification. They must have basic computer knowledge, English communication skills and the physical ability to work in a warehouse.

Candidates with one to two years of relevant experience will receive preference for operations assistant positions. Experience operating forklifts, power pallet trucks and reach trucks will also count in their favour. These machines move, lift and stack goods inside warehouses.

Technical skill applicants need at least a Higher Secondary Certificate or an equivalent qualification. Candidates with electrical, vocational, polytechnic or graduate education will receive preference. They must also know about warehouse operations, information technology equipment and Microsoft Excel, and be able to communicate in English.

The requirements make these vacancies a defined recruitment exercise for warehouse and technical work. Applicants will need to meet the educational and practical requirements of their chosen position before progressing through selection.

A lottery comes before the company tests

BOESL plans to use a software lottery to produce an initial shortlist of 300 applicants. That list will be published on its official website.

Representatives of the Malaysian company will then conduct technical and oral examinations to select the final 112 workers. The process therefore has two stages: a lottery determines the shortlist, and company assessments determine who receives the jobs.

The final intake is about 37 percent of the 300 people expected to reach the shortlist. Applicants selected by the lottery will still need to pass the employer's assessment.

Chowdhury also described a broader plan to advertise overseas jobs online, receive applications online and use an online lottery. He said the government was considering this approach to give people from disadvantaged areas access to overseas employment opportunities.

The minister said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was expected to announce that broader initiative once preparations were complete. The DHL recruitment already has its own stated application dates and selection procedure.

What workers will earn and receive

Selected workers will receive a monthly basic salary of 1,700 Malaysian ringgit under an initial contract lasting three years, with an option for renewal. Their scheduled working time will be eight hours a day, six days a week, equivalent to 48 hours each week.

Overtime payments will depend on the company's work requirements and Malaysian labour law. Basic salary is the regular pay stated for the job; overtime is additional payment for qualifying extra hours. Applicants should therefore understand the advertised 1,700 ringgit as basic monthly pay, with overtime handled separately.

The employer will arrange accommodation, primary medical care and transport. These provisions matter to workers living abroad because housing, travel to work and access to basic treatment affect how much of their earnings they can keep or send home.

BOESL's notice says selected workers must not pay money at any stage of recruitment and warns against financial transactions connected with obtaining these jobs. Chowdhury also said service charges in Bangladesh had been waived to simplify the free recruitment process.

Private recruitment fees remain under discussion

Recruiting agency representatives proposed Tk 250,000 to Tk 300,000 as a possible migration cost for workers using private agencies. One agency owner said recruitment could be carried out within that range, while also asking for room to increase it if necessary.

Chowdhury welcomed the proposed range, saying a lower financial burden would help ordinary families and build confidence in recruitment. State Minister Md Nurul Hoque said officials would hold formal discussions with agencies before determining the charge.

The private recruitment fee, the dates of the December flights and the terms of a replacement bilateral agreement have not yet been finalised. The 112 BOESL vacancies, by contrast, have an application deadline and published employment conditions.

Bangladesh's October recruitment reopening allowed procedures to resume through 338 approved organisations after the route was suspended in May 2024. At that stage, the wider recruitment fee and the total number of workers Malaysia would accept were still undecided.

During the previous recruitment period, from 2022 to 2024, workers reportedly paid as much as Tk 600,000. The newly discussed range of Tk 250,000 to Tk 300,000 is roughly 42 to 50 percent of that amount. For households borrowing to finance migration, the eventual charge will determine how much debt they carry before earning their first wage abroad.

Agencies seek wider access before the agreement expires

Chowdhury said he wanted every licensed Bangladeshi recruiting agency to have an opportunity to participate in Malaysia's labour market, rather than concentrating business among a limited group. The existing Bangladesh–Malaysia memorandum of understanding is due to expire on December 31, and he hopes a replacement will be signed by that date.

Nurul Hoque said the current bilateral arrangement gives Malaysia the final authority to select participating agencies. Bangladesh is seeking broader participation through negotiations with the Malaysian side.

The October reopening covered BOESL, 25 private processing or service agencies and 312 recruiting agencies, making 338 organisations in total. BOESL and the private processors were assigned administrative work connected with Malaysian visas, while recruiting agencies were to obtain employers and select workers.

Agency owner Abul Bashar asked for independent access to Malaysia's Foreign Workers Centralised Management System, known as FWCMS. He also sought permission for individual agencies to handle demand letter attestation, issue medical slips and obtain emigration clearance from Bangladesh's Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training.

Mohammad Fazlul Islam Yasin, speaking for 62 agencies, called for faster medical approvals and reasonable BOESL processing fees. Fatima, owner of Maruf International, said limited recruitment opportunities were making it difficult to pay office rent and staff salaries. Nurul Hoque acknowledged agencies' operating expenses while urging them to keep profits at a reasonable level.

Job guarantees are meant to follow each demand letter

Foreign employers' demand letters will have to be submitted online and attested by the destination country's human resources ministry, Chowdhury said. He also described submitting the documents to Bangladesh's embassy in Malaysia.

A demand letter is an employer's formal request to recruit workers. It provides the starting point for recruitment, identifying the labour the company says it needs. Attestation means the document receives official verification.

Recruiting agencies will also have to give Bangladesh's ministry a written undertaking guaranteeing that the employer has jobs for the workers being recruited.

Chowdhury illustrated the concern with a hypothetical demand for 100 workers when only 50 jobs actually exist. He asked who would take responsibility for the remaining 50 people. The proposed undertaking puts a written responsibility on the agency bringing forward the demand.

For a worker leaving Bangladesh, the practical issue is whether a job is ready on arrival. A person who has travelled abroad without work can face immediate difficulty paying living expenses or repaying migration loans.

Medical fees and support after arrival

Chowdhury said the medical examination fee for workers going to Malaysia had been fixed at Tk 8,000. He warned that charging more could lead to licence cancellation and other legal action if evidence of overcharging was established.

The Tk 8,000 figure sets the price of the examination within the Malaysia recruitment process. For the advertised BOESL placements, the notice separately promises that selected workers will pay nothing during recruitment, with employers bearing migration expenses.

Agency representatives asked for medical procedures and approvals to move faster so workers could depart. The minister said medical facilities were being assessed and that approvals could be withdrawn where wrongdoing was supported by evidence.

Chowdhury also announced plans for dedicated support cells in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and other destination countries to help workers resolve problems and receive services without harassment.

The need for support after arrival was visible in the November 2025 wage protest in Dhaka, where former workers sought unpaid wages and compensation linked to two Malaysian manufacturers. The Migrant Welfare Network said 431 Bangladeshis had been denied lawful pay and basic protections. Workers described returning home with debts after their earnings stopped.

Chowdhury urged agencies to consider employment and remittance income alongside business interests. He also called for workers to understand destination countries' laws and warned that irresponsible activity on social media could damage visa and employment opportunities.

The dates applicants and agencies need to watch

November's application window comes before two December targets: launching the first free recruitment flights and replacing the bilateral recruitment agreement. The immediate deadline for candidates is much earlier than either policy milestone.

• October 15, 2026: Bangladesh announced the reopening of recruitment through 338 approved organisations.
• November 5: BOESL announced 112 DHL vacancies, and the minister met recruiting agencies in Dhaka.
• November 6, 10am: Online applications open for the advertised jobs.
• November 8, 4pm: Applications close.
• December: The government aims to operate its first two or three flights carrying workers under the free recruitment initiative.
• December 31: The existing bilateral agreement expires, with Bangladesh seeking a replacement by that date.

Applicants face a short application period followed by a lottery and employer examinations. Agencies face negotiations over fees, access and responsibility for jobs, while the government works toward departures before the current agreement expires.

Key Points

• BOESL is recruiting 112 workers for DHL Supply Chain in Malaysia without migration charges to selected workers.
• Monthly basic pay is 1,700 ringgit, with an initial contract lasting three years.
• Applications run from November 6 at 10am to November 8 at 4pm.
• Applicants must be aged 22 to 35, hold a valid passport and apply for only one position.
• A software lottery will shortlist 300 applicants before company examinations select 112.
• The government targets December for its first free recruitment flights under a planned pilot covering 10,000 workers.
• Private agency charges of Tk 250,000 to Tk 300,000 remain proposals awaiting a decision.
• Bangladesh seeks a new recruitment agreement with Malaysia by December 31.