PUTRAJAYA – The Immigration Department has never issued special approvals under the Recalibration Programme (RTK) 2.0 to undocumented foreigners after December 31 last year, said Immigration director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh.
In a statement today, he said such approvals violated the policy set by the government when it introduced the RTK 2.0 programme on January 27 this year.
“The policy is clear that only foreign nationals who were illegals until December 31, 2022 are eligible and will be considered for RTK 2.0 approval,” he said, while advising the people not to spread misinformation that could confuse or cause uneasiness among the public.
The statement follows a viral WhatsApp voice note message claiming that the Immigration Department was issuing an RTK 2.0 special approval for foreigners with illegal status after December 31.
The voice note also alleged that the special approval will be given to only 5,000 applicants who entered the country in 2023.
“The department strongly denied this claim and urged the public not to be hoodwinked by agents’ and middlemen’s tactics,” said Ruslin. – September 6, 2023