The issuance of i-Kad for foreign workers has been suspended temporarily since July 17 this year due to some technical issues, said Immigration Department director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud.

Following this development, foreign workers are required to carry their passport, for the time being, he said.

"We are trying our best to solve the (technical) issues as soon as possible," said Khairul (photo) when contacted in Putrajaya today.

The i-Kad was introduced in 2014 as an identification card for foreigners to help authorities track illegal immigrants.

The i-Kad is issued based on the sector the foreign worker is in – differentiated by the colour of the card – namely expatriates (gold), agriculture (green), plantation (orange), construction (grey), services (yellow), manufacturing (red) and domestic helpers (brown).

The i-Kad is equipped with advanced security features, including the biometric and barcodes to facilitate inspections by the authorities.

- Bernama