The department is responsible for issuing passports, travel documents, visas, passes and permits; administering and managing the movement of people at authorised entry and exit points; and enforcing immigration legislation including the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Passport Act 1966.

After World War II, the Immigration Department was known as The Refugees and Disposal Persons Bureau which was based in Kuala Lumpur and led by a British Military Administration Officer.

Its main role was to bring people stranded in other countries due to World War II back to Malaysia.

The first immigration law was the Passenger Restriction Ordinance 1922, which was enforced on 21 July 1922 to regulate entries into this country.

In 1930, the Aliens Immigration Restriction Ordinance was enacted to regulate the arrivals and to monitor the labourers especially those from China where the quota system was used.

The immigration laws enforced at that time were reviewed and in 1974, a special provision for the states of Sabah and Sarawak was included.

[3] The Immigration Department of Malaysia has a longstanding history of corruption, allowing for threats of terrorism and human trafficking to become significant problems for the country.

[4] After being promoted as head of Malaysia's Department of Immigration in 2017, Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali revealed that an internal audit and an investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had uncovered a passport fraud scheme being committed by officers in Selangor since 2014 that, according to MACC deputy commissioner Datuk Azam Baki, "could be happening at most Immigration offices nationwide.

"[5] In 2016, massive corruption was discovered involving the disabling of the national electronic security system at Malaysia's international airports by immigration officers profiting from bribes by human trafficking syndicates to allow illegal passage of migrants into the country, raising questions about the system's effectiveness at keeping terrorists from streaming into Malaysia.

[6] In late February 2021, the Immigration Department drew criticism from Amnesty International and Asylum Access for deporting 1,086 Myanmar nationals despite an interim ruling by the Kuala Lumpur High Court suspending the removal of some 1,200 people.

Hiatt speedcuffs, T-baton, LED flashlight, riot shields, helmets and walkie-talkies are supplied to the officer when on duty to enforce immigration law.

Non-citizens who are considered to have committed offences are held in immigration detention facilities, located in every state in Malaysia, to further investigation and repatriation to the country of origin.

They undergo immigration training modules of the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) of the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP).

Their services may be required to accompany team superiors and the operations department in the event of a likely terrorist attack.