<![CDATA[The presence of children of foreign nationals in Malaysia—whether as children of migrant workers, expatriates, refugees, or international students—presents complex and multifaceted educational challenges. In addition to legal and administrative barriers related to residency status, these children also grapple with psychological pressures, cultural clashes, and the risk of social exclusion in their new school environments. This article aims to critically examine the urgency of educational counseling services as a tool to support the academic, social, and emotional adaptation of foreign national children in Malaysia, while also mapping out the challenges of its implementation. The study was conducted using a narrative literature review approach, examining policy reports, indexed journal articles, and official documents from international organizations published from 2020 to 2025. The findings indicate that guidance and counseling services in Malaysia, although supported by a relatively well-established institutional framework through the role of Guidance and Counseling Teachers (GBK), remain oriented toward the student population of Malaysian nationals. Consequently, these services are not yet fully responsive to the multicultural needs of foreign national children, particularly refugee children and undocumented migrant workers’ children, who often cannot access formal schooling at all. This article concludes that strengthening multicultural-based educational counseling, enhancing counselors’ cross-cultural competencies, utilizing counseling technology, and fostering cross-sectoral collaboration among schools, families, the government, and civil society organizations are urgent strategic steps that must be implemented to ensure the psychological well-being and educational future of foreign children in Malaysia.]]>
