Malaysia My Second Home

The Malaysia My Second Home program (commonly abbreviated "MM2H") is an international residency scheme enacted by the Government of Malaysia to allow foreigners to live in the country on a long-stay visa of up to 10 years. To qualify for the program, applicants must meet certain financial and medical criteria. Successful applicants are then entitled to enter and leave the country on a largely unrestricted basis, and also benefit from other incentives aimed at making their stay in Malaysia more convenient. Certain restrictions may apply.

Malaysian Government support

Currently the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MOTAC) is responsible for promoting MM2H, with approval of applicants and issuance of visas made directly by the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Home Affairs. A "MM2H One-Stop Centre" has been set up under the MOT and it is anticipated that all visa procedures will be transferred from the Immigration Department to the One-Stop Centre by the end of 2006.

Eligibility

The program is open to all citizens of countries recognised by Malaysia regardless of race, religion, gender or age. Applicants are allowed to bring along their spouse and unmarried children below 21 years old. So far over 23,000 people have been approved for the MM2H visa.

Approval criteria

Financial requirement

Applicants below 50 years old are required to open a fixed deposit account in Malaysia of MYR300,000.00 at any bank with a local branch. This includes local branches of international banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered, etc.

After a period of one year, the participant can withdraw up to MYR150,000.00 for approved expenses relating to house purchase, education for children in Malaysia and medical purposes. However, a minimum balance of MYR150,000.00 must be maintained from the second year onwards and throughout stay in Malaysia under this program.

Note: Fixed deposits (similar to time deposits), in Malaysia are a conservative form of investment with interest rates ranging from 3% to 4% per annum (p.a.).

Applicants 50 years old and above can either choose to:

• Open a fixed deposit account in Malaysia of MYR150,000.00 with a local branch; OR
• Show proof of monthly off-shore government pension of at least MYR10,000.00.

Note : In addition to the above, all applicants are required to show that they have sufficient funds to maintain themselves for the duration of the 10-year visa. In practice this means showing at least MYR150,000 in the bank, and a monthly income of MYR10,000.

After a period of one year, the participant who fulfills the fixed deposit criteria can withdraw up to MYR50,000.00 for approved expenses relating to house purchase, education for children in Malaysia and medical purposes. However, a minimum balance of MYR100,000.00 must be maintained from the second year onwards and throughout stay in Malaysia under this program.

Medical report

All applicants and their dependents (spouse and children) are required to submit a medical report from any private hospital in Malaysia. For those who are unable to get medical insurance because of age, or a pre-existing medical condition, this requirement can be waived.

Medical insurance

Approved participants and dependants (spouse and children) must possess a valid medical insurance policy covering their stay in Malaysia.

Program incentives

Participants of the program may enjoy the following incentives:

Property purchases

Each participant is permitted to purchase residential houses at a minimum price above MYR 1,000,000 (1M) each such as Kuala Lumpur and Penang that are pre-approved by the Foreign Investment Committee of Malaysia.

Vehicle purchase

Each participant is allowed to bring in a personal car. The vat (GST) tax exemption when buying a new car in Malaysia ended 1 April 2015.

Domestic helper

Each participant is allowed to apply for one maid subject to the prevailing guidelines of the Immigration Department of Malaysia.

Identification card

Participants may apply for state ID cards from the Immigration Department headquarters allowing them to pass immigration checkpoints into Malaysia as residents rather than foreign nationals.

Education

MM2H participants are allowed to bring their children and step children who are below 21 years old and not married as their dependants. Dependants who intend to continue their schooling in Malaysia are required to apply for a student pass. However, the participants are require to be responsible for all the living costs including study fees for their dependants while living in Malaysia.

Tax

Tax exemption is given to remittance of offshore pension fund into Malaysia. Foreign-source income is not taxable in Malaysia.

Working part-time

Over 40 year olds can work part-time.

Other

• Import personal / household items, tax exempted
• Invest in local companies, share market & unit trusts
• Interest gained from bank fixed deposit is tax exempted
• Your parents can join you also under a long term visa

Restrictions

• Participants are not allowed to work or be employed while staying in Malaysia. Persons wishing to obtain employment visas should apply directly to Immigration Department of Malaysia.
• Participants should not participate in activities that can be considered sensitive to the local people and/or a threat to the security of the country.
• Citizens of countries that are not recognised by Malaysia including Israel are not allowed to participate.

Application procedure

Application can be made via any of the following channels.

Authorised sponsor companies

Application can be made through a number of private Malaysian companies, known as "sponsors", which offer application and follow-up services to foreigners. While the fees charged and services rendered can vary drastically from one sponsor to another, only authorised companies licensed by the Ministry of Tourism can provide such services to MM2H participants. (All sponsor licenses previously issued by the Immigration Department of Malaysia are no longer valid.)

Personal Application

As from January 2009 the Malaysian government will allow individual applications. Applicants no longer need to use Agents, or any 3rd parties.

Applications for those wishing to reside in Peninsula Malaysia are accepted at the MM2H One-Stop centre in Kuala Lumpur. Where the applicant wishes to reside in the states of Sabah or Sarawak, applications need to be sent to the respective Immigration offices or MM2H One-Stop centres in either of these states. Details are available on the www.mm2h.gov.my site.

Language of Documentation

All documents can be presented in English. The required documents are listed on the English language government site : www.mm2h.gov.my

Applicants can apply themselves, Do It Yourself (called direct applications), or appoint an agent. There are many agents charging MYR8,000 – MYR10,000 as well as several low-cost agents charging about MYR1,800 per couple.

References

Malaysia My Second Home Official Sponsor

External links

• Official website
• Ministry of Tourism Malaysia, Malaysia My Second Home – Official Website by Malaysian Government