PETALING JAYA: Japanese YouTuber couple iChang and Jimmy have left Malaysia as their tourist visas lapsed after reaching the maximum stay limit while their application for digital nomad visas have yet to be approved.
In a tearful and touching video uploaded on their YouTube channel, iChang RM, the couple said they had no choice despite having been living in the country for so long as their tourist visas had reached its limit.
"As Japanese passport holders, we are only allowed to stay for 90 days per visit and 180 days per year. That's the rule for Japanese visitors in Malaysia as tourists.
"So, tomorrow we will leave Malaysia because we have reached the limit set in this regulation," Jimmy said in the video posted on Tuesday (Jan 10).
The couple said they tried to join the DE Rantau Nomad Pass programme launched by the government in October last year to allow them to stay longer, but unfortunately, the approval process allegedly took too long.
“We were very happy when we found out about the programme and thought it would be a good fit for us.
“Moreover, content creators are among those eligible to participate in the programme.
"We applied as soon as possible and returned to Japan to get all the documents and then returned to Malaysia again to submit it.
“But the approval process took longer than we expected, probably because it is a newly introduced programme,” added Jimmy.
At the end of the video, they said they hoped to be able to return to Malaysia one day to thank all their followers who have been supporting their work.
The video has garnered more than 700,000 views, with many fans leaving encouraging comments for the couple and hoping that they will return to Malaysia in the future.
The duo, whose real names are Ai Nishida and Yusuke Nishida, are big fans of Malaysian food, and document their foodie exploits via their YouTube channel, which has over 342,000 subscribers.
From devouring durian and asam pedas to ordering nasi kandar in Malay and replicating Malaysian YouTuber Sugu Pavithra’s chicken curry and Che Nom’s tepung pelita, the couple has won many hearts for celebrating and showcasing the best of Malaysian food and culture through their popular YouTube channel.
