PETALING JAYA: The outcome of a review of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme will be known within two months.
This review was previously announced in April, following concerns raised that MM2H requirements had been too strict.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said it would take one or two months to obtain approval from various ministries before the latest conditions on MM2H applicants could be finalised.
“Let us finish the whole structure first, and we will let the public know,” he said when contacted.He said the ministry was aware that foreigners keen on the MM2H had been dismayed by the criteria that they would need to have a fixed deposit of at least RM1mil (up from RM300,000 previously), liquid assets of at least RM1.5mil (previously RM500,000) and a monthly offshore income of RM40,000 (up from RM10,000).
There had been many calls for the government to ease the requirements, which were announced in August 2021.
Malaysia My Second Home Consultants Association president Anthony Liew said an applicant must show an offshore monthly income of at least RM40,000 and comply with the minimum of 90 days’ stay in the country annually.
This criterion of a minimum 90-day stay would impact those who still have jobs in their home country, as it would mean that they would have problems getting leave from their employers, he said.
Liew said that he hoped to meet with the minister to discuss the requirements.
He pointed out that MM2H had initially targeted retirees and not working professionals.
“As such, we hope to lower the threshold on the requirement to stay in Malaysia for 90 days and a RM40,000 monthly income,” he added.
He also said that the MM2H programme did not have an edge over the Thailand Elite Residence Programme, which allows applicants a chance to live in the kingdom for up to 20 years, besides getting other services and benefits.
“We propose that MM2H-approved applicants be issued a card to prove that they are legally residing in Malaysia and that special lanes be designated for them at KLIA and KLIA2.”
Malaysia, he said, should not raise the requirements for applicants without providing some privileges to them.
Liew claimed that the response from foreigners had been lukewarm when his association embarked on a promotional tour to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Korea in collaboration with Tourism Malaysia.
“Many foreigners were not interested in the stringent application requirements,” he said.
Another MM2H programme agent, Jayfrey Chen, described the requirements as “cumbersome” and said that many applicants needed help in dealing with the details of the conditions.
He said a magazine survey had listed Penang in its 2021 list of “15 Best Islands In The World To Retire On”, but the Pearl of the Orient had been impacted with no new applicants received, especially after the pandemic.
Kenneth Wilkinson, a French expatriate, shared that he has resided and worked in Malaysia for more than 45 years and intends to retire in this country. However, he expressed that the rigorous application procedures had posed challenges for him and his wife in fulfilling the necessary criteria.
“I’m 76 years old. I am still working part-time as an adviser for a 100% local company under a Talent Corp-issued Residence Pass Talent (RP-T) which will expire in November.
“I want to retire for good, but I’m devastated to learn that I won’t be able to obtain an MM2H visa due to the stringent requirement of RM40,000 in monthly offshore income,” he said.
The MM2H, which is meant for non-Malaysians to retire and live in Malaysia for a period of time, was put on hold in 2018 but revived in 2021 with stricter conditions.
Tourism Malaysia’s role is to promote the programme while a MM2H one-stop centre would help process applications and gather the information needed to be forwarded to the Home Ministry and Immigration Department for the issuing of MM2H passes.
