After a hiatus of about a year, the Ministry of Home Affairs of
Malaysia ("MOHA") relaunched the
Malaysia My Second Home Programme ('MM2H
Programme') on 11 August 2021.
Based on a media statement issued by the Chief Secretary of
MOHA, the salient conditions under the revamped MM2H
Programme are as follows:
Condition 1: Minimum period of stay
A participant in the MM2H Programme must be present or reside in
Malaysia for a cumulative period of 90 days in each year. According
to MOHA, this is to ensure that participants under the MM2H
Programme will actually spend money and contribute to the local
economy, whether by way of renting or purchasing a property,
spending on health services, insurance, education, food and
beverage, domestic tourism or other means.
Condition 2: Minimum offshore income
A participant in the MM2H Programme must have a minimum offshore
income of RM40,000 per month. This is a four-fold increase from the
previous requirement for a minimum monthly threshold of
RM10,000.
According to MOHA, the new threshold is more relevant to the
Government's objective of attracting participants of better
quality, those of means and with high incomes.
Condition 3: Minimum fixed deposit of RM1.0
million
A MM2H Programme participant must have a minimum fixed deposit of
RM1.0 million. The participant is permitted to withdraw up to 50%
of the principal amount for the purposes of purchasing property,
healthcare and children's education.
Under the previous programme, a participant was only required to
have a minimum fixed deposit of RM150,000 for applicants who are 50
years of age or older and RM300,000 for applicants who are below 50
years of age.
Condition 4: Age requirement for applicants
An applicant for the MM2H Programme, must fall into either of the
following age categories:
- 35 years of age up to 49 years of age; or
- 50 years of age and above.
MOHA explained that the Government is introducing the category for
those 35 years of age up to 49 years of age in order to select
participants of quality and those who are more stable in terms of
income and with an established career.
This requirement is introduced to keep with the times and after
seeing the success of similar programmes and the spill over in the
economy in the neighbouring countries such as Thailand and the
Philippines.
However, to ensure that the applicants in the 35 year of age up to
49 years of age group are able to meet the MM2H Programme's
objectives, the following are additional requirements imposed on
them:
- the applicant or spouse must be present or reside in Malaysia for a cumulative period of 90 days in each year; and
- for every dependant (i.e. the applicant's spouse, children, parents, or parents-in-law), a sum of RM50,000 per dependant has to be added to the fixed deposit amount mentioned in Condition 3 above. The participant is permitted to withdraw 50% of the principal amount for the purposes of purchasing property, healthcare and education.
Condition 5: Duration of MM2H Pass
The duration of the MM2H Pass and extensions thereof has been
reduced to five years (as compared to 10 years previously).
Condition 6: Minimum liquid assets of RM1.5
million
An applicant for the MM2H Programme must prove that he has liquid
assets of RM1.5 million, as compared to the previous minimum liquid
assets requirement of RM500,000 for applicants below 50 years of
age and RM350,000 for those 50 years of age and above.
According to MOHA, this condition has been enhanced to ensure that
participants in the MM2H Programme are of financial means and will
contribute to the country's economy.
Condition 7: Processing fee
The fee for a MM2H Pass will be increased from RM90 to RM500 for
each year of the duration of the pass and a processing fee of
RM5,000 will be imposed on the principal applicant and RM2,500 for
each dependant. Previously no processing fee was chargeable.
Condition 8: Security Checks
Renewal of passes, change of principal, and change of citizenship
of the MM2H Programme participants and dependants will also require
participants to undergo security checks.
Condition 9: Certificate of Good Conduct
A participant in the MM2H Programme and his dependants are each
required to provide a Letter of Good Conduct. This condition has
been imposed to enable increased monitoring by enforcement agencies
as an added security measure.
Other key points
Applications under the MM2H Programme will recommence in October
2021 and will be processed by the Malaysian Immigration Department,
instead of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
The conditions under the revamped MM2H Programme will apply to all
new applications and applications by existing participants for
renewal of their MM2H Pass. Existing participants will be given a
grace period of one year to comply with the new requirements.
MOHA has also given its assurance that only individuals who are
qualified and do not have a criminal record will be permitted to
participate in the MM2H Programme.
According to MOHA, there are presently 57,478 persons (including
their dependants) who have been approved to participate in the
previous MM2H programme. The Government has announced that it
will limit the total number of participants (including their
dependants) in the MM2H Programme at any one time to 1% of
Malaysian citizens.
Comments
The new conditions introduced under the revamped MM2H Programme
set much higher thresholds than those under the previous MM2H
programme. While it is evident that the previous requirements were
rather low, it remains to be seen whether the new conditions could
be too stringent.
While stakeholders in the industry have welcomed the relaunch of
the MM2H Programme, certain stakeholders have voiced concerns on
whether the thresholds of new financial conditions have been set
too high.1
Some participants under the previous MM2H programme have also
expressed doubts that they will be able to meet the new financial
conditions and may be forced to leave the country. Some of these
participants have urged the Malaysian Government not to impose the
new financial conditions on existing
participants.2
Footnotes
1 Reactivation of MM2H programme lauded, The Star Online, 13 August 2021; Govt urged to revise MM2H rules, Sunday Star, 15 August 2021; Shareda: Programme conditions are harsh, Sunday Star, 15 August 2021.
2 Government urged to reconsider new MM2H conditions, The Star Online, 13 August 2021.
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