The Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin has announced the launching of the "Premium Visa Programme" on 1 September 2022. The programme which is also known as the "Residency Through Investment Programme" aims to attract affluent investors from all countries except for Israel that does not have any diplomatic ties with Malaysia to boost the foreign investment in Malaysia. The PVIP is expected to be rolled out for application on 1 October 20221 . However, this remains to be seen whether it will materialise.
Similar to the Malaysia My Second Home ("MM2H"), the number of the applicants is capped at 1% of the total number of Malaysians, which is approximately 300,000 applicants. Unlike the MM2H programme, the PVIP offers the benefits of not only the right to reside in Malaysia on a long-term basis but also extends to right to study, employment and investment subject to the fulfilment of the conditions.
In comparison with the MM2H programme, the differences and the similarities of the two programmes are set out below:
|
Criteria |
Premium Visa Programme (PVIP"") |
Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H"") |
|
Minimum of the applicant's age |
Applicable to the applicant from all age categories |
35 |
|
Processing fees |
RM200,000 for the main applicant and RM100,000 for a dependent |
RM5,000 for the main applicant and RM2,500 for a dependent |
|
Permission to employment, study and investment |
Applicable |
Not applicable |
|
Minimum liquid assets |
Not applicable |
RM1.5m |
|
Bank deposit |
RM1m in a Malaysian bank (only permitted for withdrawal of half the deposit after a year for the purposes of purchasing real estate, educational or medical expenses) |
RM1m in a Malaysian bank (only permitted for withdrawal of half the deposit after a year for the purposes of purchasing real estate, educational or medical expenses) |
|
Monthly offshore income |
At least RM40,000 |
At least RM40,000 |
Footnote
1. https://tinyurl.com/bdhmupnk.
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