The tag line of tourism Malaysia is simply “Malaysia Truly Asia,” and these words truly capture the essence of what Malaysia has to offer. The diverse culture, the year-round warm climate, the friendly people, and THE FOOD, OMG the food! It’s no wonder that so many expats love to call this beautiful country their home. And one of the best ways to do that is through the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) program. Here we will tell you everything you need to know about the MM2H program: the latest requirements and the terms and conditions you need to fulfill when you apply, as of 2019.
What is the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) Programme?
MM2H is a program that caters to foreign retirees and working expatriates who are looking for a second home. It was introduced by the government and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MOTAC), as a way to allow expats to live in or retire to Malaysia on a long-term basis. The MM2H program is open to all citizens of the world and has no restrictions on race, religion or gender. You are allowed to participate in the program alone or bring along your spouse, and dependents (unmarried children under the age of 21 and your parents). You can even bring in your pet as long as you follow the MM2H procedures carefully.
The MM2H Visa is a 10 year Social Visit Pass with a Multiple Entry Visa, and it is renewable every 10 years. The MM2H Visa gives you a lot of resident-based freedom, including:
- Owning property in Malaysia
- Buying or importing a car
- Applying for studies
- Registering children to schools or colleges
- Investing and participating in business
- Applying for a part-time job
*Note: All the above are subject to the existing Government policies, regulations, and guidelines, which are in force for the relevant sectors.
What are the general requirements you need to meet for MM2H?
If you are thinking of applying for the MM2H program, you need to fulfill the following criteria:
Financial requirements:
Applicants are expected to be financially capable of supporting themselves before applying for this programme in Malaysia.
Conditions for application:
- Applicants aged below 50 years are required to show proof of liquid assets worth a minimum of RM 500,000 and offshore income of RM10,000 per month. For certified copy(s) of Current Account submitted as financial proof, applicants must provide the latest 3 months’ statement with each month’s credit balance of RM 500,000. These applicants must also open a deposit account in a bank in Malaysia and have at least RM 300,000 in the said account.
- Applicants aged 50 and above may comply with the financial proof of RM 350, 000 in liquid assets and an offshore income of RM 10,000 per month. For certified copy(s) of Current Account submitted as financial proof, applicants must provide the latest 3 months’ statement with each month’s credit balance of RM 350,000. For government pensioners, they can show proof of receiving a pension of at least RM 10,000 per month. These applicants must also open a deposit account in a bank in Malaysia and have at least RM 150,000 in the said account.
*Note: there are certain additional costs involved should an applicant attain a Conditional Approval Letter to enter the country via MM2H. These include a one-off Personal Bond payment which could cost up to RM 2,000, as well as paying RM 90 per year for your social pass under MM2H.
*Further note: While it is possible to apply for the pass yourself, most applicants opt to secure the services of an Agent/Agency to assist them with their MM2H application. These agencies tend to offer various packages which you may choose from depending upon your financial circumstances. Fees vary from RM 8,000 – RM 10,000 depending on the package.
Should you meet the above-mentioned requirements, you may move on to the next phase of the application process.
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Applying for the MM2H Visa
Step 1: Pre-Submission
An applicant must apply online via the Check-N-Track System. Once the application is completed, you can download the necessary forms and attach the necessary documents that need to be attached to the application in order to complete it. You can get the necessary form and documents here.
Step 2: Submit Application
There two ways through which you can submit your application. One is through self-submission which requires prior knowledge of the latest rules, regulations, and processes involving the MM2H program, as well as the location of certain governments’ offices. The second and more common way is via a licensed MM2H agent, who will assist you throughout the process.
Please note that all applicants must have a Malaysian sponsor who can support their application and pay a Personal Bond (up to RM 2000). Agents will act as an applicant’s sponsor (should you choose to apply via an agent) and pay for your bond.
Here is what you need to do if you choose to apply directly yourself.
- Letter of Application: A cover letter stating the names of all the people applying with you. Here you should elaborate on key points like how you plan to support yourself in Malaysia and what financial alternatives you plan to use to pay for your daily expenses.
- A Copy of your Resume: The resume should include:
- Academic qualifications
- Work experience
- Skills or expertise acquired
- MM2H Application Form: This form must be filled in by you i.e. the main applicant, and your spouse (if any).
- MM2H Application Form for Dependents: This form must be filled in by or on behalf of all dependants who are under the age of 21 years.
- 12 Form (Social Visit Pass): 3 copies of this form (1 original and 2 photocopies) must be filled by the applicant and all dependants (spouse and children) individually, and submitted.
- Passport sized photograph: The applicant and all their dependants must provide 4 coloured, passport sized photographs with a BLUE Background.
- Passport: The applicant and their dependants must each provide a copy of their passport. These copies must include all pages that contain an entry or exit stamp and passport particulars pages with certification on the pages with personal particulars. Note that if the applicant has renewed their passport within the last 12 months, then they must provide a copy of their previous passport.
- Letter of Good Conduct: A Letter of Good Conduct (LGC) must be obtained from your relevant government agency. This may be the police authority of the applicant’s home country or the embassy of the applicant’s home country based in Malaysia, provided that the LGC issued by the Embassy has made a reference to the respective police authority. The LGC must also be attested by the embassy.
- Medical Report: A self-declaration must be given on you and/or your dependants’ health conditions.
- Marriage Certificate: A certified copy of your marriage certificate must be given (if you are accompanied by your spouse).
- Birth certificate/Legal Documents:
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- If you are accompanied by children, adopted or step-children, or your parents, you must provide a birth certificate for each of them.
- Applicants with children near to 21 years of age need to submit their applications at least 6 months before their children reach that age.
- Applicants must provide a Letter of Confirmation from a medical specialist or general practitioner if they are accompanied by disabled children who are above the age of 21.
- The principal applicant, i.e. you, must provide a Statuary Declaration to bear all expenses and financial requirements during the stay in Malaysia for dependents.
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- Bank statements: A certified copy of your bank statements or other related financial document(s), of the last 3 months, must be provided, in order to indicate your financial capability to support your stay in Malaysia.
- Source of income (off-shore): You must provide certified copies of your pay slip/income statement (if employed) / pension slip etc. of the last 3 months. If you are employed and your income does not reach the RM 10,000 per month mark, you may submit the income of your spouse to support your application. However, the applicant’s income must exceed the spouse’s income with a ratio of 7:3. An applicant who declares that they are employed is not permitted to use other sources of income such as rental agreements, investment benefits, and others as sources of income; instead, they MUST submit the salary/pension slip and bank statement as proof of an offshore- income. Applicants are required to provide both salary slip(s)/pension document and 3 months of current bank statements as evidence of salary credit by the employer.
- Authorisation letter: An authorisation letter from the applicant, i.e. you, must be submitted to the Malaysia My Second Home Centre to verify the financial documents, job, and salary with the relevant parties.
- Job and salary verification letter: This letter must be filled and signed by the applicant.
This procedure may seem long and complicated, but don’t worry. As we mentioned earlier, you can always employ the services of an agent to help you. Make sure they are in fact a licensed agent; their license should look something like this.
Photo from mm2h.co (https://mm2h.co/about-us/)
Step 3: Conditional Approval Letter issued by the Immigration Department
Once you have successfully submitted all your documents, the MM2H Centre Immigration Unit will issue you a Conditional Approval Letter. The letter will probably take 4-5 months from your submission of application date.
Step 4: Your Arrival in Malaysia
Once you arrive in Malaysia with your conditional approval letter, you will need to hand in the remaining documents within the next 6 months. The first thing you will need to do is set up a fixed deposit account with a bank in Malaysia (as we mentioned near the beginning), and submit the Fixed Deposit Certificate to the MM2H Authority. This is the information you need to know with regards to your Fixed Deposit.
- Minimum amount to be deposited upon opening a Fixed Deposit account:
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- RM 300,000 for those below 50 years of age
- RM 150,000 for those aged 50 years and above
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- Withdrawal limit (applicable from second year onwards):
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- RM 150,000 for those below 50 years of age
- RM 50,000 for those aged 50 years and above
- Note that applicants may use their car purchase grant to withdraw part of their Fixed Deposit after two years
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- Reasons for which you may withdraw from your Fixed Deposit:
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- Purchasing a house
- Medical insurance
- Payment of children’s education expenses
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- Documents required to withdraw from a Fixed Deposit account:
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- Letter of intention to withdraw Fixed Deposit account
- Copy of MM2H visa
- Copy of front-page of passport
- Copy of Fixed Deposit certificate
- Copy of proof of payment for Residential property purchase (all pages of Sales & Purchase Agreement & receipt) OR Car purchase (car grant title & receipt) OR Children’s education in Malaysia (receipt) OR Medical expenses (receipt)
- Copy of Conditional Approval Letter
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- Minimum balance that must be maintained in the Fixed Deposit:
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- RM 150,000 for those below 50 years of age from second year onwards till the end of your overall stay in Malaysia under the MM2H programme.
- RM 100,000 for those aged 50 years and above from second year onwards till the end of your overall stay in Malaysia under the MM2H programme.
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Health Insurance: The other thing you will need to do is purchase a Medical Insurance for yourself and your dependants (if any) to cover your medical expenses. You can buy a relevant insurance policy in Malaysia and submit the necessary documents to the MM2H authority. This is a compulsory step in the procedure; however, it may be waived for older applicants if their medical coverage is rejected due to their age.
Health check-up: Once you arrive in Malaysia, you and your dependants (if any) will need to go through a medical examination at any private hospital or registered clinic in Malaysia. The medical report (RB 11) must be sent to MM2H authority as proof of good health.
School going dependants will need to get a Student Pass to continue their education in primary or higher level. The Student Personal Data Form and the Student Pass must be submitted to the MM2H Authority.
Step 5: Collecting the Visa
Once you have submitted all the remaining necessary documents, you can go and collect your visa from the MM2H Immigration Centre. Remember that the MM2H Social Visit Pass has a maximum validity of 10 years and its duration is dependent on your passport’s validity.
The MM2H program is a highly useful and sought after platform for anyone who wishes to call this great nation their home. Do you have any questions about the program and/or the pass itself? We want to hear from you. Just leave us your details and we will get back to you.
