Malaysia’s MM2H Visa Shake-up Prompts Cautious Welcome – and Questions

Picture: Bazuki Muhammad/Reuters

In an article by Al Jazeera, Marco Ferrarese reports the “relaxed” requirements for Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H), and the reception by prospective applicants.

The programme was revived in 2021 with tightened regulations that required applicants to have a monthly income of at least 40,000 Malaysian ringgit ($8,662) – up from 10,000 ringgit ($2,165) previously – pricing most applicants, especially retirees, out of consideration.

In the two years following the change, the programme saw applications decline by 90 percent. Under the revised programme, the visa will be open to applicants aged at least 30, compared with 35 previously.

“The layering of the new laws/criteria is causing even more mischief and confusion in my humble opinion, [and] I have a feeling that a logical ‘apples-to-apples’ comparison will make Malaysia lose out to Thailand and Indonesia, and maybe even the Philippines.”