‘Relaxed conditions’ for MM2H still harsh – Shareda

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Chua Soon Ping

KOTA KINABALU(Oct 7): Opinions on the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme have been circulating since the announcement in August of its reactivation.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced a relaxation on the rules for existing MM2H participants where they only need to adhere to two of the 10 new criteria. They are increase of annual fees from RM90 to RM500, and minimum stay of 90 days per year in the country.

However, all new applicants are still required to fulfil all the “improved” criteria announced back in August 2021.

Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) is in the opinion that the “relaxed conditions” are still harsh, and fear that the country is driving away a mass number of vital foreign investment during a recovery stage in the economy.

“The requirement for 90 days stay should be a condition for a permanent resident (PR) visa, not for MM2H as it is merely a multiple entry social visit pass. This condition, coupled with the requirement to have active overseas income of RM40,000 is contradicting, as those with active income is unlikely to be able to be away for a quarter of a year, all for the sake of maintaining a social visit pass,” said Shareda president Datuk Chua Soon Ping.

MM2H is a multiple entry, long-term social visit visa initiative that allows foreigners to buy property in Malaysia and reside in the country for a period of time. To date, 57,748 MM2H holders have contributed RM11.98 billion to the economy.

By restricting the threshold and sharply increasing both financial and temporal requirements, Malaysia invites a much smaller number of elite foreigners into the country but at what cost? Will Malaysia even succeed in attracting wealthy foreigners or will they choose to go elsewhere?

More importantly, does the MM2H visa benefit Malaysians or foreigners?

Malaysia was once known to be one of the best countries for foreigners to retire to. The previous MM2H requirements were much more welcoming which resulted in billions of ringgit to flow into the economy through short-term investments.

Ultimately, it yields a much faster cash flow, compared to other foreign investments. Large-scale, multi-million ringgit business ventures are a form of foreign investment that takes years, often decades to come into fruition and pumped back into the economy.

Not only is Malaysia losing potential applicants but the existing visa holders are disheartened and a large chunk have now turned away. Like the rest of the world, the country is in a recovery stage after the blows to the economy from the pandemic and various stages of lockdown. Industry players are urging the government to reconsider the revision and ease the threshold to use the MM2H visa as a tactic for recovery.

“The spirit of MM2H and the social pass is to attract qualified foreigners to spend more time in Malaysia, allowing social, cultural and economic exchange. Foreign spending and investment will help boost the local economy. In times like this, we should be lowering thresholds to attract more foreign investment, to help boost the local economy,” Chua  said in a statement.

At this point in time, Sarawak appears to be the only state that remains welcoming and the most attractive option, known as the S-MM2H. Since Sabah is a state driven greatly by tourism, Shareda and other parties are proposing a Sabah version, SB-MM2H.

In a talk this Sunday at 8.30pm, on the Shareda Facebook page,  Chua will be hosting a discussion with the president of the MM2H Consultant Association, Anthony Liew and the founder of the MM2H Club, Vincent Fong. The webinar will be conducted in Mandarin.

They will be taking a look at the Thailand Elite Visa Programme that was also recently reviewed but alternatively is attracting not just the super wealthy and therefore casting a wider net and making the country a competitive option for foreigners looking to stay and invest in this part of the world.

To join the conversation and hear about the MM2H programme and the proposed SB-MM2H, tune in to Shareda Facebook page at 8.30pm this Sunday night (10th October 2021). You may also pre-register and receive reminder via https://bit.ly/2XNtTv4.