Malaysia My Second Home to be reactivated with changes in October

PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme will be reactivated with improvements to policies and application conditions so as to balance the security and economic aspects.

Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz said new applications for the programme wlll be processed and managed by the Immigration Department beginning October after all legal processes are completed.

According to him, the Cabinet agreed on July 14 and 30 to the suggested improvements in MM2H policies as a strategy to assist in the implementation of the National Recovery Plan to regenerate the country’s economy.

“The MM2H application procedures will also be improved by creating an online system for the application, processing and maintaining of the profile database of MM2H participants,” he said in a media conference here on Wednesday.

Wan Ahmad Dahlan said among the improvements to the MM2H programme was the setting of a ceiling on the number of participants, namely the principals and dependants, at any one time, with not more than 1% of the total Malaysian population.

He said applicants must reside in Malaysia for a cumulative total of at least 90 days in a year so as to ensure they really spend and contribute to the country’s economy.

Wan Ahmad Dahlan said participants must have an offshore income of at least RM40,000 a month, compared to RM10,000 previously.

He said applicants need to have a fixed savings account of RM1 million, compared to previous conditions of at least RM150,000 for applicants above 50 years old and RM300,000 for those 50 years old and below.

Participants also need to make an asset declaration and prove that they own liquid assets of at least RM1.5 million compared to previous conditions that set the value of liquid assets at RM350,000 and RM500,000 according to the respective categories, he added.

The MM2H programme is now divided into two categories, those between 35 and 49 years old, and 50 years old and above.

“The 35 to the 49-year-old category was introduced to select participants of real quality who are more stable income-wise and have careers,” he said.

Wan Ahmad Dahlan said the duration of MM2H’s long-term social visit pass is now set at five years and can be extended for five more and so on as long as participants are subject to the compliance of the application conditions, compared to 10 years previously. – Bernama