Ministry of Tourism Malaysia’s response to the Singapore Straits Times and Malaysia Today article of 5 Dec on fewer seeking second home in Malaysia
Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) Programme is aimed at encouraging qualified foreign citizens to stay in Malaysia for an extended period. Towards this end, successful applicants are given a 10-year Social Visit Pass with Multiple Entries since 2006 compared to 5-years previously. This Social Visit Pass can be renewed for as long as the participants abide by the terms and conditions of this programme and laws of the country.
By Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia
Since the implementation of the MM2H programme in 2002 until October, 2009, Malaysia has approved 12,969 applications. As part of efforts to attract only genuine and quality participants, the Government of Malaysia raised the financial criteria in April, 2006 and April, 2009. Arising from the change in financial criteria, the number of successful applicants peaked with 1,729 participants in 2006. This was due to the significant surge in Applications by foreign citizens to be considered based on much lower financial criteria.
As such, the majority of the approved participants in 2006 were based on the lower financial criteria.
With the shift in emphasis to attract high net worth participants, the slight decline in the number of MM2H participants was anticipated. In this regard, the number of approved MM2H participants declined by 12.5% from 1,729 in 2006 to 1,512 in 2008. However, this decrease in the number of MM2H participants is mainly due to the strategic policy objective which focused on quality rather than quantity.
Malaysia is expected to remain an attractive long-stay and retirement destination for foreign citizens. Based on feedback, the participants often cited value for money as a key determining factor as they can enjoy a higher quality of life given the much lower cost of living in Malaysia. In addition, the participants are attracted to the balmy weather, warm hospitality, excellent infrastructure and healthcare facilities as well as the ease of traveling within Malaysia and to other parts of the world.
The attractiveness of the MM2H programme has been acknowledged by the Japan Longstay Foundation since 2007 as Malaysia is considered the first choice destination for long-stay for Japanese. The International Living.Com has also ranked Malaysia as the top choice destination in Asia for people considering retirement in overseas countries. Going forward, the number of MM2H participants is expected to increase significantly through intensified marketing and promotion in 2010.
