CITIZENSHIP AND RESIDENCY PROGRAMMES
A selection of alternative residency and citizenship investment programmes to consider.
The Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) is arguably one of the most popular investor visa programmes in the world. Since its launch in 2002, more than 35,000 cases have been approved. Many of the applicants are from China but the programme is also popular in Japan, Bangladesh and the United Kingdom.
The Malaysia MM2H Golden Visa scheme is open to citizens of all countries. Applicants are required to have a minimum USD$125,000 in assets and a monthly income of at least USD$2,500. Each applicant must deposit a minimum balance of RM150,000 as a bank deposit if aged 50 or above, or RM300,000 if aged below 50 years. However some of this balance can be withdrawn after one year for certain qualifying purchases such as real estate.
Anyone participating in the Malaysia MM2H programme is permitted to purchase property in Malaysia. Minimum investment amounts exist and these differ by city and region. For example Kuala Lumur is subject to a minimum investment of 1 million MYR. Applicants can purchase any number of properties above the minimum investment amount.
The golden visa programme in Malaysia is a residency investment and not citizenship by investment programme.
Malaysia doesn’t offer a direct citizenship by investment programme. If it did it’s passport would be a solid attraction for investors. The Malaysian passport offers visa-free travel to 188 countries worldwide. In terms of mobility for investors, it offers visa-free access to 54.1% of the world’s wealth (as measured by GDP) and 83.3% of the global travel popularity. It ranks 52nd overall in La Vida’s comprehensive Global Passport Ranking.
A selection of alternative residency and citizenship investment programmes to consider.