How much can you write about this programme? Andy Davison finds more things for those who like to stay current on its progress.

FINANCIAL CRITERIA
The various changes to the financial criteria to qualify for the MM2H visa are causing quite a bit of confusion. Over the last few years there have been a number of changes to the basic qualifying criteria. Naturally there has to be some element of subjectivity by the committee as every case is different. Nevertheless there are some basic guidelines which agents are expected to follow before submitting the applications. Sadly they are not published anywhere so potential applicants are totally reliant on the agent’s advice on whether they actually qualify. Often the agents themselves unwittingly give bad advice because they do not know the rules.

A few years ago the criteria was a lot easier and if you showed you could cover the Fixed Deposit requirement and had some steady income it was sufficient. Then it was decided that the regular income had to exceed the equivalent of RM10,000. The reasons for this are not clear since it is quite apparent you can live here for much less than that sum. Interestingly we had a story published in the Glasgow Evening Times about the programme and we noticed that below the online version of the story one reader wrote: “If the cost of living is so cheap, why do you need an income of £1,500 a month? I am living on less than that here where everything is overpriced.” It seems that the purpose of this requirement is to attract more affluent people to the programme, but is this really necessary?

Subsequently it was decided that applicants should show substantially more assets than the fixed deposit that they will eventually be requested to place. Usually the government wants to see this reflected on a bank statement which is easier for them to validate rather than property ownership documents which are harder to verify. Many people do not have these assets available in cash so they have problems qualifying even though they may have substantial savings in other assets. Unfortunately, the government website has only partially been updated to reflect these changes. The section headed ‘Financial Criteria’ states that “applicants are expected to be financially capable of supporting themselves for 10 years without the need to work in the country.

Besides fulfilling the basic financial criteria of Fixed Deposit placement of RM150,000 (for those aged 50 and above) or RM300,000 (for those aged blow 50) applicants should furnish documentation on their financial position to strengthen their application.” Further down on the same page it states that people over 50 can make the choice between opening a fixed deposit of RM150,000 or showing proof of monthly offshore income such as a pension. In a subsequent paragraph it mentions that the income has to be from a government approved pension fund to qualify for exemption. Many applicants are confused by these comments. Many go directly to the Fixed Deposit section and, since that is the only place where actual amounts are stated, assume that this is the criteria. Others ask why, if they have a monthly income above RM10,000 and enough to cover the fixed deposit, they are required to show evidence of additional assets. As one angry potential applicant said to us: “My pension is 50% higher than the RM10,000 you require so why are you insisting that I have to put more money in my bank than the fixed deposit requirement? My assets are tied up in other things. The
government website clearly states I must have enough to live on without working. I am showing you that. I don’t think you guys understand the rules.” That was the last we heard from him.

We have asked the Ministry of Tourism to consider amending this section to clarify the rules for prospective applicants.

MEGA FAM TRIP
Every year the Ministry of Tourism invites thousands of journalists and travel agents to visit Malaysia to find out more about the country. This is an excellent way to promote the country to groups of people who are in a strong position to influence others to come and visit. Tourism Malaysia which is the marketing body for the Ministry of Tourism asked me to address some 450 travel agents and journalists about the Malaysia My Second Home programme. They were invited to Malaysia to attend the recent Formula One race and at the same time learn more about the country.

In a way it was an honour to be asked to make this address and to their credit the Ministry did not ask to see my speech or even ask me to present only the positive aspects of the programme. In reality I feel that addressing the various weaknesses of the programme is something that should be resolved within Malaysia so my presentation focused on the positive aspects of the programme. I am a strong advocate of MM2H and even if I have failed to persuade the government to allocate more funds to market it that does not reduce my desire to see it succeed.

I did ask the group to raise their hands if they had heard of the programme. Only about 20 of them admitted to knowing about it. Even allowing for people being reluctant to exert themselves it was clear that very few of them knew the name. Of course this was no surprise as I consistently find low awareness levels whenever we talk about it overseas.

After my speech many of them came to find out more details, reinforcing my belief that the programme could attract many more people if it was more actively marketed.

SPECIAL MONTHLY SUPLEMENT WITH THE NEW STRAITS TIMES
We often talk to the people who produce the Property Times section of the New Straits Times. It comes out every Saturday. We were sharing our thoughts about marketing property internationally and the contribution the Malaysia My Second Home programme can make to property sales. In my view MM2Hers are a critical part of the solution to what could become a major problem for the property business – no residents.

Of course not all MM2Hers buy property. The Japanese, who are one of the major nationalities applying for the programme, usually only want to spend a few months a year in Malaysia and do not buy property. Other people just want the visa in their back pocket in case of problems in their own countries, while yet others just want to have their children educated here. From our experience European retirees are the group most likely to buy homes as their primary residence and therefore they are very important for the property industry. The link between MM2H and property buyers is clear.

In line with this and as part of our effort to keep promoting the programme we have agreed to a partnership with Property Times and we will publish a special joint supplement with them on the last Saturday of each month. We hope to accomplish three things from this

1) Reach the many tourists who are given a copy of the newspapers in their hotel rooms. We have long believed that tourists are a major source of potential MM2H applicants and property buyers.
2) Help educate Malaysians about the programme. Many of them are confused about the regulations and others do not see the benefits of many foreigners coming to live here.
3) Hopefully persuade some decision makers in the government that the programme is worth a larger allocation of resources and should be more aggressively marketed. We also hope that some of the concerns which potential applicants have raised with us will be addressed.

Time will tell if it achieves this objective.