The Borneo states are seeing increasing interest in their own Malaysia My Second Home schemes, which require far lower fixed deposits and in some cases do not require applicants to buy a house.
But after multiple reviews, the latest MM2H requirements released on Jun 15 state that applicants for the lowest silver tier - which offers a five-year renewable visa - must place a minimum fixed deposit of US$150,000, on top of buying a property priced at least RM600,000.
For instance, Sarawak’s tourism ministry expects 650 applicants for its own MM2H programme in 2024 - a spike from an average of roughly 148 approved applicants each year since it was launched in 2007. The new licensing requirements have also rattled potential applicants and holders of Sarawak’s MM2H scheme, who worry about whether such changes could affect the terms and conditions of Sarawak-MM2H, amid a so-called “loophole” that allows them to live in West Malaysia despite being on the Sarawak programme.
The latest version of Sarawak-MM2H’s approval letter contains a clause that says holders are “allowed to travel to West Malaysia except to reside in West Malaysia”. When pressed further on the sidelines of an environment summit in Kuching on Jun 26, Mr Abdul Karim said he was “quite open” to where Sarawak-MM2H holders wanted to stay.
Sarawak-MM2H prohibits holders from running any business or working in Malaysia, while holders under West Malaysia’s MM2H gold or silver tiers can only work or conduct investments if approval is granted. Interest in Sarawak’s version remains strong even with the release of the latest requirements in West Malaysia, he said, attributing it to how applicants are rushing to get accepted in Sarawak before any potential intervention by the federal government.
Most of the current holders are from China , followed by the United Kingdom , Taiwan , Hong Kong , the US and Singapore . Sarawak received about 1.2 million foreign visitors from January to May 2024, a 40 per cent increase from the roughly 881,000 visitors in the same period last year, according to data from the Sarawak tourism ministry.
But when COVID-19 hit, Malaysia temporarily suspended the MM2H programme in August 2020, in line with a government decision to bar foreigners from entering the country, and to allow it to comprehensively review the programme.