Malaysia’s premium visa scheme draws thousands of applications ahead of Oct 1 launch

WHILE the application process for Malaysia’s new premium visa programme (PVIP) only begins on Saturday (Oct 1), the government said it has already received thousands of applications from interested parties from all over the world.

Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin noted that 20,000 applications came in within the first week after the government announced the visa earlier this month. The special visa scheme, aimed at attracting global tycoons to come to Malaysia, is expected to be granted to at least 1,000 individuals in the first year, with the estimated revenue to the country being RM200 million (S$62.4 million) and fixed savings of RM1 billion.

The government hopes the PVIP, also known as the “Residency through Investment” programme, can attract these wealthy foreign investors to invest and reside in Malaysia for a period of 20 years.

Applicants are required to pay a one-off fee of RM200,000 fee, with a separate amount of RM100,000 levied on each dependent. There are no age restrictions, but the principal applicant must demonstrate a minimum monthly income of RM40,000, or RM480,000 annually.

Since the scheme was announced on Sep 1, the Home Affairs ministry has not given any specific details on the application process. The ministry also did not reply to queries from The Business Times as of press time on Tuesday night.

Various business groups are calling for greater clarity from the authorities on the application process, given that the scheme is set to go live this weekend.

Anthony Liew, the president of the Malaysia My Second Home Consultants Association (MM2HCA), said that many of the association’s members - with their experience in facilitating the relocation of foreigners to Malaysia and providing services such as buying or renting a property - are eager to extend their services to PVIP applicants.

“PVIP has its potential and we would like to share more information with our clients, but there haven’t been any updates (from the ministry) except for what we read in the media,” he said.

The Malaysia My Second Home - a visa programme scheme which was introduced in 2002 - has attracted over 60,000 people from abroad that currently reside in Malaysia. Some have children who are studying in Malaysia, while others have started their own business in the country.

According to latest available data, this particular programme has generated RM11.9 billion of investment into Malaysia from 2002 to 2019. Successful applicants receive a social visit pass and a renewable 10-year multiple entry visa.

Ong Kian Ming, a former deputy minister of international trade and industry, called on the authorities to be more transparent about the PVIP, given how there are concerns if it will be attractive enough to draw the best talent to Malaysia.

He noted that the introduction of the PVIP comes as many other countries in the region are also competing for the world’s top talent to speed up the recovery of their respective economies.

“The new visa programmes in Thailand and Singapore are targeted at skilled workers in addition to individuals with a certain amount of wealth. This is why I suggest Malaysia’s Home Ministry should look at introducing similar digital nomad visas to attract highly skilled workers, rather than just focusing on wealthy individuals,” he said.

Singapore recently introduced a 5-year renewable visa programme called the Overseas Networks and Expertise Pass, which allows those with a fixed monthly income of S$30,000 to stay for 5 years. They can also work for multiple companies at any one time. This offers more flexibility as compared to the existing Employment Pass which is only valid for up to 3 years at a time, and tied to a single company.

In Thailand, there is a 10-year Long-Term Resident Visa that targets investors, retirees, skilled workers and talent in key industries. The visa-holders are allowed to apply for a digital work permit and can sponsor up to 4 dependents.

Ong noted that the recent review of the MM2H programme, which ended up imposing more stringent measures to qualify, resulted in 1,461 people to withdraw from the scheme this year.

The new requirements for MM2H are for applicants to show proof of offshore monthly income of RM40,000, liquid assets of at least RM1.5 million, and placing a fixed deposit of RM1 million in a Malaysian bank. These are much higher than the earlier set of requirements, which were a monthly income of RM10,000, liquid assets of RM350,000 and a RM300,000 fixed deposit.

Kartina Abdul Latif, a people and organisation tax services leader at PwC Malaysia, said that the PVIP would be more attractive for those who are looking for business opportunities or to study in Malaysia.

“A pull factor may be the lower cost of living (compared to neighbouring countries), and value for money in terms of expenditure on property, education and medical treatment,” she added. 

To compete with regional peers, Kartina hopes the government will consider improving the process of obtaining work permits and visas to make the PVIP more appealing.

“Apart from this, providing paths for high-net-worth individuals to permanent residency and eventual naturalisation towards citizenship to allow freedom of movement could also sweeten the deal,” she added.