Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H): Complete 2026 Guide
MM2H is usually sold as Asia’s easy retirement visa. The 2024 revamp made it something narrower and more expensive: four capital-based tiers, a compulsory property purchase on every one of them, a work ban outside the US$1 million Platinum tier, and no route to permanent residence for anyone. This guide gives you the verified figures straight from MOTAC’s own published tables — and explains why the genuinely accessible Malaysian route for most people is Sarawak’s separate programme, not this one.
The Four Tiers
MM2H has run in some form since the 1990s, but the programme you can apply to today was rebuilt in 2024 under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC). The old monthly offshore-income test was abolished for every category — MOTAC’s published conditions say so in as many words — and replaced by tiered fixed deposits. MM2H is now a capital test, not an income test.
The fixed deposit is yours. It sits under lien in a Malaysian bank and up to half can be released later for property, education, medical care or tourism. The participating fee is spent — and on Platinum it is RM200,000, which is a real cost, not a formality. The property is compulsory on every federal tier and cannot be resold for ten years. Most comparison tables quote only the deposit, which makes the programme look far cheaper than it is.
| Tier | Fixed deposit | Property minimum | Fee (one-off) | Pass | Work? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEZ / SFZ Cheapest Forest City, Johor only · age 21+ |
US$65,000 (21–49) US$32,000 (50+) |
Johor state policy no flat figure published |
RM1,000 | 10 years | No |
| Silver 83.5% pick this age 25+ |
US$150,000 | RM600,000+ | RM1,000 | 5 years | No |
| Gold age 25+ |
US$500,000 | RM1,000,000+ | RM3,000 | 15 years | No |
| Platinum Only work route age 25+ · foreign maid allowed |
US$1,000,000 | RM2,000,000+ | RM200,000 | 20 years | Yes |
All four figures verified against MOTAC’s per-category pages and its own published comparison tables, July 2026. Renewal after the maximum term costs RM300 (SEZ), RM1,500 (Silver), RM3,000 (Gold) or RM5,000 (Platinum) — charged per principal and each dependant.
MOTAC’s May 2025 guidance is that the fixed deposit should be placed in Malaysian ringgit at the equivalent of the US dollar figure for your category. The USD amount is the benchmark, not the currency you hold — so the ringgit sum you lodge, and its value when you eventually release it, both move with the exchange rate. That is a genuine currency exposure on a five- to twenty-year commitment.
What MM2H Does Not Give You
Three limits do more to determine whether MM2H suits you than any deposit figure. All three are stated plainly in MOTAC’s own material, and all three are routinely glossed over in the guides that rank for this search.
1. You cannot work — unless you have US$1 million
MOTAC publishes a single-row comparison for business, investment and career activity. Against Platinum it reads “Permissible”. Against Gold, Silver and SEZ/SFZ — a merged cell covering all three — it reads “Conducting business, investing, or pursuing career opportunities are not allowed.” There is no partial permission, no freelance carve-out, no remote-work exception written into the programme.
The realistic routes are Sarawak S-MM2H, which permits up to 20 hours a week of professional work in approved sectors, or the DE Rantau nomad pass for foreign remote income. Neither is a federal MM2H tier, and neither is interchangeable with one.
2. Buying a home is compulsory, not optional
This is the change that most reshaped the programme in 2024. Purchasing and owning a residence is mandatory after approval on every federal tier. You get one year from the pass endorsement date to complete it — not from approval, and not from application. You cannot resell for ten years, though you may upgrade to a higher-value home. Failing the condition can get the pass revoked outright.
SEZ/SFZ inverts the timing: you must already own a Forest City home before endorsement, bought direct from a Forest City developer rather than from an agent or an existing owner, with the transaction notified to the Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre Johor.
3. It does not lead to permanent residence
MM2H is described by MOTAC as a renewable social visit pass — the same legal family as a tourist entry, just long-dated. It is not a residence permit that matures into settlement. The Platinum tier used to carry permanent residence; that was withdrawn in 2024, and the Tourism Minister confirmed that new participants in all categories cannot apply for PR. Malaysia does not permit dual citizenship either, and PR remains a separate, discretionary and difficult process.
A long multiple-entry pass for you and your dependants — and the dependant definition is unusually generous, covering a spouse, children under 21 (21–34 if unemployed and single in Malaysia), medically certified disabled children of any age, and parents and parents-in-law. Children may study to tertiary level at government-recognised institutions. Long-term medical treatment is permitted throughout the pass. Platinum participants may additionally bring a foreign domestic helper.
How to Apply: Step by Step
MOTAC publishes an eleven-step flow. The compressed version below keeps every step that changes what you have to do or when you have to do it.
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1Pick the tier your capital and your plans actually allow
Work rights exist only on Platinum. Property is compulsory everywhere. If either of those is a dealbreaker, stop here and look at Sarawak S-MM2H instead — you will save months finding out later.
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2Appoint a MOTAC-licensed agent — this one is not optional
Applications may only be lodged through a tour operating company licensed by MOTAC under the Tourism Industry Act 1992 [Act 482]. MOTAC’s published conditions state that individual or walk-in applications will not be entertained. See the verification test below before you pay anyone.
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3Lodge through the One Stop Centre and wait for the CAL
Your agent submits to the One Stop Centre MM2H. Pass review and you get an acceptance document, then a Conditional Approval Letter (CAL, or SKB) issued to your agent. Immigration matters and the final decision sit with the Ministry of Home Affairs; appeals go to the Home Affairs Minister, not MOTAC.
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4Assemble five documents within 90 days
The fixed deposit certificate from a bank licensed under the Financial Services Act 2013 or Islamic Financial Services Act 2013; health insurance with worldwide coverage — required only if you are 60 or below; a medical check-up report from a MOTAC-panel clinic; a personal bond form stamped by LHDN; and your valid passport. Expect a random police interview: PDRM now runs these on top of the standing security screening.
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5Place the deposit, pay the fees, take the endorsement
Processing fee, participating fee, pass and visa are settled together, then the MM2H endorsement pass is issued. This date matters more than any other in the process — it starts your property clock.
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6Buy the property inside the deadline
One year from endorsement for Platinum, Gold and Silver. Already owned before endorsement for SEZ/SFZ. If you want to use the 50% deposit withdrawal toward the purchase, the buy must fall within two years before endorsement on the mainland tiers, or six months before for SEZ/SFZ.
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7Keep it alive
Under 50s must be in Malaysia 90 cumulative days a year — and helpfully, that presence can be satisfied by the principal and/or their dependants. Renewal after the maximum term costs RM300 to RM5,000 depending on tier, charged per principal and each dependant, and requires a fresh medical report and health insurance.
MM2H attracts a lot of intermediaries, and the agent-mandatory rule makes that risk structural. Two checks, both free. First, a licensed firm must carry “(MM2H) Sdn. Bhd.” in its registered company name — not “MM2H Consultants”, not “MM2H Advisory”. Second, it must appear on MOTAC’s searchable register of licensed companies with a licence number in the form MM2H### and a validity period covering today’s date. If either check fails, walk away.
Documents Required
Grouped by when they are actually needed — the 90-day window after conditional approval is where applications stall. Tick off what you have confirmed; your progress saves to this browser and prints into your checklist PDF.
Costs & the Property Trap
The published tier figures are only part of the bill, and one of them is systematically misleading.
Official fees
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Participating fee — SEZ/SFZ | RM1,000 | One-off, per principal. No fee for dependants. |
| Participating fee — Silver | RM1,000 | Same as SEZ despite the far larger deposit. |
| Participating fee — Gold | RM3,000 | One-off, per principal. |
| Participating fee — Platinum | RM200,000 | A genuine cost, not a formality. Buys work rights and a 20-year pass. |
| Renewal within the programme term | RM0–50 visa fee + RM500 per year | Fixed pass fee, charged annually. |
| Renewal after the maximum term | RM300 / RM1,500 RM3,000 / RM5,000 | SEZ / Silver / Gold / Platinum — per principal and each dependant. |
What you also have to budget for
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed deposit | US$32,000–1,000,000 | Not a cost — yours, under lien. Up to 50% releasable after approval. |
| Property | RM600,000–2,000,000+ | Compulsory. See the floor-price trap below. |
| Stamp duty (foreign buyer) | 8% | From 1 January 2026, doubled from 4%. No first-home exemption for foreigners. |
| Licensed agent fee | Unregulated | Quoted privately and varies widely. Mandatory, so factor it in from the start. |
| Medical check-up | Panel-set | Principal and every dependant, after approval. |
| Health insurance | Insurer-set | Worldwide coverage required, but only if you are 60 or below. |
| Police clearance and legalisation | Varies | Malaysia is not a Hague Apostille state — expect consular legalisation on top. |
Silver’s RM600,000 minimum is a programme floor. It is not the number that will actually bind you, because each Malaysian state sets its own minimum purchase price for foreign buyers, and that figure usually overrides upward. Kuala Lumpur and Johor typically sit around RM1 million; Selangor around RM1.5–2 million; Penang Island around RM3 million. State authority consent is required on top of meeting the price. So “RM600,000 gets you in” is misleading in most of the places people actually want to live — check the specific state before you budget.
MOTAC reported 3,172 approvals in 2025, covering about 9,038 people including dependants, and roughly RM3.875 billion in economic value — RM2.35 billion in deposits and RM1.51 billion in property. 83.5% chose Silver; 322 took the Forest City route. As at 31 August 2025 there were 5,972 pass holders, led by China (3,414), Taiwan (611), Hong Kong (292), Singapore (184) and the United States (174). For scale, 2021 to 2023 combined approved only around 1,900 — the revamp did revive the programme, from a very low base.
The Sarawak Alternative
Sarawak runs its own programme, S-MM2H, through the state Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts. It is not a federal tier and not a cheaper version of one — it is a different product with different trade-offs, and for a lot of people it is the better fit.
| Federal MM2H | Sarawak S-MM2H | |
|---|---|---|
| Buy property? | Compulsory | Optional |
| Work? | Platinum only (US$1m) | 20 hrs/week in approved sectors |
| Agent? | Mandatory | Optional — self-submission allowed |
| Money | US$32,000–1,000,000 deposit | RM500,000 deposit and RM10,000/mo income |
| Minimum stay | 90 days/yr if under 50 | 30 days/yr, all ages |
| Minimum age | 25 (21 for SEZ) | 30 |
| Pass | 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 years | 5 + 5 years |
| Fee | RM1,000–200,000 | RM5,000 processing, non-refundable |
What Sarawak actually asks for
A RM500,000 fixed deposit in a Sarawak panel bank and one of three income proofs: a government-approved pension of RM10,000 a month, offshore income of RM10,000 a month, or savings with a RM100,000 closing balance. Each rises to RM15,000, RM15,000 and RM200,000 respectively if a dependant joins you. Half the deposit can be released after one year for a house, a car, medical costs or children’s education in Sarawak — but you must keep RM250,000 in the account.
If you do choose to buy, the state minimum is RM600,000 in Kuching Division and RM500,000 elsewhere. Applications are lodged through the MOAS online system, either by a Sarawak-registered agent or by you personally, provided a Sarawak sponsor bonds the application — and since 16 May 2025 a personal sponsor must be an immediate family member: spouse, parent or step-parent, child or sibling, one applicant each. Processing runs 90 working days.
S-MM2H is genuinely Sarawak-specific: the deposit sits in a Sarawak bank, the sponsor is Sarawakian, the medical must be done in Sarawak and endorsed by a Sarawak government doctor, and the 30-day annual stay is in Sarawak. Treat it as a Borneo programme, not a back door to Kuala Lumpur.
Also: the Sarawak tourism website’s FAQ still publishes the pre-2025 figures — RM150,000/RM300,000 deposits and RM7,000 income — and even asks “when is MM2H starting again?”. It is years out of date. The figures above come from the state ministry’s own application guide, amended 31 July 2025.
Tax on MM2H
Malaysia is genuinely light on foreign retirement income — but the popular framing of “tax-free” overstates it in two specific ways worth knowing before you plan around it.
You become tax resident at 182 days in a basis year under section 7 of the Income Tax Act 1967, with alternative tests covering linked periods and the 90-days-in-three-of-four-years pattern. Residents pay 0–30% progressively; non-residents pay a flat 30% on Malaysian-source income. Every MM2H tier also carries an explicit official perk: tax exemption on incoming funds such as the fixed deposit.
Foreign-source income received by a resident individual is exempt from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2036 — the ten-year extension was gazetted as P.U.(A) 451/2024 in December 2024, taking effect in 2027. So a pension, Social Security, an IRA or 401(k) drawdown, or investment income remitted into Malaysia is effectively untaxed there.
- The income must have been subject to tax in its country of origin. The test is generous — it is satisfied if tax was paid or payable, or if no tax arose because of that country’s system, a below-threshold amount, or a tax incentive — so a normally-taxed Western pension qualifies. But it is a condition, and the burden of proof is yours.
- You still have to declare it. Malaysian returns have carried a dedicated foreign-source-income disclosure since YA 2022, and you must retain supporting documents. Exempt is not the same as invisible.
One more distinction: only money actually remitted into Malaysia — by cash or transfer — counts as received there. Income left offshore is outside the Malaysian net entirely.
A widely repeated claim says remote income earned from a foreign employer is tax-free in Malaysia. It is not. If you exercise the employment physically in Malaysia, that income is deemed derived from Malaysia regardless of where your employer sits or where you are paid — it is Malaysian-source and fully taxable, and the foreign-source exemption never reaches it. This is largely academic on MM2H, which bans work outside Platinum anyway, but it matters if you were planning to quietly keep working.
Americans should note separately that there is no US–Malaysia tax treaty and no totalisation agreement: you still file US returns worldwide, the FEIE and foreign tax credit remain available, and the self-employed still owe US self-employment tax at 15.3%.
Frequently Asked Questions
Three separate numbers, and only one of them is a cost. The fixed deposit ranges from US$32,000 (SEZ, age 50+) to US$1,000,000 (Platinum) and stays yours, held under lien. The participating fee is genuinely spent: RM1,000 for Silver and SEZ, RM3,000 for Gold, RM200,000 for Platinum. The property purchase is compulsory on every federal tier — RM600,000 Silver, RM1 million Gold, RM2 million Platinum — and from 1 January 2026 foreign buyers also pay 8% stamp duty. Agent fees are unregulated and quoted privately.
Any national of a country that has diplomatic relations with Malaysia. You must be 25 or over for Silver, Gold and Platinum, or 21 or over for the SEZ/SFZ Forest City category. There is no income test — the 2024 revision abolished the monthly offshore-income requirement for all categories, so eligibility is purely capital-based.
The 2024 revamp replaced the single programme with four tiers, dropped the offshore-income test, made buying a home compulsory, and removed Platinum’s route to permanent residence. Since then: participants have one year from pass endorsement to complete the purchase, SEZ buyers must buy in Forest City before endorsement and direct from the developer, the police now conduct random interviews of applicants, and foreign buyers pay 8% stamp duty from 1 January 2026.
Yes on every federal tier. MOTAC’s guidelines make purchasing and owning a residence compulsory after approval, you cannot resell it for 10 years unless you upgrade to a higher-value home, and failing the condition can get the pass revoked. The Sarawak S-MM2H programme is the exception — there, property purchase is optional. This is the single biggest structural difference between the two programmes.
Yes, and on the federal tiers you must. But the tier minimum is a floor, not the binding number — each state sets its own minimum price for foreign buyers and it usually overrides upward. Kuala Lumpur and Johor typically sit around RM1 million, Selangor around RM1.5–2 million, Penang Island around RM3 million. State authority consent is required on top, and foreign buyers pay 8% stamp duty from 1 January 2026 with no first-home exemption.
No. MM2H is a renewable social visit pass, not a residence permit that matures into settlement. The Platinum tier used to carry permanent residence; that was scrapped in 2024, and the Tourism Minister confirmed new participants in all categories cannot apply for PR. Malaysia also does not permit dual citizenship, and PR itself is a separate, discretionary and difficult process.
Not on Silver, Gold or SEZ/SFZ. MOTAC’s own comparison table lists business, investment and career opportunities as “not allowed” for those three tiers, and marks them “permissible” only for Platinum — which requires a US$1,000,000 deposit. If you need to work, the realistic Malaysian routes are Sarawak S-MM2H, which permits up to 20 hours a week in approved professional sectors, or the DE Rantau nomad pass for remote income.
Up to 50% of the principal, after your participation is approved, and only for buying a residence, education, medical treatment or tourism activities in Malaysia. If the withdrawal is for a house, the purchase must fall within two years before the pass endorsement date on the mainland tiers, or six months before for SEZ/SFZ. Sarawak differs: 50% after one year in the programme, and you must keep at least RM250,000 in the account.
Treat S-MM2H as a Borneo-specific programme rather than a cheaper national MM2H. It is run by the Sarawak state ministry, the deposit must sit in a Sarawak panel bank, your sponsor must be Sarawakian, the medical must be done in Sarawak and endorsed by a Sarawak government doctor, and the 30-day minimum annual stay is in Sarawak. The trade-off is real though: no compulsory property purchase, 20 hours a week of permitted work, and you can submit the application yourself without an agent.
You will need an agent — choose carefully
MM2H is one of the few programmes where using an intermediary is compulsory, which makes agent selection part of the process rather than an optional convenience. Fees are unregulated. Before you engage anyone, confirm the company name contains “(MM2H) Sdn. Bhd.” and that its licence number and validity dates appear on MOTAC’s own register.
Official sources & references
- Visasmm2h.gov.my — Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture — the official programme guidelines: fixed deposits and participating fees for all four tiers, the compulsory property values, pass validity, the 90-day minimum stay, dependant rules and the eleven-step application process
- Residencemm2h.gov.my — MOTAC’s searchable register of licensed MM2H companies, with licence numbers and validity dates — the check that confirms an agent is real
- Visasmotac.gov.my — the ministry’s MM2H programme page, carrying the gazetted eligibility conditions, the SEZ/SFZ special conditions and the May 2025 announcement setting the property deadlines
- Residencemtcp.sarawak.gov.my — Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak — the authoritative S-MM2H source and its application guide, amended 31 July 2025
- Taxhasil.gov.my — Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia — individual tax residence under section 7 of the Income Tax Act 1967, including the 182-day test