MM2H Malaysia: the Malaysia My Second Home Programme in 2026

MM2H started in 2002. Legally it is not a residence permit but a long-term social visit pass with a multiple-entry visa. MOTAC runs the programme through its One Stop Centre (OSC MM2H) in Putrajaya. Every application has to be filed through a tour-operating company licensed by MOTAC under the Tourism Industry Act 1992 [Act 482]. The Immigration Department under the Ministry of Home Affairs makes the final decision, and appeals go to that ministry^[1].

The current rules date from June 2024. After the October 2021 overhaul (RM1 million deposit, RM40,000 monthly offshore income, minimum age 35) had cut applications by about 90%^[7], the government replaced the single scheme with tiers. Applicants no longer prove offshore income. Instead they lock up a deposit and buy a home. The same reform removed the permanent-residence option that earlier drafts had attached to the top tier^[9].

Applicants must come from a country with diplomatic relations with Malaysia^[1]. Demand is concentrated. The ministry counted 7,650 new applications between 1 October 2024 and 31 August 2026: 50.3% from China and 13.8% from Taiwan, followed by Hong Kong, Singapore and the US^[23]. An agent's breakdown of official data to 31 March 2026, counting dependants, puts 84.2% of applicants in Silver^[18]. In 2025 the ministry reported RM2.35 billion of fixed deposits and RM1.51 billion of home purchases from approved participants^[7]. As of 31 December 2025, 744 participants had completed purchases and 2,637 were in the process^[8].

Sabah and Sarawak run their own state versions (SBH-MM2H and S-MM2H) with different deposits, income tests and property rules. They are outside the scope of this page, and published figures for them conflict between sources^[18].

All four tiers combine a bank deposit with a compulsory home. They differ in deposit size, pass length, fees and, critically, in whether you may work^[1][2][3]:

• Silver: US$150,000 fixed deposit, home of RM600,000 or more (about US$146,900), 5-year renewable pass, RM1,000 participation fee. No work or business.
• Gold: US$500,000 deposit, home of RM1,000,000 or more (about US$244,800), 15-year pass, RM3,000 participation fee. No work or business.
• Platinum: US$1,000,000 deposit, home of RM2,000,000 or more (about US$489,500), 20-year pass, RM200,000 participation fee (about US$48,950). The only tier that may run a business, invest and take employment, and the only one that may bring foreign domestic helpers.
• SEZ/SFZ: US$65,000 deposit for ages 21–49 or US$32,000 for 50 and over, a home bought from a Forest City developer before endorsement, 10-year pass, RM1,000 participation fee. No work or business^[4].

The pass is issued for the principal and dependants. Its validity is capped by passport validity, so a new passport means a new sticker^[1].

The deposit must sit in a bank licensed under the Financial Services Act 2013 or the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013. The tiers are expressed in US dollars, but OSC MM2H encourages placing the deposit in ringgit at the US-dollar equivalent^[1][4]. A ringgit deposit carries currency risk in both directions. When the ringgit strengthens, you need fewer ringgit up front but your dollar value moves with the currency for the life of the pass.

Up to 50% of the principal can be withdrawn once you are approved, but only for buying a residence, education, medical costs or tourism-related spending in Malaysia^[1]. The category sheet describes withdrawals as allowed after one year^[2], and withdrawals need a letter from the MM2H office. To use the deposit for a home bought before you join, the purchase must fall within two years before pass endorsement (six months for SEZ/SFZ), and its value must meet the tier minimum^[4]. The rest of the deposit stays blocked for the life of the pass. Interest earned is exempt from Malaysian tax under the programme's tax benefit^[1][2].

Agents report that since August 2026 OSC MM2H allows a participant to move the deposit to another bank only if the original bank closes the account, which ends rate-shopping between banks. This is not yet confirmed in an official circular^[18].

Since 2024 every participant must buy and own a residence after approval. Silver, Gold and Platinum participants have one year from endorsement to complete the purchase^[1][4]. The home cannot be sold for 10 years unless you trade up to a more expensive one, and breaching the terms can lead to the pass being revoked^[1][3]. Agents report a 2026 enforcement ladder of warnings at 6 and 9 months and a termination notice at 12 months for participants who have not bought^[18].

The MM2H minimum is only one floor. Each state also sets its own minimum price for foreign buyers and requires state consent. Johor's general floor is RM1,000,000^[14]. Kuala Lumpur and Penang island also set RM1,000,000, and Selangor RM1,500,000 for strata homes, all above the Silver minimum^[24]. In practice, then, a Silver applicant who wants a prime city condominium will often spend more than RM600,000. Buyers in the SEZ/SFZ tier must buy directly from a Forest City developer, not on the resale market, and the agent must report the sale to Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre Johor^[4]. Forest City promotes RM500,000 as the threshold for this route, below Johor's general RM1,000,000 foreign-buyer floor^[14].

Transaction costs for foreigners rose in 2026. Stamp duty on the transfer of residential property to a non-citizen is now a flat 8% of the price for instruments executed from 1 January 2026, up from 4%^[13][14]. Qualifying Forest City purchases can get a 50% stamp-duty remission for agreements signed from 1 September 2024 to 31 December 2034, subject to conditions^[14]. On a sale, real property gains tax for non-citizens is 30% within five years. From the sixth year the rate is 10%, and Forest City Pulau 1 has preferential rates^[11].

The government charges are modest except for Platinum. The real costs are the locked deposit, the house and the 8% stamp duty. The table shows the cheapest compliant purchase in each tier. Processing fees come from MOTAC's category sheet, which lists RM5,000 for the principal and RM2,500 per dependant^[2]. Legal fees follow the scale in the Solicitors' Remuneration Order 2023: 1.25% of the first RM500,000 and 1% of the next RM7 million^[17].

The table above counts the full deposit and the full house price, but they overlap. If you withdraw the permitted 50% of the deposit to fund the home, the new money you need for Silver falls by US$75,000, to roughly US$238,000 before agent fees. For SEZ/SFZ at 50+ it falls by US$16,000, to roughly US$148,000. Under 50, the SEZ/SFZ deposit is US$65,000 and the total outlay is roughly US$197,000.

Agent fees are capped. Under the licensing conditions MOTAC set for MM2H operators in June 2024, the service fee may not exceed RM40,000 for Silver and SEZ/SFZ, RM55,000 for Gold and RM70,000 for Platinum, and no more than 20% can be taken as a deposit^[9]. Overseas advisers working alongside a Malaysian operator may charge on top, and some bundle property sales, so ask for a written quote that separates the service fee from any developer commission. Add annual costs: health insurance for each family member aged 60 and under (worldwide cover is accepted), property maintenance and quit rent, and sticker renewal fees (visa fee plus RM500 per year, and the tier renewal fee once the full pass term ends)^[1][3].

In 2025 participants paid RM13.86 million in participation fees to the government in total, a small figure next to the RM2.35 billion placed in deposits^[7]. That shows where the money really goes: almost all of it stays in a Malaysian bank and a Malaysian property, not with the state.

Malaysia golden visa requirements 2026

• Age: 25 or older for Silver, Gold and Platinum; 21 or older for SEZ/SFZ^[1]. Many agent sites still quote 30 or 35. The 35 comes from the 2021 rules^[7], and both figures are out of date.
• Nationality: any country with diplomatic relations with Malaysia^[1].
• Money: the tier deposit and the home purchase. There is no offshore-income or net-worth test in the federal programme^[1][2].
• Character: a certificate of good conduct or police clearance for the principal and every dependant over 18^[3]. Royal Malaysia Police conduct random interviews of applicants in addition to security screening^[4].
• Health: a medical check-up at a MOTAC panel clinic for the principal and dependants after approval, and health insurance for applicants aged 60 and below^[1][3].
• Bond: a personal bond form stamped by the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN)^[3].

Before approval you file two IMM.12 forms, passport copies for everyone and the police certificates. After the conditional approval letter you have 90 days to produce the deposit certificate, insurance, the medical report (Form MF II), the stamped bond and valid passports^[3]. OSC MM2H may issue a conditional approval with requests for further detail on employment, income or dependants^[4].

One deposit and one home cover the whole family. The principal may include^[1][3]:

• a spouse;
• biological, step- or adopted children under 21, and children aged 21 to 34 who are single and not working in Malaysia;
• medically certified disabled children of any age;
• parents and parents-in-law;
• foreign domestic helpers (Platinum only).

Dependants pay no participation fee^[3]. They pay the RM2,500 processing fee each^[2], the pass and visa fees, the post-term renewal fee at the same rate as the principal, a medical check-up and, up to age 60, insurance. For principals aged 25 to 49 the 90-day annual stay can be met by the principal or by family members^[2][3], so a parent can stay abroad if the spouse and children live in Malaysia. Children may study at any government-recognised institution up to tertiary level on the MM2H pass or a student pass^[3]. If the principal dies, the pass can transfer to a registered dependant^[1].

MOTAC publishes an 11-step flow. You cannot apply directly; a licensed MM2H operator files everything with OSC MM2H^[1].

Principals under 50 must be in Malaysia for 90 days a year in total, a requirement that family members can share. From 50 there is no minimum stay^[1][2]. Some advisers still quote 60 days. That was the 2024 announcement^[9], but MOTAC's current rule is 90.

Work is the main dividing line. Only Platinum holders may run a business, invest in a business or take a job. Silver, Gold and SEZ/SFZ holders may not^[1][3]. The MM2H Consultants Association has asked for investment to be opened to the lower tiers, so far without result^[22]. Owning shares through a stock exchange is not the same as running a business, so take advice before investing locally. Long-term medical treatment in Malaysia is allowed throughout the pass^[1].

MM2H itself does not make you tax resident. Malaysian tax residence depends on presence, mainly 182 days or more in a calendar year^[12]. So a Silver holder spending the minimum 90 days remains non-resident and is taxed only on Malaysian-source income.

MOTAC lists a tax exemption on foreign funds and income, including deposit interest, as a programme benefit^[1][2]. For residents, Malaysia's general rules already exempt foreign-sourced income received by individuals from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2036, provided the income was taxed in its source country. Partnership income is excluded^[10]. Malaysia has no inheritance, estate, gift or wealth tax^[11].

Tax applies to Malaysian activity: rental income from your home, Platinum employment or business income, and real property gains tax at 30% for non-citizens selling within five years^[11]. Service tax now extends to private healthcare and education supplied to non-Malaysians from 1 July 2025^[11], which matters for retirees and families with children in international schools. Your home country may still tax you on worldwide income, so take advice in both places.

Malaysia golden visa path to citizenship

There is none through MM2H. The June 2024 rules dropped the permanent-residence option once floated for the top tier^[9], and in February 2026 the tourism minister confirmed that the programme grants neither citizenship nor permanent residence^[8]. Renewal is possible after the maximum term in five-year blocks^[1], so a family can stay for decades, but on a visit pass.

Permanent residence is a separate Entry Permit issued by the Immigration Department at its discretion^[21]. Advisers describe a high-net-worth investor category, but we could not confirm its current thresholds in an official source, and MM2H years do not count towards it automatically.

Naturalisation under Article 19 of the Federal Constitution requires 10 years' residence in the 12 years before applying, including the last 12 months, the intention to live permanently in Malaysia, good character, adequate Malay, two citizen referees and age 21 or over^[15]. In practice applicants are expected to hold permanent residence first. Malaysia does not accept dual nationality for adults: a citizen who voluntarily acquires another citizenship can be deprived of Malaysian citizenship under Article 24^[16]. For most investors, then, MM2H is a long-term base, not a second passport. Readers who want residence that leads to naturalisation should compare the programmes in our guide to residence routes with the fastest path to a passport.

MM2H changes often, usually through OSC MM2H notices rather than legislation. The 2024 relaunch set the tiers. The May 2025 notice tightened property timing and confined SEZ/SFZ to Forest City. Online filing arrived in August 2025, and the February 2026 guideline update set age 25 and the 90-day rule^[1][4][5]. The Budget 2026 stamp-duty rise to 8% is the largest cost change so far^[13].

Watch three things. First, whether the August 2026 compliance measures reported by agents are formalised, especially the purchase deadline warnings and limits on moving deposits^[18]. Second, pressure from the industry to let retirees aged 60 and over rent instead of buy, and to allow investment in the lower tiers^[22]. Third, how purchase deadlines are enforced now that applications have reached 7,650 and property purchases total more than RM5 billion, per the ministry's September 2026 figures^[23]. The ministry also plans sales missions to Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea^[23]. Always check the MOTAC guideline page and its announcements before committing funds.

Good fit: retirees and semi-retirees aged 50 or over who want a long, low-tax base in Asia with no stay requirement; families who want access to Malaysian international and private schools at moderate cost; investors from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore who want a home near family or business; and Platinum applicants who want to run a Malaysian company on a 20-year pass.

Look elsewhere: anyone whose goal is a second passport or permanent residence; people who want to work in Malaysia without paying for Platinum; and investors who would rather not hold a home for 10 years in a market where foreigners face 8% stamp duty and state price floors. Buyers looking at the SEZ/SFZ tier should weigh Forest City's limited resale market against its low entry price.

In Southeast Asia, the closest competitor is Thailand's long-stay privilege membership. It is a paid membership rather than a deposit and home. The Philippines retiree visa (SRRV) works on a bank deposit and allows indefinite stay, and Indonesia's investor golden visa rewards larger company or fund investments. Wealthier families comparing financial-centre options should read our guides to Singapore's Global Investor Programme, which leads to permanent residence, and the Hong Kong capital investment entrant scheme.

If you want a path to a passport, residence programmes in the Americas fit better. Panama's qualified investor residence starts at US$300,000 in first-sale property and grants permanent residence. Costa Rica's investor residency starts at US$150,000. In the Middle East, the UAE's 10-year residence for property owners requires AED 2 million. To compare prices across all programmes, see our ranking of the lowest-cost residence programmes and the full residence-by-investment directory. If you want to understand why a visa like MM2H differs from a passport, read our explainer on residence versus citizenship by investment.