Will Sultan of Johor’s social media post prompt Malaysia to rethink cost increases to MM2H visa?

Malaysia has hiked the fees of the scheme as part of a relaunch, but critics say this will put it out of reach of most applicants and end up costing the country in the long-run

Those calling for a government rethink have received a boost from one of the country’s most influential people: the Sultan of Johor

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Malaysia’s Johor, as viewed from across the causeway in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:30am, 9 Sep 2021Updated: 4:09pm, 10 Sep 2021

Former media executive Nirav Haji hails from Singapore, but the place he calls “home” is Johor, Malaysia.

Haji is one of 57,000 foreigners to have been granted a 10-year visa under the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme since 2002 and has been enjoying the lifestyle he can afford in the country next door. In Johor, he and his wife rent a 5,000 sq ft bungalow with five bedrooms and a garden; back in Singapore, for the same money, they rented a three-bed apartment. What’s more, he is still conveniently close to his real “home”.

“Johor is a 45-minute drive to the big city’s flashing lights to catch a show or visit friends, and you come home to Johor where it’s tranquil. Things are much cheaper here with no compromise in the standard of living,” said Haji, 55.

But for Haji, and thousands others like him, there’s trouble amid the tranquillity. A revamp of the MM2H scheme that has raised the costs of participation significantly has put a question mark over whether he can continue to afford it. As one of the last batch of applicants before the scheme was suspended in August 2020, Haji needed only to provide a fixed deposit of 150,000 ringgit (US$36,000). Under the revamped version of the scheme, which launches in October, applicants have to pay a deposit of one million ringgit. Other requirements have been hiked too; applicants must have 1.5 million ringgit in liquid assets (compared to a previous level of 300,000 ringgit for the over 50s or 500,000 ringgit for the under 50s previously) and a monthly offshore income of 40,000 ringgit (up from 10,000 ringgit previously).

Haji thinks the new costs will be prohibitively expensive for most retirees and is calling on the government to rethink the hikes, warning that a failure could do so would drive away a key source of foreign investment.

Luckily for Haji, the chances of the government heeding this suggestion just got a major boost from the backing of one of the country’s most influential people: the Sultan of Johor.