Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) is a long-term social visit pass with a multiple entry visa for foreigners who place a fixed deposit in Malaysia and buy a residence here. The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) runs the programme through its One Stop Centre. The Immigration Department, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, gives the final approval. This guide states only what the official programme pages publish, as captured on 16 October 2026.
MM2H is not a work permit and it is not a path to permanent residence. It is also not a retirement visa in the legal sense: there is no maximum age, and the minimum age is 25 (21 for SEZ/SFZ).
The four categories
The programme has four categories: Silver, Gold, Platinum, and the Special Economic Zone / Special Financial Zone (SEZ/SFZ) category tied to Forest City in Johor.
| Requirement | Silver | Gold | Platinum | SEZ/SFZ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed deposit | USD 150,000 | USD 500,000 | USD 1,000,000 | USD 65,000 (age 21 to 49) or USD 32,000 (age 50 and above) |
| Participating fee (one-off, per principal) | RM1,000 | RM3,000 | RM200,000 | RM1,000 |
| Minimum residence purchase | RM600,000 | RM1,000,000 | RM2,000,000 | Forest City, Johor, at the floor price under Johor state policy |
| MM2H pass term | 5 years | 15 years | 20 years | 10 years |
| Minimum age of principal | 25 | 25 | 25 | 21 (50 for the USD 32,000 deposit) |
| Business and investment activities | Not allowed | Not allowed | Permissible | Not allowed |
| Career opportunities | Not allowed | Not allowed | Permissible | Not allowed |
| Renewal fee after the full term (per principal application; the MOTAC guide says each dependant also pays) | RM1,500 | RM3,000 | RM5,000 | RM300 |
All passes are renewable. The pass validity follows the validity of your passport, so a new passport means a new security sticker.
The official pages publish no monthly offshore income requirement and no liquid-asset requirement for these four categories. The MOTAC conditions document certified on 14 June 2024 states in Malay that the offshore income condition is dropped for all categories. Earlier versions of this guide stated such figures. They are withdrawn.
Fees that every applicant pays
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Participating fee | RM1,000 / RM3,000 / RM200,000 / RM1,000 by category | One-off, per principal application; none for dependants |
| Processing fee | RM5,000 for the principal, RM2,500 for each dependant | After conditional approval, with the participating, pass and visa fees (MOTAC flowchart step 10) |
| Fixed pass fee | RM500 per year | At each renewal before the full term |
| Visa fee | RM0 to RM50, by nationality | At each renewal before the full term |
| Renewal after the full term | RM1,500 / RM3,000 / RM5,000 / RM300 by category (the MOTAC guide says each dependant also pays) | Every 5 years after the maximum term |
The fixed deposit is capital, not a fee. You keep it in your own name. The official pages do not publish a medical check-up fee, an insurance premium, an interest rate on the deposit, or a fee for the licensed MM2H company. Ask the company and the bank for those figures in writing.
The fixed deposit
Place the fixed deposit in a licensed Malaysian financial institution. The licence is under the Financial Services Act 2013 [Act 758] or the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 [Act 759]. An institution licensed under either Act qualifies. A MOTAC announcement of 28 May 2025 encourages a deposit in ringgit equal to the USD value for the category.
You may withdraw up to 50% of the principal deposit. The approved purposes are the purchase of a residence, education, medical and tourism activities in Malaysia. The official sources differ on the timing: the category pages say after approval, and the MOTAC guide says from the second year onwards. Ask the One Stop Centre before you plan around a withdrawal date. The portal has a Verify FD Withdrawal service for this step.
The residence purchase rule
You must buy and own a residence after approval. The minimum value is RM600,000 for Silver, RM1,000,000 for Gold and RM2,000,000 for Platinum. SEZ/SFZ participants must buy a property in Forest City, Johor, at the floor price set by Johor state policy.
You may not sell the residence for 10 years. You may upgrade to a residence of higher value. Failure to comply with any term revokes the pass. A MOTAC announcement dated 28 May 2025 sets the deadlines. Silver, Gold and Platinum participants have one year after the pass endorsement to complete the purchase. SEZ/SFZ participants must own or buy the Forest City house before the endorsement, from the developer and not from a third party. The same announcement sets the windows for the 50% withdrawal towards a house: a house bought within two years before endorsement (Silver, Gold, Platinum) or within six months before endorsement (SEZ/SFZ) qualifies if it meets the category minimum.
State minimum purchase prices for foreigners still apply on top of these floors. The official pages give MM2H holders no lower state minimum. See the minimum price thresholds by state and the MM2H property guide.
Minimum stay, dependants and education
A principal aged below 50 must be present in Malaysia for 90 days (cumulative) in one year. For participants aged 25 to 49, the principal and/or the dependants can fulfil the 90 days together. A principal aged 50 and above has no minimum stay requirement.
You may bring these dependants:
- Your spouse.
- Biological children, stepchildren and adopted children below the age of 21. Children aged 21 to 34 must be unemployed and single while in Malaysia.
- Medically certified children with disabilities, with no age limit.
- Your parents and parents-in-law.
- Platinum participants may also bring a foreign maid.
Dependant children may study up to tertiary level in any government-recognised institution in Malaysia. They may use the MM2H pass or receive a Student Pass automatically. Long-term medical treatment in Malaysia is allowed for the pass validity period.
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The programme is open to eligible foreign individuals from sovereign countries that have diplomatic relations with Malaysia. The official route has these steps.
- Choose your category from the table above.
- Engage an MM2H tour operating business licensed by MOTAC under the Tourism Industry Act 1992 [Act 482]. Every application goes through the One Stop Centre MM2H. The portal lists the licensed companies.
- Submit the forms through the licensed company. MOTAC publishes the visa application form IM38, the visit pass application form IMM.12, Medical Form II, the personal bond form and a resume format.
- Wait for the conditional approval. The Immigration Department under the Ministry of Home Affairs gives the final approval, and any appeal goes to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- Place the fixed deposit and complete the compulsory medical check-up at a MOTAC panel clinic or hospital, for the principal and every dependant. Applicants under 60 also need health insurance with worldwide coverage (the MOTAC checklist says 60 and below; the booklet and the Immigration page say below 60). The MOTAC guide gives 90 days after conditional approval to present the deposit certificate, insurance, medical report, stamped personal bond and passport. Silver, Gold and Platinum participants then buy the residence within one year after endorsement. SEZ/SFZ participants buy the Forest City house before endorsement.
- Collect the MM2H pass endorsement from the Immigration Department.
MOTAC publishes no processing time for a new application. It publishes client charters for later steps: 30 working days for a renewal, 3 working days for a fixed deposit withdrawal, and 1 working day for a transfer of endorsement to a new passport. The Immigration Department page gives a one-day client charter to issue the pass sticker.
Renewal and change of principal
Before the full term ends, the pass sticker is renewable every five years or on the validity of your passport. The fees are the RM500 fixed pass fee per year and the RM0 to RM50 visa fee.
After the full term, you may renew every five years. You submit a copy of a valid passport, the latest medical report and health insurance, and you pay the category renewal fee (RM1,500 Silver, RM3,000 Gold, RM5,000 Platinum, RM300 SEZ/SFZ) to the One Stop Centre or the Immigration Department.
If the principal dies, the pass is transferable to the next-of-kin among the registered dependants.
Tax
The official pages state that participants receive tax exemption on foreign funds or income, such as the fixed deposit, and that there is no tax on foreign funds, foreign income and the profit on fixed deposits in Malaysia.
MM2H does not make you a Malaysian tax resident. Tax residence follows the Income Tax Act 1967 test: 182 days or more in Malaysia in a year, regardless of nationality (LHDN residence status). Income from a Malaysian rental property is Malaysian-sourced income. See the rental income tax rules for foreigners.
What the official pages do not publish
The following items appear on many websites but on no official MM2H page: a monthly offshore income test, a liquid-asset test, a processing time, a bank financing margin for MM2H holders, a fee for the licensed company, an interest rate on the fixed deposit, and a path to permanent residence. This site states none of them.
Is MM2H worth it for property investors?
You do not need MM2H to buy Malaysian property. Read buying property without MM2H for the direct route.
MM2H makes sense if you plan to live in Malaysia for part of the year, want to bring your spouse, children or parents, and are ready to lock a USD fixed deposit and buy a residence that you keep for 10 years. For a single investment property managed from abroad, the deposit, the fees and the 10-year no-sale rule usually outweigh the benefit.
State programmes
Sarawak runs its own S-MM2H programme and Sabah runs Sabah MM2H, each with different deposits, ages and rules. The federal figures on this page do not apply to them.
Sources
All figures above were captured on 16 October 2026 from these pages and are kept in a dated ledger with verbatim quotes:
- MM2H category overview, Silver, Gold, Platinum, SEZ/SFZ
- MM2H requirements and regulations, licensed MM2H companies, Verify FD Withdrawal
- MOTAC MM2H programme page and forms
- Immigration Department MM2H page
- MOTAC new eligibility conditions, certified 14 June 2024 (Malay PDF) and programme announcement of 28 May 2025 (Malay PDF)
- LHDN residence status
For foreigners who plan a purchase, start with foreigner property financing options and the minimum price thresholds by state.