Malaysia My Second Home is a long-stay residency programme run by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. It gives a foreign national a renewable pass with a multiple-entry visa, in return for money placed and spent in Malaysia: a fixed deposit with a licensed Malaysian bank, a one-off participation fee, and the compulsory purchase of a home above a set value.
That is the whole mechanism. Most of the confusion around MM2H comes from three things it is repeatedly mistaken for.
What MM2H is not
It is not permanent residency. The pass runs 5 years on Silver, 15 on Gold, 20 on Platinum, and is renewed rather than converted. Time spent on MM2H does not accumulate toward permanent residency, and it is not a route to citizenship.
It is not a work permit. Only the Platinum category permits employment or running a business. On Silver and Gold both are expressly not allowed. An applicant who intends to earn a living in Malaysia is usually looking at the wrong pass.
It is not a single set of requirements. There are four categories with materially different thresholds, and a figure quoted without naming its category is close to meaningless.
The four categories
| Silver | Gold | Platinum | SEZ 21-49 | SEZ 50+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed deposit | USD150,000 | USD500,000 | USD1 million | USD65,000 | USD32,000 |
| Participation fee | RM1,000 | RM3,000 | RM200,000 | RM1,000 | RM1,000 |
| Renewal fee | RM1,500 | RM3,000 | RM5,000 | RM300 | RM300 |
| Minimum property | RM600,000 | RM1 million | RM2 million | Price set by the development | as left |
| Pass length | 5 years | 15 years | 20 years | 10 years | 10 years |
| Minimum age | 25 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 50 |
| Work or business | No | No | Yes | Per SEZ terms | Per SEZ terms |
A processing fee of RM5,000 for the principal and RM2,500 per dependant applies on top of the participation fee. It is published on the ministry’s comparison table rather than the individual category pages, which is why it is missing from most write-ups.
The SEZ category is the odd one. Its deposit is by far the lowest, it is the only category that splits by age band, and at 21 it has the lowest age floor of the four. It runs a 10-year renewable pass, which sits between Silver and Gold on duration while costing a fraction of either on deposit. The trade-off is geographic: the residence has to be bought in Forest City, Johor, at a price set by the development rather than by the programme.
What every category requires
Some conditions do not change with the category you choose.
Ninety days a year, but only under 50. Participants aged 25 to 49 must be present in Malaysia 90 days cumulatively each year, and that presence may be met between the main applicant and/or spouse and dependants. Participants aged 50 and above have no minimum stay requirement at all.
A property you cannot sell for ten years. The purchase is compulsory after approval, and the residence may not be sold for a decade. It may be upgraded to something of higher value, which is the only exit the programme offers.
A medical check-up. Compulsory for the principal and every dependant after approval, at a clinic or hospital on the ministry’s panel.
Renewal on evidence. The pass renews every five years once the programme maximum is complete, against a valid passport, a current medical report and health insurance.
Who you can bring
The dependant definition is wider than most residency programmes and is one of the genuine attractions. A spouse. Biological, step or adopted children under 21, and those aged 21 to 34 provided they are unemployed and single while in Malaysia. Medically certified children with disabilities at any age. Parents and parents-in-law.
Dependent children may study up to tertiary level at any government-recognised institution, either on the existing MM2H pass or on a Student Pass granted automatically.
The money you get back, and the money you do not
The fixed deposit remains your capital. Up to half the principal may be withdrawn after approval, for a residence, education, medical treatment or tourism activities in Malaysia. The rest stays on deposit.
The participation fee is gone. On Silver and Gold it is small enough not to matter much. On Platinum it is RM200,000, one-off, per principal application, and there is no fee for dependants.
The programme states one tax position of its own: exemption on incoming funds such as the fixed deposit. It says nothing about how any other income is treated. That depends on your tax residency and is a matter for the Inland Revenue Board, not for the tourism ministry.
How an application is lodged
Through a company licensed by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. The ministry publishes the register of licensed companies, and a licence number takes the form MM2H followed by three or four digits.
That register is worth checking before money changes hands, and checking it costs nothing: match the company name against the ministry list and confirm the licence number, which takes the form MM2H followed by three or four digits.
Why the figures on this page may differ from others
MM2H was suspended in 2021, restructured into tiers, and later grew the Special Economic Zone category. A great deal of published MM2H advice still quotes thresholds from before those changes, which is why an article confidently stating a figure that no longer applies is the normal case rather than the exception.
Every number above is read from the ministry’s own pages and carries the date it was read. Where another source disagrees, check the ministry directly.