There is no minimum number of days in a year you are required to reside in Malaysia in order to maintain the validity of the residency visa. However, as the ten-yearly visas are stamped only up to the expiry date of your passport, you will have to come to Malaysia to re-stamp your visa each time you get a new passport or when you renew your residency visa.

You are eligible to apply for MM2H If you are a citizen of a foreign country (other than Israel) and you are not already in Malaysia on a student or work visa.

Your spouse and children are included in your MM2H as your dependents. Your children are your dependents if they are under 21 years old and unmarried. Once granted, their dependent visas will be valid only up to 21 years and can not be extended or renewed after that age.

To meet the financial requirement for MM2H you must show a bank balance for 3 months in any account you hold whether in Malaysia or overseas that you have a minimum amount of MYR350,000 (or MYR500,000 if you are below 50 years old) in savings.

In addition to your savings, you must show that you have a minimum monthly income of MYR10,000. If you are retired or self-employed, you can show pensions, share dividends, rental and other profits you receive as your income.

The Approval for MM2H is normally given about 60 working days from the date your application is submitted.

As a condition for the residency visa you must deposit MYR150,000 ( or MYR300,000 if you are under 50 years old) into a fixed deposit account in Malaysia. This is a special MM2H fixed deposit account in your name and must be maintained for the duration of your residency. You are not allowed to withdraw any amount from this deposit account in the first 12 months. However, after a year you can withdraw up to a limit of MYR50,000 (or MYR 150,000 if under 50 years old ) to invest in property or pay for your education or medical bills.

When your application for MM2H is approved, you are given 6 months to come to Malaysia to open and transfer money into your MM2H deposit account and do a simple medical examination before residency is granted to you. You will have a total period of about 8 months from the time you submit the application in which to transfer the deposit money.

Malaysia is an emerging market economy with many investment opportunities for new residents. You can benefit from your stay here by setting up or investing in a business.

To start a business you must first form and register a private limited liability company known locally as Sendirian Berhad (Sdn Bhd). A company must have at least 2 directors and shareholders and requires at the time of formation just a minimum paid up capital of MYR2.00.

Malaysia is an open market economy. You can fully own and control 100% of your business and company here and can operate it without involving any Malaysian citizens as director or shareholder.