Malaysia has an open and attractive migration program for people wishing to reside for an extended period or long term in the country. Upon satisfying certain financial conditions you and your family will be granted the right to live in Malaysia for as long as you wish.

The Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) program was introduced by the Government in 2002 to invite qualified people from around the world to live, invest or retire in Malaysia.

The program enables qualified applicants and family the right to a 10-year residency visa in Malaysia.

To qualify you need to show a minimum amount of existing bank saving and an existing source of income.

The MM2H Program is currently one of the most popular migration schemes in the world due to its easy criteria and the fact that Malaysia is a multicultural country that is amazingly welcoming place to foreigners.

By investing in a specified business, you and your family will be granted the right to live in Malaysia and run your business. The key post employment pass or director's visa is given to you initially for 2 years and is thereafter renewable.

Since May 2015 MM2h participants are no longer allowed to use their visas as an investor visa. Despite this MM2H remains popular with foreigners conducting business in Malaysia in a passive manner. For example they can own their businesses 100% but they will need to employ local staff to do the active day-to-day running of the business.

For those investors who foresee and prefer a more active role, they can set up a company and apply for an investor visa under DP10 or what is sometimes referred to as a Directors Visa.

We at Malaysia Residency can advise you on which options best suit your needs and can help you in the process of setting up a company.

A company can be set up for you with a registered address, company secretary, accountants and auditors when you arrive in Malaysia.

Presently all foreigners wishing to set up a business presence in Malaysia have to do so via an incorporated company. Foreigners are not allowed to set up a sole proprietorship or partnership in Malaysia. The incorporated company can take the form of either a Malaysian incorporated company (a subsidiary) or a foreign company incorporated in Malaysia (a branch).

Another form of incorporation is to set up a Labuan incorporated company based in the off-shore island of Labuan that gives attractive tax exemptions.

Another form of presence available to larger foreign companies is a representative or regional office.

Representative or regional offices give the foreign investor the entitlement to a residence permit but the Representative office can only be used for publicity and market study purposes and not to trade.

A company can be set up for you with a registered address, company secretary, accountants and auditors when you arrive in Malaysia.

Presently all foreigners wishing to set up a business presence in Malaysia have to do so via an incorporated company. Foreigners are not allowed to set up a sole proprietorship or partnership in Malaysia. The incorporated company can take the form of either a Malaysian incorporated company (a subsidiary) or a foreign company incorporated in Malaysia (a branch).

Another form of incorporation is to set up a Labuan incorporated company based in the off-shore island of Labuan that gives attractive tax exemptions.

Another form of presence available to larger foreign companies is a representative or regional office.

Representative or regional offices give the foreign investor the entitlement to a residence permit but the Representative office can only be used for publicity and market study purposes and not to trade.

To work in Malaysia, you must apply for an employment pass under the name of your employer. The employment pass is usually given for 2 years and is extendable.

Malaysia has flexible but rather complex rules on hiring foreigners. As a rule of thumb only skilled foreigners may apply for an employment pass or DP10.

However, non skilled foreigners with at least RM1,000,000.00 of investment can be granted DP10 as directors and shareholders in their company on account of their investment. Although the recent changes to MM2H regulations preclude MM2H participants from active working.

Professionally qualified MM2H holders above the age of 50 years can work to up to 20 hours per week on paid salaries. We advise you to check with us from time to time as this dispensation is subject to frequent revision on the type of employment undertaken.

With its society's respect for age and well-run and affordable health and homecare facilities, Malaysia is an ideal place to spend a leisurely life in comfort and security.

With a great natural environment and developed infrastructure Malaysia is probably the finest country in South East Asia.

Malaysia imposes 0% tax on retirement funds you bring into the country and fully exempts all inheritance estates and taxes.

Malaysia has a territorial tax regime in that all income derived from outside of the country are fully exempt from tax. In fact very few countries can boast with first world facilities at third world prices.

Many schools and universities are affiliated to or are overseas campuses of British, Australian and American institutions. With more than 400 private and public higher educational institutions around the country, Malaysia offers international students a wide array of choices to pursue their studies.

Studying in Malaysia can provide you with opportunities to learn many things such as the social customs of various ethnic groups along with serious tips on how to handle lifestyles, beliefs and worldviews which may differ greatly from yours.

You can choose to experience one of Malaysia's twenty public universities or pick the branch of a foreign university or other higher educational institutions in Malaysia which all offer a wide variety of useful and highly rated degree or postgraduate degree courses.

Whichever you pick, you will have an enriching experience, inculcate greater cultural awareness, pick up new life skills and become more independent as you will be living away from home