MM2H Ruling Breeds Trouble For Expats With School Children

The changes in the Malaysia My Second Home Programme (MM2H) has put many people in limbo and H.C, who declines to be named, a mother of two youngsters and a British National living in Malaysia under the programme, is suffering.

Since August, H.C and many expat mothers with school-going children within the community of MM2H holders have faced lots of anxiety about the changes in the MM2H programme requirements which have been imposed on her and other expat families who are existing MM2H visa holders.

The new criteria of the programme applies to not only new and potential MM2H visa applicants but also to existing MM2H pass holders, who would need to adhere to the requirement that they possess RM40k income per month as proof of eligibility for the programme. Previously, they were only required to provide proof of RM10k to qualify.They would also need to show liquid assets amounting to RM1.5 million (RM300,000 to RM500,000 previously) and have a fixed deposit of at least RM1 million, and stay in the country for 90 days per year.

This dramatic change and high requirements would force nearly all of the MM2H holders to leave the country, consequently causing significant damage to the residential property market as billions of ringgit in real estate was unloaded onto a market already experiencing a glut of unsold homes.

For the past month, these changes have been getting much flack not only from anxious and concerned MM2 visa holders themselves but also from real estate committees in the Klang Valley and even from the Sultan of Johor himself, who criticised the new requirements as being not only overly restrictive and also damaging to the country.

Even though Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin reassured the community on September 1, 2021 that the government plans to re-examine the announced changes to the MM2H programme, parents of school children are having to make the urgent decision very soon to stay or leave as the they have to follow the academic schedule of whichever schools they need to apply to and to secure a place quickly should they have to leave Malaysia.

According to Harsha, 75 children from her son’s school are already making plans to leave their international school in Mont Kiara and apply for schools in their home country due to the current indecision regarding the ruling.

According to Dr Daniele Gambero, REIS property consultant, “People who are analysing countries as a potential place to stay will be driven away and attracted to neighbouring Bali or Thailand with these restrictive requirements. The government needs to apply a stronger strategy to make Malaysia attractive to potential and existing MM2H holders, as these changes will easily cap  off 90% of foreigners existing in Malaysia.”

A condo property committee member in Mont Kiara said, “There is going to be a lot of empty properties soon here.”

H.C, who loves Malaysia and has made it her home for the past 9 years, says, “This is the place where our children grew up and I’d love to live here for longer, but we need to leave if the government doesn’t do anything very soon to help us stay as we need to apply for schools and plan ahead.”

Her MM2H visa expires in November 2021, and she will have only 2 months to decide the fate of her family and whether they uproot and relocate to England or get to live here in sunny and warm Malaysia where they have made a home with their familial communities.

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