Sarawak Raises MM2H Investment Threshold to RM500,000 Amid Program Overhaul

Sarawak’s Malaysia My Second Home (S-MM2H) program will more than triple its deposit requirement to RM500,000 starting January 1, 2025, as part of comprehensive changes to the residence-by-investment scheme.

Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah announced that the “mandatory opening of a fixed deposit account with any local bank in Sarawak” will apply to all applications, including spouses and dependents.

Participants must spend “a minimum annual stay duration in Sarawak for 30 days a year” to qualify for visa renewal; the permits last five years and are renewable for an additional five years.

Applicants must now pay a one-off RM5,000 processing fee to the state Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Ministry.

The minimum age requirement remains 30 years, and participants must stay in Sarawak for 30 days annually.

The state had approved 386 participants between August 2024 and October, generating RM77.55 million in fixed deposits for local banks.

Program participation grew 22.90% from 441 approvals in 2022 to 542 in 2023.

Chinese nationals lead overall participation in the program, registering 391 approved applications, followed by the United Kingdom (350), Taiwan (262), Hong Kong (255), United States (210), Singapore (207), South Korea (178), Japan (138), Australia (121), and Indonesia (117).

The change also affects agent licensing, as Sarawak gained authority to manage its own S-MM2H agents through powers delegated by the federal Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry in July.

The move "represents a significant achievement for my ministry in expanding the functionality of the current S-MM2H one-stop center, not only to the extent of processing applications but also the licensing of S-MM2H agents," Karim explains.

Under the new framework, agents must operate as Sarawak-owned companies with RM100,000 in paid-up capital. Karim highlighted that the shareholders must not hold shares in another company that is also a licensed S-MM2H agent "because we don't want a monopoly."

The regulatory transition has forced existing agents to reapply under the new requirements, affecting 40 previously federally licensed operators who lost their permits during the change.

The new licensing requirements will come into force on January 1.

The state cabinet approved these comprehensive changes on October 24.

The Bigger Picture

Sarawak's program revision follows a tumultuous period in Malaysia's residence-by-investment landscape.

When the federal government imposed stringent requirements on its MM2H program in 2021, leading to a 90% drop in applications, Sarawak maintained more flexible terms, resulting in a 2,800% surge in approvals by 2023.

The federal program underwent multiple revisions, introducing a three-tier system in December 2023 and June 2024, with investment requirements ranging from RM500,000 to RM5 million.

The program encountered challenges in 2024 when agents had to reapply under revamped criteria in May, causing licensing delays.

In October, the government launched an investigation into agents allegedly circulating false information about the program's operational status.

Matters grew more complex when Sabah launched its own MM2H program on July 2, 2024, offering ten-year residency permits with an RM150,000 fixed deposit requirement for individuals and a minimum annual stay of 30 days.

While Sarawak's new RM500,000 threshold matches the federal program's Silver tier minimum, it maintains simpler overall requirements and faster processing times.

Unlike its federal counterpart, which requires a 60-day annual stay, Sarawak maintains its 30-day residency requirement. The state also dropped its previous annual income requirement of RM84,000, diverging from both the federal program and Sabah's MM2H program, which demands monthly incomes of RM10,000 for individuals or RM15,000 for families.