Kyan Yap: Property is relatively affordable, probably one third of Singapore or half of Bangkok pricing wise besides property. The other interesting thing about Malaysia is that not many people know about this. We do have an offshore entity similar to the BVI and Cayman Islands called Labuan. It's Malaysia's answer to offshore banking. A lot of my clients have actually been exploring shifting some of their wealth into Labuan and all their businesses into Labuan for tax benefits, and some of them have actually achieved zero taxation.

Salman Siddiqui: Welcome to the Investment Immigration podcast by you Uglobal.com with weekly in-depth interviews with the world's leading investment immigration professionals. Welcome to another episode of the Investment Immigration podcast by Uglobal. This is your host, Salman Siddiqui. Today we are going to focus on Malaysia's investment, immigration options and the programs that it offers. Malaysia is in a very interesting place, actually, in terms of its program. Just last year, it announced its Premium Visa Program, which is also known as the PVIP. Now it is modeled on similar initiatives in the regions, for example, in Thailand, which offers a ten year resident visa for wealthy global citizens and highly skilled professionals. Singapore, too, has a global investor program which offers a similar route to foreign investors and families. So why is Malaysia now having this premium visa program and how does it compete with other programs in the region? To help us understand all of this, I have a special guest with us. His name is Kyan Yap. He's the CEO of my MYPVIP. He's based in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Welcome to the show.

Kyan Yap: Thanks for having me, Salman.

Salman Siddiqui: Thank you. So please tell our listeners about the investment immigration options in Malaysia and how it works.

The program is modeled after what other countries are offering in the region, but I think it takes it one step. It's like a hybrid program between Thailand and Singapore in a way, because it's not a PR like what the Singaporean Government is offering, but it's also not like a long term tourist visa, like what's Thai Elite program is, because the benefits of this program actually is very similar to a Malaysian PR, except the validity is 20 years plus a renewal of another 20 years.

Salman Siddiqui: Before we talk about the benefits of the program, I want to also understand the other options that are available in the country. So is the PVIP the only option available for foreign investors or are there other options?

Kyan Yap: Yes, there's another option that has been running for over 20 years. It's called the Malaysia My Second Home program. I wouldn't really classify that as an investor program because that program, the essence of it, is actually targeted to retirees. So it's actually for people to use Malaysia as a retirement home or a second home when they want to when they retire in that sense, or a second option for them to live.

Salman Siddiqui: I see. So there are two options; one is a premium visa program, which was launched last year and the previous one is the Malaysia My Second Home.

Kyan Yap: Initially it started off as a silver hair program, which is just targeted for retirees over the age of 60 years old. Then the next reincarnation of the program became more of a second home program. And recently a lot of changes have been made to that program as well.

Salman Siddiqui: Okay. So how about we talk a little bit about the need for launching the premium visa program? What was the motivation last year? They already had this Malaysia My Second Home program there for many years. So then the government comes up with this. Why did they have to do that? What were they thinking? If you could explain to us a little bit…

they have attracted 46,000 successful applicants. But the cost of applying for the program is very low. The threshold previously was only at the moment as well is 5000 ringgit, which is 1,500 USD. And previously the program has a very low threshold of what we call financial requirement. The amount that the foreigner needs to bring into the country was very low. And on top of that, there's no other obligation to invest or buy property and so on. So in that sense, the program did attract foreigners to come to Malaysia, but it did not give any direct benefit to the country or the government in that sense. And the program was also, I would say, abused as well, because the threshold was so low. A lot of foreigners, groups of foreigners, were using the program to enter Malaysia and then conducting businesses or multi-level marketing seminars and so on where they were not allowed to do so. So we had a lot of issues with that. The government felt that the program was not doing what it was intending to do and attracted the wrong type of people. Hence they increased the threshold of the program. They remodeled it after quite a lengthy period of consideration and they engaged a couple of consultants on that. And on top of that, they launched the Premium Visa Program, which is more targeted to high net worth individuals who are intention to put in money into Malaysia.

Salman Siddiqui: I see. So if you could explain to us now the eligibility requirements for the Premium Visa Program, what is the threshold now and what kind of foreign investors is the government looking to attract?

Kyan Yap: So the program is actually quite straightforward. The requirement from the government is a participation fee. The first thing, the participation fee is 200,000 Malaysian ringgit, which is equivalent to about 45,000 USD. That is a one off fee to the government to participate in this program. That fee will essentially get you the 20 year visa and to renew the government for another 20 years. The government will charge half of that fee, which is 22,500 USD. So this is for the main applicant.

For the dependent which they are allowed to bring; they are allowed to bring their spouse, their children, their parents and in-laws as well, and also a domestic helper if they want to. For each of the dependent, the fee is half of the main applicant, which is 22,500 USD for the first 20 years and the additional 20 years is half of that. So this is the first requirement, financial requirement.

The second financial requirement is actually to put in a deposit into Malaysia. This is in the form of a fixed deposit in the local authorized bank. So the applicant will have to put in a million ringgit, which is equivalent at the moment to about 225,000 USD. This is tied to a fixed deposit account which pays about 4.something percent interest at the moment, and after the first year the 

applicant can actually withdraw 50% of this for real estate purchase, for education, for medical expenses. And then the third thing that we will need from the applicant, of course, is a letter of good conduct to prove that they are not wanted or a criminal in their home country. That's just the thing. And then they will also have to come into Malaysia one time at first before they get the visa to do a medical check up to make sure that they are healthy. At the same time, get a local medical insurance coverage because this program does not actually have physical stay requirement in Malaysia. So you can come and go as many times as you want within the 20 years and stay as long as as short as you want or not stay in Malaysia at all.

Salman Siddiqui: Thank you for giving us that overview. How much time does it take to process the application? Does it take like six months to get an approval for the VIP program? What do you promise your clients like? How much time can you get them the visa [within]?

Kyan Yap: This is not a promise that we come up with. It's actually part of the program that was announced by the government. The processing time of this program is 60 working days, so there's a definite answer that you will get whether your application is approved or not within 60 working days. Yeah, and we actually have already gotten approval for our first applicant and that was within 60 working days.

Salman Siddiqui: Okay, that's good. So that's a very good amount of time to get your application processed. One thing I could understand from your overview was this is a residency visa. So this does not lead to citizenship, right?

Kyan Yap: Yes, correct.

Salman Siddiqui: So why is that? A lot of investors, when they invest so much amount of time in a particular country, they're also interested in nationality. You know, if they can't get it because you're putting in money and the time. So why didn't the government offer that?

Kyan Yap: I think the Malaysian government have never offered that any program that could lead to a not even citizenship, but a PR, even if you're married to a Malaysian, you will not automatically get citizenship or PR for that matter. So I have known people who have been married to a Malaysian for over 20 years and live in the country and still did not get the PR, So getting a PR or a citizenship in Malaysia is notoriously a very difficult process. This might change in the future, maybe. But at the moment the government is taking one step at a time. So this is program is the first step towards something more longer term because the program actually have the same benefits as a PR because you can actually work, you can do business, you can be in an executive position in a company, you can study, you can invest. So it's very similar to a PR but with a time limitation.

Salman Siddiqui: I see. Okay. That's very interesting. And is that the case also in other parts in the region, in other countries, for example, in Thailand and Singapore? Is it also true that they, too, don't offer citizenship to applicants? It's not just Malaysia.

Kyan Yap: Well, I think the only country that I can think of in the Southeast Asian region that would offer a path to citizenship, it's Singapore. The Singapore program does offer a path to citizenship, but the program has a much, much higher threshold than the other programs available in the region. The starting point is that you have to invest 25 million SGD into a business and the business [has to] have to turnover of $200 million a year. So I think that is for the real elite and the upper end of the market.

Salman Siddiqui: I see. Okay. So an investor who's looking to come to the region has all sorts of options depending on what they want, Right? Yeah. So let's now also talk about what you mentioned in the podcast earlier that the government didn't want to attract a certain kind of investors before coming into the country from the MM2H program, and they want to now attract a different kind of investor. So what is the target audience of this program? Is it the Chinese investors who traditionally come to the southeast region, or are they looking at American investors or from Europe? Or what is the target here?

with quite a stable political and economic environment. But I think from what I can see from the interest that we have gotten so far, we have seen a lot of North Asian interest, particularly from Taiwan and China and so on, because as you know, Malaysia is a multicultural country. We have a large population of Chinese living here as well. And language is not an issue because we're multilingual in Malaysia. So I think that familiarity with the culture, with the food, with the language, has attracted quite a lot of Chinese North Asians that are interested in the program. But I think the program also is a bit different to the program in the sense that because it's a long term residency program, not a citizenship. So for a lot of the individuals from countries who are not does not allow dual citizenship, this is a very good option for them.

Salman Siddiqui: I see. So far, I mean, it's still a very new program, but are most of your clients coming from one particular country or are you seeing many applicants from different regions? What are the trends you're looking and observing?

Kyan Yap: When we first started, I think I can share with you that our first client is actually from Taiwan. And subsequently we have seen Taiwanese interests picked up very fast. A lot of the Taiwanese are a bit concerned with the geopolitical situation and they would like to have a plan B per se that somewhere that they can actually go to if something happens and Malaysia is a very viable option based on what I mentioned earlier, the culture, language and food and proximity as well to Taipei and Taiwan is about a four hour flight. And since then we have also seen a lot of interest coming from Bangladesh, India as well, because in Malaysia we also have a large Indian population and also food, culture, language, not an issue. And slowly at the moment we're seeing a pick up from Europe and North America. I think a lot of them are attracted by the low cost of living in Malaysia, but we have all the infrastructure here. Everything is world class, but you're spending a fraction of what you'll be spending back home.

Salman Siddiqui: Thank you so much for sharing that those trends. Now let's also now talk about the options of investing in Malaysia. You mentioned in the podcast earlier that there's a fixed deposit option. Could you explain that little bit? And also the other options like, for example, can an investor also buy a property from that investment? How does it work? Like and what do the clients ask from you? Do they want to buy property there immediately or how do you go about that? Sure.

Kyan Yap: So the fixed deposit requirement is actually a must that the applicant must do. So this is a requirement from the government before they actually issue you the visa. So you have to make sure that you have a million ringgit or equivalent in any currency placed in a bank here in Malaysia. I think the idea behind this was because they want to strengthen the banking system with deposits, which allows the banks to then generate more loans, mortgages to the local clientele and which would help the economy. So this is a must. But as mentioned in the second year, they can take 50% of this amount out, whereas the remaining 50% have to be remaining in the fixed deposit account until they cancel the visa or upon expiry of the visa. But of course a lot of these individual who has this kind of investment to make have additional money to spend as well. So we do see a lot of them asking about property because Malaysian property, especially in the capital compared to the region, is relatively affordable and the quality and the size that you can get, it's probably one third of Singapore or half of Bangkok pricing wise.

Salman Siddiqui: So do they mostly go for them buying property then?

Kyan Yap: I'll do. But you know, but the prime property is separate to that, that fixed deposit investment because that has to happen first, whereas the buying of the property is an additional investment for them. Actually, I also would like to add besides property, the other interesting thing about Malaysia is that I think not many people know about this. We do have a offshore entity similar to the BVI and Cayman Islands called Labuan. So Labuan, it's Malaysia's answer to offshore banking. And a lot of our clients have actually been exploring shifting some of their wealth into Labuan and all their businesses into Labuan for tax reasons, tax benefits and some of them have actually achieved zero taxation on some of their business and profits.

Salman Siddiqui: I see. Okay. That's interesting. Yeah, that's the first time I've heard of it. I'm sure a lot of our listeners would be happy to know about it, but also want to understand that if somebody wants to start a business in Malaysia and also gain residency, can they do that?

Kyan Yap: Yes, they can do that because once they get this visa, they are allowed to operate their own business out of the business operate. There's no requirement anymore like restriction anymore for them.

Salman Siddiqui: Okay. So for example, foreign entrepreneur, he wants to set up a company and a business. They can do that after they gain the visa. That's what you're saying, correct, Right.

Kyan Yap: Correct. Yes. And this is actually a better pathway for them to do this because the government also offers some other programs that are to attract foreign entrepreneurs and investors to come into Malaysia. But all those programs have strict requirements in terms of investment amount, the number of people they have to hire turnover and selected industries only. Whereas with this visa, you can do any business and there's no restriction.

Salman Siddiqui: Okay, that's good to know. Now I'm going to shift the topic a little bit and also talk about the common misconceptions that people have about investment immigration into Malaysia. Now, I was doing some research and I saw a lot of negative comments about the Malaysia My Second Home program. Some people didn't have good experiences, especially in the last few years in the background of what happened before. Now, if somebody is doing their research, they don't know anything about Malaysia. They'll come across those comments and then they'll come to you. But how do you address those concerns?

Kyan Yap: One of the main negative feedback that a lot of people that were on the program have expressed is that they had issues coming back to Malaysia during COVID. And then on top of that, the program threshold has gone up. People need to understand that program was an option for them to come and stay the long term social visit program, not a residency program, even though it's called Malaysia My Second Home. So the visa that they get from it is a long term social visit pass because they're not allowed to work, they're not allowed to do business in Malaysia, which is why when we had the lockdown during COVID, everyone who were on some sort of social visa pass was locked out of the country. So that was one of the issues. And secondly, as you know, the government increased the threshold of the program for the reasons that I mentioned earlier. That also kind of affected a lot of people who are on the program because they did not understand that the program is a ten year program with a five year renewal process. So after five years, you have to resubmit your application to renew for the next five years. But the government has since then come out and said that whoever who is already on the program with the requirements from the previous program, they shall remain and they won't be affected with the new requirements. So the new requirements is only at the moment for anyone new that's want to apply for the Malaysia My Second Home program.

Salman Siddiqui: Okay. Thank you for sharing that. Now you mentioned that you have a client from Taiwan. I want to I'm interested in hearing more about the success stories that you have dealt with. So can you give us a profile of a typical candidate for the Premium Visa Program who has been successful? Are they coming with their families? Are they solo investors just so that people can have an idea…

Kyan Yap: Sure. The majority of our applicants at the moment, business investors who are intending to start businesses in Malaysia or already have some sort of business activity in Malaysia, they view this visa as a way for them to come and go from Malaysia without restriction. They can then take up executive position in their company that they invested in or they're intending to start. So this is a very good advantage for them. Secondly, we also see a lot of families that are interested in this program, especially families with children, because they are looking at Malaysia as a place for their children to come and study, to do their education, because comparatively, the school fees in Malaysia for like international school is also very much cheaper than their home country or even countries around the region. So we're cheaper than Thailand. We're cheaper than Singapore - so providing the same quality of education. And of course, on top of that, the housing costs and cost of living is so much lower here.

Salman Siddiqui: That's an interesting trend. We're coming close to the end of our show, but I would also like to know the number of applicants that you think will increase in the future. So having a looking into the future, do you think more applicants will be coming in from, for example, Taiwan as tensions rise in the region? Do you think more applicants will come from India, as you mentioned? What's your outlook for the future?

Kyan Yap: Actually, we think that the program has been generating a lot of buzz around the region. I also think that with a lot of the programs around the world closing its doors or raising their threshold, as you know, like Portugal is closing the door. There are some other programs that are also raising their threshold, like Singapore. This program would be quite attractive. I also see with China starting to open up more now, we will see a lot more Chinese investors. That's interesting because traditionally one of the biggest uptake of the Malaysian program were the Chinese. But due to the lockdown and the closed door policy that China has in the last couple of years, we have not seen anyone come into Malaysia. But I think this might change with China now opening up. And of course, I think once the program once now that we have established that the program is running well, applications are successful, people are coming to Malaysia, I see that we will attract a lot more people from around the region and beyond.

Salman Siddiqui: Thank you so much for explaining the program to us. I'm really happy to learn that this program offers a lot of options to a lot of different kind of opportunities in the country. So thank you so much. And I want, in the end, to also give a shout out to our listeners that please stay tuned. We'll be bringing more episodes about programs from all over the world. So stay tuned and thank you.

Kyan Yap: Thank you very much.

Salman Siddiqui: You've been listening to the Investment Immigration podcast by Uglobal.com. Join us again soon for more in depth conversations exploring investment immigration opportunities from around the world.

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