Malaysia: MM2H Platinum opens a route to long-term residence

Malaysia's long-stay residence scheme allows a foreigner to settle in the country without taking up local employment, on the basis of a fixed deposit with a Malaysian bank and, depending on the tier, a property purchase.

The fixed deposits required range from $150,000¹ for the entry category to $1,000,000² for the highest category.

Participants must also purchase a residence with a minimum value of MYR 600,000³, an amount that may vary depending on the Malaysian state concerned, as land policy is partly a matter for the federated states.

An age threshold of more than 50 years⁴ distinguishes the categories of applicants, with different conditions depending on whether the applicant is below or above it.

The permit does not confer the right to work for a Malaysian employer: it is a residence status, not a work permit. Any local activity requires a separate authorisation.

The programme was suspended and then reopened with markedly higher conditions, before being restructured into several tiers. This instability is the scheme's main characteristic, and it must be known before any decision is made.

Participants admitted under the earlier conditions faced the question of whether their rights would be maintained at renewal, which sets an uncomfortable precedent for a scheme presented as lasting.

The highest tier targets large estates and offers a longer permit duration in return. It is aimed at an audience that competing programmes in the region — Thailand, Indonesia — are also courting.

We do not publish the exact durations of each tier, the full list of renewal conditions or the property amounts specific to each Malaysian state: the programme has been amended several times and we have not been able to verify the version in force in an up-to-date official source.

Nor do we publish a twenty-year duration for the top tier: we have not found an official Malaysian source confirming this figure, so we do not repeat it.

Malaysia's income tax scale ranges from 0%⁵ on the first band to 30%⁶ at the top marginal rate.

Tax resident status is assessed in particular on the basis of a presence of 182 days⁷ over the year. A non-resident is subject to separate rules, which are generally less favourable for employment income.

Dividends received by an individual are taxed at 2%⁸ above a dividend income threshold, which ends the full exemption they previously enjoyed.

Corporate income tax, for its part, stands at 24%⁹ at the standard rate.

One point sets Malaysia apart from its neighbours and is worth making: the country taxes on a territorial basis, with foreign-source income received by a resident in principle outside the scope of tax. This principle has, however, been adjusted several times for certain categories of income, and its exact scope must be checked case by case rather than taken for granted.

1. Check the conditions in force for the targeted tier with the competent Malaysian authority, not with an intermediary.
2. Cost the funds tied up in the fixed deposit, which is not a productive investment.
3. Check the minimum property price applicable in the targeted state, which varies.
4. Do not count on a right to work locally without a separate authorisation.
5. Handle the departure from France according to its own criteria and under the France–Malaysia tax treaty.

The main uncertainty concerns not the programme's current content but its stability. A scheme that has already been suspended once, then made more demanding, then restructured does not offer the predictability that a family relocation plan requires.

This is a trade-off to be stated clearly: Malaysia offers a very favourable cost of living, a good-quality private healthcare system and widespread use of English, but its residence scheme is one of the least stable in the region.