2 applications for premium visa programme approved so far

Only two applications for the Premium Visa Programme have been approved so far, out of 28 received since it opened to applicants on 1 October last year, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has told Parliament.

Of the 28 applications — comprising 14 principal participants and 14 dependents — only the two approvals involve one principal participant and a dependent.

“The remaining applications are still being vetted by the police,” — Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, in a written parliamentary reply

What PVIP requires

The programme was announced in September the previous year to attract wealthy investors to settle in Malaysia, in the same vein as Golden Visa schemes in Singapore, Thailand and Portugal. Then-home minister Hamzah Zainudin said it was open to affluent individuals from any country with diplomatic ties to Malaysia, subject to:

• Offshore income of at least RM40,000 a month or RM480,000 a year
• At least RM1 million in a local bank account, only 50% of which may be withdrawn after a year, and only for property purchase or medical/education expenses
• A one-off RM200,000 participation fee, plus RM100,000 for each dependent

How MM2H compares

Saifuddin also gave figures for the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme: 5,610 applications approved in 2018 and 3,929 in 2019. The programme was frozen in 2020, then revived in October 2021 — since when 1,468 applications have been approved, through the end of 2022.

He reiterated that the government has agreed to review the conditions imposed on MM2H since its revival, to keep the programme relevant.

Source: Free Malaysia Today