Kuala Lumpur: The Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) visa programme now drives almost RM1 billion annually in investments, underscoring its success.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, IQI co-founder and group chief executive officer Kashif Ansari stated that the latest official data reveals the June 2024 revisions to the MM2H visa programme have already generated RM455.8 million in new investments and 782 new visa approvals. “At the current pace, that would work out to nearly RM1 billion per annum,” he said in a statement today.

Kashif explained that the RM455.8 million in investments brought by these visa holders into Malaysia over the past six months are deployed in two primary ways. The funds circulate through the economy via fixed deposits in local financial institutions, contributing to loans and development. Additionally, MM2H channels new investment into real estate purchases, typically for luxury homes for the visa recipients and their families.

He added that these investments bolster the construction of new homes and generate millions of dollars in related purchases as visa holders furnish and outfit their new residences. Kashif noted that every main applicant brings an average of 1.5 dependent family members, and in six months, 319 principals and 463 dependents received MM2H visas.

The most numerous national group among the applicants is Chinese, though in 2024 they accounted for less than one-third of the visas. The second largest group of applicants for the MM2H programme came from Australia, followed by South Korea, Japan, Bangladesh, and the United Kingdom.

Last year, the government’s significant reforms to MM2H introduced a three-tiered system that allowed visa holders to obtain a longer residency period through a larger financial commitment. The reforms also required MM2H holders to purchase and hold a home for 10 years, and the government lowered the age requirement while removing the minimum income threshold to attract younger, working-age participants.