CONSULTANTS who earn a living processing Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) applications will be out of a job when the programme moves completely online under the purview of the Immigration Department.

Anthony Liew, president of the Malaysia My Second Home Consultants Association, said there are currently 150 consultants who are still active, but most of them also hold other jobs while waiting for more applications.

The programme resumed in October last year after a year-long hiatus to revamp approval criteria, but the onerous conditions have put off many foreigners and only a handful of applications are currently being made.

“Now that the programme has resumed, many of the applicants are no longer eligible and they are not happy with the new criteria. They would rather go to a different country,” Liew told The Malaysian Insight.

He said 5,396 applications were received as of 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic. After the new criteria came into force last year, only 10% to 15% of those applicants have opted to reapply with the help of MM2H consultants.

Lieu said the vast majority have cancelled their applications because of the new criterion, which sets a higher minimum offshore income of RM40,000 month, compared with RM10,000 previously.

Other financial criteria have also been raised, such as the minimum amount of fixed deposit to RM1 million in a Malaysian bank, and RM1.5 million ownership of liquid assets.

Since the new criteria came into force, only 10 applications have been approved, according to the Home Ministry in a Nanyang Siang Pau online report earlier this month.

For MM2H consultants, however, it is the migration of the application system online to the Immigration Department that will likely shut their business for good.

The online application system began in December but has not fully taken off as a handful of existing applicants are still using the services of consultants.

The shift will mean that processing and approvals are given by the Immigration Department instead of the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac) as done previously.

Motac and MM2H consultants will still retain their role as promoters of the programme.

Liew said once online applications are allowed, consultants will be out of a job as applicants no longer need their help to submit the applications in person.

Another MM2H consultant feared that the online system will be open to abuse.

Asking to speak anonymously, the agents agreed that while the application process will be made easier, there will be security concerns.

This includes difficulty in ensuring the bank documents uploaded by the applicant are authentic.

“In the past, the original documents had to be handed in and there was no way to tamper with it.”

Other than bank documents, certificates of good conduct were also submitted via the online system, the consultant said.

“There is a limit of 300kb for the files that are uploaded. The website is not very stable,” he added.

Liew said the association hoped the Home Ministry will put in place strict measures for the online application process.

The latest available number of current MM2H pass holders is 26,394 as of September 30, according to a parliamentary reply given by Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin last November.

The government has been criticised over the new MM2H criteria, which many fear will turn away potential applicants, thus depriving the country of revenue.

From its introduction in 2002 until 2018, the programme had brought in RM40.6 billion, including from property purchases. – January 21, 2022.