The tourism, arts and culture ministry (Motac) said the decision was reached following a meeting yesterday between its minister, Tiong King Sing, and home ministry secretary-general Ruji Ubi.
“Both parties have agreed for an agency under Motac, Tourism Malaysia, to promote and provide recommendations for applications via a filtering process through an MM2H one-stop centre,” it said in a statement this morning.
The one-stop centre will assist applicants with processing their applications and collating documents for submission to the home ministry or the immigrations department for the issuance of the MM2H pass.
Tiong said the application process for the programme will be more flexible.
He also said Motac and the home ministry will scrutinise the use of the visa upon arrival (VOA) facility, especially for travellers from China and India, to promote the growth of the tourism sector.
A proposal on the VOA will be submitted to the Cabinet for further action.
On April 4, FMT reported that the MM2H programme has seen a 90% drop in the number of applicants because of tougher conditions imposed, according to the MM2H Consultants Association.
Its president, Anthony Liew, said the new requirements were among the major reasons for the drop, as neighbouring countries did not set such conditions.
The MM2H programme is aimed at attracting long-term foreign residents, but new conditions were introduced in 2021 after a freeze during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Applicants are now required to have permanent savings of at least RM1 million and liquid assets of at least RM1.5 million. Previously, they only needed savings of between RM300,000 and RM500,000.
They must now also show an offshore income of at least RM40,000 a month, up from RM10,000.
Liew said there are also fewer agencies promoting and helping foreigners apply for the programme as they have been unable to sustain operational costs, with some agencies working on a part-time basis.
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