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Advice on how to fill out an MM2H application.

Last activity 14 December 2015 by IPH

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ChrisDDickey

I know that there are consultants who charge thousands of RM to fill these out. But I am in the country and can do the running around myself, so don't see any reason to spend nearly that much.
What's more, I have downloaded the MM2H visa application and much of it seems fairly straightforward.

There are just a few sections where I feel that I am in need of help. If there is anybody who has recently gone through this process and who would be willing to give advice I would greatly appreciate it.

7. Letter of Good Conduct from your relevant government agency

What exactly is this and how do I obtain one?
I emailed the US Embassy (I am American) and they pointed me to an FBI web site where if I mail them my fingerprints, they will send me a copy of my rap sheet.
Is this truly what the visa office wants? Is there any way to get it by running my name rather than my fingerprints?
In the states, most police stations will fingerprint you. I have done some reading and that does not seem to be the case here. If I do need to submit my fingerprints to the FBI, where can I get my fingerprints taken - preferably in Penang.
So the short question is - what is the best way for a US citizen to obtain a letter of good conduct.

11. Certified copies of latest 3 months bank statement/ other related financial document(s) to
indicate the financial capability to support stay in Malaysia;

First off - I should say that I don't have a pension. Nor do I take US Social Security yet. But I do have a goodly amount of savings in mutual funds that should support me the rest of my life. So should I provide copies of my mutual fund statements? How much money are they looking for? IE: should I show just my two big accounts - or should I provide statements for all my accounts? Is there a certain amount that once I have included funds that pass a certain point I don't have to bother with the smaller accounts? This question leads into the whole "certified copies" question below.

The next question is about the "Certified copies". I have been traveling a lot lately, and went paperless on my banking years ago. On the rare occasions I need a statement, I get it online. So how do I get what they will consider a "certified copy"? Can I just download and print an online statement?  Can I download copies from the internet and ask a notary public here in Malaysia to "certify" them? Do I ask the mutual fund company to provide me with special "Certified copies" of my statements? Do I ask them to mail normal printed copies, then have my sister take them to a US notary public and have them witnessed?
How exactly do I provide "Certified copies" of my bank and mutual fund statements? What exactly are they looking for?

2. A copy of resume by the main applicant which includes the following information:
I don't plan on seeking employment here. But I guess I should supply a resume anyway, just because they asked for one.

Lastly - Any general help or advice would be appreciated .
Thanks.

ChrisDDickey

If anybody has any help at all on any of these topics I would greatly appreciate it!

IPH

If paying for professional services is expensive for you please do think again. The cost of running around both visible and hidden could be sweaty and expensive. You could use the back door services and find yourself caught in a web of long term costs.

ChrisDDickey

That very well might be if the bureaucracy takes joy in being deliberately obstructive. And I understand that somebody who is not in the country needs somebody who is in the country to move the papers around to the correct offices.

But having read the application, it mostly seems pretty straightforward. I would think that the very most that I would need is a one hour consultation to answer the questions I have asked above, and a while later a second one hour consultation to review the paperwork I was about to submit. And I would be more than happy to pay a consultant for those two services.

I mean like I said, aside from the fact that I have no idea how to obtain a letter of good conduct from the US government or what they consider to be a properly "certified" bank statement (and I suppose I would be willing to pay a consultant a reasonable fee to expedite those two tasks as well) - it all seems like a straightforward and easy process.

I don't know why you would consider an applicant submitting the paperwork themselves to be using "the backdoor". Though I understand that it is only as easy as the bureaucrats choose to allow it to be. But in the absence of an obstructive bureaucracy and/or payoffs to corrupt bureaucrats, I don't see where tens of thousands of RM in consultancy fees would be going. At first reading, the whole process seems reasonably simple.

IPH

The use of a licensed Agent is a much better way to go. You could negotiate the consulting fee and leave the rest to a professional to take care of you and your settling needs in this part of the globe. Cheers.

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