MM2H: how long did it take for you?

Thank you for your advice and sharing the details of what to do, who to call, etc.
I feel ashamed drawing my own conclusion too prematurely. 
Yes. I’ll follow your suggestions and find out where I stand. 
Most appreciated.

People posted here saying that they got their ref # as quickly as within two days of application submission to two weeks for many others.
In my case five weeks past without any notification. 
So I got a bit nervous fearing they skipped mine. 
I’ll just give it some more time before considering plan B.
If I am going to live in Malaysia, I must get used to this ‘no news is good news’.

cflat11 wrote:

Mm2h center received my paperwork on Feb 22nd (courier receipt).

I mean, it has only been about a month correct?  Not 6 months, not a year.....

Correct. It’s been 5 weeks past.  Not 5 months or longer.
However, reading what others posted here saying it took them between 2 days to 2 weeks, it’s a concern to me.
It makes me wonder what might have happened to mine, whether I should re-submit with an agent this time.
I wish I can say I am not in a rush to get the visa.
It’s the opposite in my case.
I am working in a timeline.  Quitting job, selling house, tie all loose ends before I leave, etc
It would help me immensely if I get some some form of notification of where my application stands.
So actually 5 weeks becomes a big deal to me.

Then perhaps the Sarawak version is for you as it does allow holders to live on peninsular Malaysia or in Sarawak. Takes just  a couple of months to get approved. Does require a trip to Kuching.

https://www.sarawak.gov.my/web/home/art … w/221/279/

There is a discussion thread about it hosted by cinnamonape

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=761316

There is also a Sabah version but that one expects the holder to live in Sabah. Approval is about the same time as for Sarawak and follows the peninsular Malaysia Mm2h framework.

Ah ok. I’ll read on about Sarawak.
I didn’t know Sarawak visa allows you to live in the peninsula just like the mm2h visa.
That can be definitely a viable solution to me. 
Thanks for the suggestion!

I will be most obliged if someone could  shed some light as the method of delivery of the conditional approval letter to the successful applicant i.e. via surface mail, air mail or air courier?  Thanks you!

I have not received the Reference number yet, just the received for verification notice on March 11, 2019.

Newbern wrote:

I will be most obliged if someone could  shed some light as the method of delivery of the conditional approval letter to the successful applicant i.e. via surface mail, air mail or air courier?  Thanks you!

Mine was sent POS recorded delivery

Gravitas wrote:

Then perhaps the Sarawak version is for you as it does allow holders to live on peninsular Malaysia or in Sarawak. Takes just  a couple of months to get approved.

Someone wrote that it takes much longer:

cinnamonape wrote:

expat000 wrote:

10 months of waiting and still "pending approval". But we don't care any more about MM2H in the peninsula, because we just received MM2H approval in Sabah in 1.5 months after application.

This seems to be about the same length of time as in the Sarawak MM2H.

Expat000 - It's your own quote about waiting for the peninsular Malaysia Mm2h approval 😅

Nothing whatsoever to do with Sarawak mm2h timing which Cinnamonape has confirmed is rather speedy.

Application does require a personal visit to Kuching and my friend went there 3 weeks ago and was approved during his visit which lasted 8 days. He is going back in 6 weeks to complete and get stamp in passport.

Yes, just to clarify I was saying the Sabah time from application submission to approval was about the same as in Sarawak (@1.5 to 2 months). Approval in 8 days is quite quick, though they may give a verbal statement that “you’ll likely be approved”. I suppose if the sponsor is interviewed right away, the can quickly get al the paperwork checked...and the Committee meeting (held monthly) is immediately afterwards...then it might fly through.

Thanks Gravitas!
Recorded receipt means sent by Postal Service under Registered Mail or DHL or Fedex? Can you please, also elaborate on the time frame of letter sent date until receipt?
This was about 9 years ago, not sure this is the same now.
Perhaps, Ansat can also chip in, since he received his approval letter about 2 weeks ago.

POS is the national Malaysian Mail which has local and international courier services. They would have an intermediary outside Malaysia but I don't know which courier company it would be. Possibly different depending on the destination region/country

From approval showing in the tracker to receiving letter (recorded delivery) took 3 weeks and I applied myself 3 yrs ago from my Malaysian address.

FYI...apparently hard data... couple of weeks ago old

https://www.thesundaily.my/local/mm2h-a … d-BK738388

It has been almost a month since the special task team is setup to clear the MM2H applications.

Anyone in the group just got approval in the last two weeks?

That's a good question.
I am dying to see if there has been any hint of faster processing time since they formed 'the Task Force'.
I just got my mm2h ref # assigned.
Sadly it's a big number, 420xx
I wonder if mine will be even looked at sometime this year...
I wish mm2h office post some meaningful announcement periodically so that we don't need to guess how things are moving along.

our number 370XX

no news also till now.

how abou the rest of others?

My good Lord...
I was hoping that by now some 39xxx are being worked on.
That leads me to believe that the newly formed task force has caused no positive impact on reducing the processing time so far. 
That’s pretty unfortunate and seemingly disappointing.

Mine is 38xxx, submitted Aug 2018, no news yet.

Mine is 40xxx and no news yet either. Well
So much for faster processing. Mine was submitted 2nd week of January.

What was your news? Did you get approved?

1openmind wrote:

Mine is 40xxx and no news yet either. Well
So much for faster processing. Mine was submitted 2nd week of January.

Maybe June or July for Approval because of the queue

Mine 37xxx in June last year and still waiting

Mine number is 371XX submitted on 13th June 2018 but still no news.

The Special Team suppose 4 months to complete around 4000 pending applications which means around 1000 pending applications per months. Above links said they achieved the target but seems not much progress from our data here.

I am not certain on how this Special Task Force works, or the resources allocated to it, but my wild guess is that, say they work 5 days a week, on 1000 applications per month, means roughly 250/week or 50 per day,mmmm let me cast some doubt on how achievable this might be

I have myself # 38XXX  filed Aug 2018 , Pending Committee Approval Status since January 2019

My agent is only telling me that Applications dated back June 2018 are being approved these days

akwkrk wrote:

The Special Team suppose 4 months to complete around 4000 pending applications which means around 1000 pending applications per months. Above links said they achieved the target but seems not much progress from our data here.

Not all the applications will make it to the final approval stage. The recent press gave the figure of between 800-900 out of the about 3700.  These figures are from memory. Apparently there are a lot of non starter applications

If you recall the article about 1 million applications and how many were approved, working on the basis that 1 million was  a typo and actually there have been 100, 000 applications since the programme started.

I followed up with my agent, and just got this reply today:

"Yesterday, the Immigration released some news on the applications submitted between April and August last year. Your application 38xxx was in MM2H Committee Meeting No. 3/2019. The result is approved.

However, the Immigration is still waiting for the final endorsement from the Home Ministry before they could release the official MM2H Conditional Approval Letter (MCAL) for Meeting No. 1, 2 & 3.

After the Home Ministry releases the endorsements, the Immigration will release the official MCAL for meetings no. 1, 2 and then 3. At this stage, the Immigration is still not able to confirm by when they will issue the MCAL for No. 1 yet.

Hope the above is clear. I will update you again as soon as we receive any news for your official MCAL."

Seem both the Immigration and the Home Ministry still need some time to work out to get anything done up to get the approval letter out...could be a month or two...

That seems to be the most promising, positive, informative, up-to-date overall news I’ve been longing to find out.
I finally begin to understand what they’ve been up to these days and it actually makes sense of the current stalemate. 
I really appreciate you sharing the info.

There have been quite a lot of reports about completed approvals and CALs being received from other Agents plus people already scheduling their trip to finalise the stamping

From this Chinese Newspaper post on 13-04-2019 https://www.sinchew.com.my/content/cont … 7585.html. Approval status on track with target to finish all pending applications end of June 2019. All new applications target to finish the review within 120 days.

To some it may be a known news but not to me.
Actually it’s  such a valuable source of information. 
Now I can kinda predict when mine might be approved.
Please keep the information flowing for all of us to benefit.   Cheers.

Usually 120 = working days not calendar

Hello!
Whilst awaiting for my approval letter, (like many of you) I was reading thru an article on MM2H
and came across the term “Journey Performed” and one has to pay MYR550.00 for it. Can someone please explain what this means?
Is this a mandatory payment or optional?
Thanks!

Getting a Journey Performed Visa

Journey Performed (JP) visa is a special visa that is required by the Malaysian Immigration Department for citizens bearing passports from countries not listed in Appendix 1.  So for example, for those holding UK, Netherlands, USA and Tanzania do not need a JP visa whereas those from India, Pakistan, Japan, China and France require to.

JP visa costs approximately RM520.00 per person. JP visas are stamped on your passport alongside with the MM2H visa. They are issued by the Immigration at Putrajaya or the MM2H Center on the day of passport endorsement.  JP visa is only issued in Malaysia.

JP visa is a one-time visa unless you let the MM2H visa expires.

MM2H visa is given up till the expiration of your current passport. MM2H visa will expire just months before the expiration of your current passport. If you enter Malaysia before the MM2H visa expires (with your new passport), then you will continue to get the remaining years for your MM2H visa. If you enter Malaysia after the MM2H visa has expired, you will enter as a tourist and you have to pay an additional RM520 (approx) per person for the JP visa. Thus, it is best to enter Malaysia before the MM2H visa expires so that you can continue the MM2H visa without paying for the JP visa. If your MM2H expires and if you are holding a passport from countries listed in Appendix 2 (like Pakistan China, India), then you need to get a tourist visa from the Malaysian embassy or high commission before coming to Malaysia. If you do not get a tourist visa, you cannot enter Malaysia as your multiple entry visa in your MM2H has expired

APPENDIX 1

Citizens from the countries below DO NOT require JP visa during MM2H passport endorsement
Caribbean and Americas
Africa
Pacific
Europe
Asia
Antigua and Barbuda
Botswana
Australia
Cyprus
Brunei
Bahamas, The
Kenya
Fiji
Malta
Maldives
Barbados
Lesotho
Kiribati
United Kingdom
Singapore
Belize
Malawi
Nauru
Netherlands
Canada
Mauritius
New Zealand
Switzerland
Dominica
Namibia
Papua New Guinea
San Marino
Grenada
Seychelles
Samoa
Guyana
Sierra Leone
Solomon Islands
Jamaica
South Africa
Tonga
Saint Lucia
Swaziland
Tuvalu
St Kitts and Nevis
Uganda
Vanuatu
St Vincent and The Grenadines
Tanzania
Trinidad and Tobago
Zambia
United States of America

Citizens from countries NOT listed above require JP visas during passport endorsement.

APPENDIX 2

Citizens from the countries below require a visa to enter Malaysia*, which they must obtain at a Malaysian embassy or high commission before flying into Malaysia. Only those with valid visas are allowed to enter Malaysia. No visa, no entry.
Angola
Afghanistan
Serbia Montenegro
Colombia
Burkina Faso
Bangladesh
Yugosalavia
Burundi
Bhutan
Cameroon
China
Central African Republic
India
Congo Democratic Republic
Myanmar
Djibouti
Nepal
Equatorial Guinea
Pakistan
Eritrea
Sri Lanka
Ethiopia
Ghana
Guinea-Bissau
Ivory Coast
Liberia
Mali
Mozambique
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
Western Sahara

(****** To date, it has not been possible to get the mm2h endorsement if using a E-visa, even though available to your nationality. A full tourist visa must be obtained from the Malaysian High Commission or Consulate in home/current country *****)

This list is valid as of August 2014. Please check on the latest updates before flying into Malaysia. We are not liable for any changes to the list above

Gravitas,
Many thanks for your detailed explanation!

Some good news in para 6.

LETTERS
Monday, 15 Apr 2019

REFERRING to a letter in The Star dated April 6 titled “MM2H an excellent government initiative” (online at bit.ly/star_home), the Mini­stry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia (Motac) would like to emphasise that the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) pro­gramme is systematically progressing well since its implementation in 2002.

The ministry would also like to state that the MM2H programme is an on-going programme and is still open for new applications.

The Cabinet came to a consensus on Sept 5, 2018, that new applications for the MM2H programme will only be approved by the Home Affairs Minister.

In light of that, the existing committee that administered all the applications was retained and renamed the MM2H Review Committee. The responsibility of this committee is only to review and recommend the applications to the Home Affairs Minister. The Home Affairs Minister is the sole person who has the power and full authority to approve any MM2H applications.

In addition, the MM2H Centre stationed in Motac Putrajaya will act as a secretariat to the MM2H Review Committee.

On March 4, Motac took an immediate step to expedite the processing of the outstanding 2018 applications for the MM2H programme. The ministry has also established and embarked on a special task force to collaborate with the Home Affairs Ministry and its agencies, the Immigration Department and the Royal Malaysia Police, in an effort to process all MM2H outstanding applications submitted and received in 2018 as well as in 2019. This exercise is expected to be completed before the end of June 2019.

In the meantime, Motac, together with the relevant agencies, has taken several steps to improve procedures and ensure that all new applications will be approved within 120 working days.

The ministry is also in the midst of planning a comprehensive study to review the ecosystem of the MM2H programme, including the processing mechanism, to make it more viable and, at the same time, ensure it remains competitive in the immigration industry.

MINISTRY OF TOURISM, ARTS AND CULTURE MALAYSIA

Copyright © 1995-2019 Star Media Group Berhad (ROC 10894D)

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/lett … doSl3ib.99

Can you apply for MM2H from a Malaysian address. If so how long did it take?
Thanks🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

bourglee wrote:

Can you apply for MM2H from a Malaysian address. If so how long did it take?
Thanks🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

Yes, I did my application from a Malaysian address but I had been living in Malaysia for 5 years.

There are some applicants who use an Agent* and then stay in Malaysia while approval is being processed *they use a permanent address outside Malaysia for the application but the Approval letter is sent to the Agent"s address.

At the moment they are clearing a backlog which is due to be finished by the end of June. The target processing time in future is 120 working days.

Your liquid assets and monthly income need to be outside Malaysia. I think the issue is matching the bank statement address to the permanent address (In my case all the offshore bank statements. etc. had my Malaysian address).

One slight issue I had was getting back into Malaysia to wait for the Approval letter to arrive (it took 3-4 weeks after approval was shown on the online checker) as I had been doing a couple of visa runs because I had to give up my previous Pass to make the application.