Possible to live in KL on 'visa-free' entry?

Yes very likely. I pass through  KL a lot, and had to prove why,  mine was family reasons. They will quiz you as they will  assume you are illegally working.

Agree, about the second or third time you'll be questioned. On the third visit you'll likely be given a short multi-day visa and told that you must wait a year before another visit. You might get in again coming in through different entry points, but everything is increasingly automated.

Visa hopping is a thing of the past, though some still come maybe twice a year, leave before their visa term is entirely up and stay outside Malaysia for a month or more.

Malaysia expects long term stays to get a MM2H visa.

Thought I would chime in to share my experience.

I have been in KL for 10 months now on visa-free entries, having completed 3 'visa runs' during that time period. I stayed out for 5 days on my first visa run (Thailand), 10 days on my second (India) and 16 days on my third (EU). Always leaving around the 80 day mark on my tourist visa.

I have never had any issues at the border although on my second and third visa runs I was asked how long I intended to stay (to which I said I wasn't sure as my travel plans weren't fixed). I have a friend who got some serious questioning on her second after having been in Bali for only a few days, so I think it really depends on which officer you get.

Currently planning what will be my fourth visa run in a month's time and hoping that after that point my Employment Pass will have been processed successfully.

purplecarrot wrote:

Currently planning what will be my fourth visa run in a month's time and hoping that after that point my Employment Pass will have been processed successfully.

Thanks for sharing. I agree that a lot of this depends on the attitude of the immigration agent. Clearly some points of entry are looser than others. I've known people doing this in Sarawak for years. Some go to Brunei or Indonesia for a few days, then return or go off to Sabah.

One of these folks is married to a local and generally travels with his wife and carries his marriage certificate. He knows that he should get a Long-Term Social Visit Visa but is pig-headed (or perhaps afraid of some other issue...health check or some other requirement...I don't press).  In one case he had issues on the Indonesian side because the official kept insisting that he would be rejected by the Malaysian officers.  He waited until the Indonesian official went off duty and went through without an issue of either side of the border. He and his wife spend a month or so traveling outside though. Sarawak immigration is generally more easy going.

I think coming in  and out every week would increase the probability of meeting an immigration officer that's  a stickler though. They likely would be quite inquisitive about why only 2-3 day stays then off again, return, off again, etc. Drug mule? Working PT in Malaysia? What's going on? It's not typical "tourist behavior".

I've been coming in and out of Malaysia for about 7yrs.i work away for 2 months and spend 2 months in Malaysia.
I haven't had any problems. I believe you get problems doing land border crossings.

For coming and going on a visa-free entry I did it for several years without ever having a problem, sometimes coming through KLIA and sometimes by land through JB. Later after I got married I got an MM2H.

As for renting an apartment, there should be no problems at all. You don't actually have to give any information when you sign a tenancy agreement except name and passport number. You can even buy property as a tourist.

Offically the rule is this. You come for 3 months max and go, and thats it. The argument is, how long does it take to see the country? Certainly within 3 months!

Secondly, what they are stopping is people who want to come here and just hang out. They want serious people with a purpose and a schedule. Come for a meeting and go; come to see sights and go; come for a project and go.

Third, they do not want people to come and look for a job. Employees are supposed to be imported.

Fourth, they do not want people who come and hang out and do secret work, like online work from a condo and nobody knows about it and no taxes are being paid.

Consider this official line as an overlay to your activities and motivations. You MAY get an immigration officer who closes one eye because you are from a first world country and so the likelihood of you spending well is high. But thats not a requirement on their part and you may lose out--and cant complain. For that reason, always have a Plan B in case you are given a 3-7 day visa.

Ive told this story before but when I came 20 years ago I had no workpass or anything and went on a visa run in 3 months. I went to SG by train and on the way back, I was stopped at departure and verbally abused and was told I would not be allowed back in. I protested and after a group huddle with other agents they let me pass. That was the very first time and a very long time ago and so, see how it can be?

For renting, yes you can rent but many of the landlords want to see employment with a company and may well ask for a 2-year lease. SOME, FEW, dont care and will take whatever money comes their way but in the nicer places expect more scrutiny. There is no hard rule about this, its a free market, so you have to ask agents and tell them what you want. The issue and problem is that landlords already have a lot of experience and generally throw all expats into a black pot of misfits who run up bills and messes and hop on planes and scram. When looking at places, dress and speak like you are a serious professional.

My advice is to try what you can but dont become rooted and planted in what is really a temporary situation. Dont spend for furniture, cars etc unless you are prepared to abandon them if necessary.

You can imagine a mass murderer saying "I killed 10 people so far and never ended up in jail"

Getting away with something illegal, doesn't make it legal!

cvco wrote:

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My advice is to try what you can but dont become rooted and planted in what is really a temporary situation. Dont spend for furniture, cars etc unless you are prepared to abandon them if necessary.

And books, pets, friends and lovers (and if you have illicitly acquired one) job, status positions (like being on the governance team of an organization or project).

BTW this CAN happen even with an MM2H visa or other pass. I had an issue about a year ago (I shan't go into details) in which my MM2H eligibility was called into question. Let's just say that there was a false claim by someone that I had violated the terms of my Conditional Letter of Approval.

I was asked to come to immigration about "a problem" and once there told by a rather stern officer that I had to fix the issue with the visa within ONE WORKING WEEK or my MM2H would be cancelled and I would have to HAVE LEFT the country prior to that or be expelled. It was also Malaysia Day Week and most of the days that week the offices were closed...so I really only had three or four days to fix the issue.

I asked about appealing the decision...and the agent stated that there were no avenues for appeal. It was essentially a "he said, she said" situation and they would believe the Malaysian over myself. In fact there had been no "decision" from the superiors, this was all a lower ranking officer jumping the gun and making threats.

I was given a whole range of advice from "leave and return on a tourist visa", to "get a good lawyer no matter what you do don't leave until you take the decision the court" to "don't leave, you'll never be let back in". Friends offered to help me store my things , my landlord was quite understanding and offered me reference to his lawyer (free consult with a guy that specializes in immigration law).

I documented the issue to show it was false and fixed things in other ways and when I returned to immigration there was another officer. I asked to see their superior. They explained officer #1 must have just told me "his interpretation" and that was erroneous. That I wasn't really a one week requirement and that there would have been appeal to the director of immigration. I would have been given a temporary extension until the decision was made, but in any case I had provided enough information to satisfy the original issue. They preferred to keep the lawyer (and the media) out of "what appears to be a personal issue".

In any case, even with an MM2H visa you can be deported and one can have very little time to think and respond. But on a tourist visa you have absolutely no right and can have the pass terminated and be be expelled for "cause" and be denied re-entry simply for "suspicion" or the bad mood of an officer on duty.