SushiFan

IVV do you think that the "powers that be" are impressed by income streams coming from investment income? I did not see much evidence in the MM2H related documentation that they would support this kind of income stream. They seem rather biased towards income stream coming from a pension. Preferably a pension backed by some government system.
When judging an applicant's financial position they seem to disregard any invested capital and only look at cash (liquid) capital.

InVinoVeritas

I'm sure that a government pension is their preference but my understanding is that regular income from investment sources, evidenced by at least 3 month's bank statements and backed by proof of sufficient resources is acceptable. It's why I suggest that using an agent to present this would be extremely helpful as they will know what is enough to provide the necessary comfort.

SushiFan

I am asking this question because the MM2H agent which I used seemed convinced that my stock portfolio would not be appreciated and my MM2H application would be disapproved. I had to sell a portion of the stocks in order to get enough cash on the books (the equivalent of at least 350 k MYR). I kept that for several months to generate the three months record which you mention and use some of this cash position for the fixed deposit in Malaysia (150 k MYR).
Cash in a bank account generates less of a revenue stream than a stock portfolio (if you have the right titles of course), so that gave me the impression that there is a bias towards/against certain forms of investment.

InVinoVeritas

That's another issue. The agent advised showing 3 month's deposit statements showing RM500K (yes, I know you only need RM350K) but for the RM10K per month income they want to see this on 3 month's of statements and have an idea what investment is backing it. I guess something in excess of RM2.4M would suffice (ie a 5% return).

NeonHippy

I did not use an agent and could not show a bank balance anything like the requirements but on my application I detailed my investments that had been accumulating in ISAs ( an ISA is a tax efficient way of saving in the UK) over a number of years. I explained that these were in funds that could be immediately liquidated rather than fixed term savings and had no trouble being accepted. I think you may have been poorly advised.

eCdD

I also want to make clear that this information from the agent is maximum wrong. Certainly ALL STOCKS (even Options!) count for the "assets over RM350.000". And also the dividends count for the monthly "over RM 10.000" income.

InVinoVeritas

With all due respect David, the advice SushiFan received corresponds with the advice I was given. No doubt this an area which is somewhat discretionary so far as individual MM2H case officers are concerned.

eCdD

Who gave you the advice? I asked directly at the MM2H center in Putrajaya before applying and was told this and that I should bring the portfolio summery and all dividend statements from the last 12 months as well.

And when I applied I had a different MM2H officer who said exactly the same and handled the things in this way. But he used only dividend statements until he calculated the 10k per month. I also talked with some MM2H agents and I have the strong feeling, most of them tend to tell you that everything is much more difficult than you think. But I also talked with one that is very serious.

SushiFan

David, what I didn't mention in my message was that I was not too happy with this agent's opinion and that I sent an email to the address provided on the Government MM2H website, asking for clarification. The response was very clear: it has to be at least 350 k MYR in cash, unless you are lucky and the official in charge decides to accept your stock portfolio as sufficient.
I didn't want to risk it so I decided to show them my investment portfolio, including the cash portion equivalent to 350 k MYR.

NeonHippy

David/SushiFan,

An interesting debate, and I am sure that if you ask anyone (agent or MM2H) what the requirements are they will simply regurgitate what is stated on the website. I can only repeat that my bank balance was well below the required level, that I provided evidence of my stock portfolio which had accumulated over a number of years with a statement in my application letter to the effect that these could be liquidated at a moments notice.

I added this sentence 'I hope that whilst not exactly matching the requirements of MM2H you will accept that we do have access to the required funds and will look favourably upon this application.', crossed my fingers and put in my application fully expecting some follow up. My application was approved the following month with no further questions.

I'm also not sure that getting the right case officer has much to do with it as the decision is made by a committee. Agents have a particular interest in insisting that you fully comply with the web requirements as it ensures minimum effort on their behalf and helps them to provide a money back guarantee if you are not successful.

InVinoVeritas

Not sure I agree with your last paragraph but possibly it is more acceptable for the individual to argue the peculiarities of his/her own case than it is for an agent to do so.

Gunnar45

It depends of course on the agents and how much effort they are willing to put in on mixed assets cases and other.
In general they would want clear cut cases which they can expect to be approved.
Rejections would tarnish their reputation with the authorities.

SushiFan

I agree with this opinion. What didn't help me was that my agent was a company based in Japan. The Japanese are well known for their risk avoiding behavior.
Anyway, my MM2H application was approved and I am now residing in Penang.