bigwoofa

Just joined BE and hoping to retire some time in the near future in Penang, as my wife is from Penang.

I am from the UK but currently working in Qatar (last Job?). I have been reading all the posts on MM2H application with great interest and in fact have just sent off my MM2H application less than a week ago, so fingers cross will hear back soon (one or two months I guess).

I have been to Penang many times, as my wife is from there originally before moving to UK and I love the food and the climate (well most of the time anyway).

JC3

Hello BW and welcome to the forum
Good luck with your application too
Beautiful sunny day in Penang with clear blue sky today

JC3

bigwoofa

Hi JC3 and thanks for the welcome.

Sunny days must be few at this time of the year in Penang. Here in Qatar every day it's like, "NOT another sunny day"....

Was planning to come over to Penang at Christmas but now postponed to sometime around March, if anyone wants to meet for a coffee.

bakedbean

....and Welcome once again, bigwoofa.

The weather is totally upside down this year. The big monsoon rains that we normally get in September didn't really materialize. El Nino? Who knows. It's been very nice for the past week or so. Nice sunny days with late afternoon and evening showers.

When you eventually come to live here, you will find many Penang born ladies who are returning on MM2H.

I've not been to Qatar though have worked (temporarily) in UAE, Bahrain, Oman in the past. Should be some nice temperatures soon in the Gulf, no?

SushiFan

Sorry, I don't understand this. Why would Penang born ladies need an MM2H visa to live here? Aren't they Malaysian if they were born here?

bakedbean

You will find that a lot of Malaysian born Chinese residents went overseas for further education in their youth and subsequently took other nationalities eg British.

That is a short answer to your question. You may find more detailed answer if you search around the internet. Or others may wish to comment?

JC3

In the seventies and eighties it was typical for example for a Malaysian woman to have gone to the UK to study nursing and then to have married a British national. Whilst Britain allows dual nationality, Malaysia does not. So if the woman elected to have a British Passport she would have had to give up her Malaysian nationality and passport. Once it's given up you can't get it back. So for some MM2H is a great option.

These days a UK university education is in high demand from English speaking countries such as Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia. In 2013, there were 14,500 Malaysians studying in the tertiary level in the UK, making Malaysians one of the largest overseas student ethnic groups in the United Kingdom.

JC3

bigwoofa

Hi All

Thanks to all for the warm welcome, sorry for late response.

BB - weather here is getting bearable again, down from 48/50C to about 32C. Someone thought it was a good idea to play football here (but luckily for me and many expats, it's keeping us employed.

Wife kept her Malaysian passport as we always thought we would consider retiring in Penang.

How is property prices in Penang, is it coming down or still sky high?

SushiFan

BB and JC3, thank you for your replies. I wasn't aware that many Malaysian women changed their nationality after marriage. This explains why they opt to come back under the "MM2H umbrella".

passportboy

Hi bigwoofa,

I also keep my Malaysian passport and I have the UK Permanent Residence sticker in my previous passport. My current passport is going to expire in 6 months so I have to renew my passport soon. But I am not sure if I have to carry and show the UK Immigration all THREE (old, current, new) of my passports each time I re-enter the country.

Please can you ask your wife whether I can just show the immigration officer my old passport with the PR sticker, together with my newest passport, ignoring all the intermediate passports.

Or should I apply for a visa transfer (https://www.gov.uk/transfer-visa) £260(?) which is a lot of money!

Any advice would be appreciated.

bigwoofa

Hi Passportboy

I will ask her when I get home and let you know

bigwoofa

Hi Passportboy

My wife will be in same situation middle of next year and she plans to take along all 3 passports the first time she enters the UK but only show the new and old and see if she get through, thereafter she will only take two.

Hope that helps

passportboy

Thanks bigwoofa,

That's what I thought I would do too.
But some UK immigration officers can be really an@1 about this, they might ask me to show all three passports on my 2nd entry?! I will ask them on my 1st return to get it out of the way. It's just frustrating that I can't find anything like this on their website.

Anyway, hope you will have a great time in Penang.

PS: Where do you guys buy cheap flight tickets to Malaysia? I'm from Johor, so I usually fly directly to Singapore with SQ, BA or QF (return at about £600-700). Very rarely fly with MH, since I have to change at KLIA and their price is about the same as SQ.

ex reg

£260 if apply by post

£660 if apply in person.

That has to be a joke doesn't it.

bigwoofa

Hi PPB

We normally just check on a website called "skyscanner" and choose the best flight, based on cost and duration