Menish

Hi all
We are a British expat family living in Singapore and are hoping to move to Nusajaya next year and have been searching old threads for information. Just wondered if it is possible to a) Buy a car and b) have a maid if you do not join the MM2H scHeme? If it is not possible to bring our current maid to Malaysia, is it easy to get full time/part time help, and what is the cost?
Thanking you in advance!

Harlow Lad

Hi menish,

You can buy a car in Malaysia without having to join the mm2h. What's your status in Singapore? Are you a pr in Singapore? If you are you can't drive your Malaysia car in to Singapore.

Maid wise I think you can bring them in to the country but need to sort out their visa issue. I think the good thing of hiring a maid in Malaysia is you don't have to pay any gov levies. Correct me if I'm wrong any expert.

Good luck for the move.

Froggybarnacle2000

Hi menish,

Seems we are facing the same situation! Our family is moving to JB before this year is up. As far as I know, if you are a Singapore EP holder, you can buy a car in Malaysia and drive it into Singapore. Below is something I found on the BMW Singapore forum several weeks ago:
-----------
Singapore citizens, permanent residents (regardless of their place of residence), student pass holders and residents of Singapore are NOT allowed to use or keep their foreign-registered cars and motorcycles in Singapore.

Any employment pass and work permit holder, who is neither a permanent resident nor a resident of Singapore, may drive his/ her foreign-registered car and motorcycle in Singapore only if these conditions are met:
a) he is the registered owner of the vehicle
b) he does not have a permanent residential address in Singapore and returns to his country of origin on a daily basis
c) the vehicle is kept or used outside Singapore for a total period of 6 hours or more everyday
d) he has a valid insurance certificate for the use of the vehicle on Singapore roads
e) the vehicle has an AutoPass Card to validate its entry/exit at Singapore checkpoints and for payment of Vehicle Entry Permit/Toll charges
------------
But don't quote me on this yet! Been trying to attribute where in the LTA Sgp website this is stated, but no luck. If someone can corroborate this from an official source, that would be appreciated! Hubby is a Sgp EP holder so I suppose he qualifies to buy a car in JB, once we get to flog our car in Sgp. Plan to pop into one of the car dealerships along Jalan Skudai sometime and ask the erstwhile "can or not?" question about an EP holder buying a car.

With regard to the helper: Our helper is coming with us to JB. But I have not found any Singaporean or expat living in JB, who has brought their helper into JB from Singapore. I am rationalising that since we are still paying the maid levy to the MoM, she still holds a valid Sgp work permit and multiple entry visa, she can come with us. Philippine passport holders are only allowed a maximum of 30 days in Malaysia but since she plans to bus back to Singapore every Sunday and on public holidays to hang out with her mates, she won't be overstaying. So that is my rationale, it's not gospel truth, and I may be wrong, but at this stage of moving, that is a concern I will tackle fully once we get to the other side. Good luck!

Harlow Lad

Thank you Froggy for the details. Sorry I'm too lazy to put up the detail. I think you meant this site http://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltaweb...torcycles.html

And this is for the Malaysia side of law http://www.imi.gov.my/index.php/en/m...omestic-helper

bakedbean

I'm trying to get my head around this. If you don't have the MM2H visa, what visa will you be applying for (in order to be resident in Malaysia)?

Menish

Thanks for the information- really useful to know and such a fast response- We are EP holders with a Singapore car so I guess we will be buying a second car in Malaysia. Not sure how keen my helper would be to move over at any rate! Thanks again.

Menish

We have heard of people staying with a multiple entry visa for extended periods- assumed this was still possible as we might struggle to get the funds together for MM2h....

Menish

Thanks Harlow lad- seems to be what most are saying. Appreciate the response!

bakedbean

I hope others will post and contradict me.... but you are thinking of living there long term as a visa runner? Is that a good idea? I really don't know how that works. Just eg we needed to show MM2H approval letter to get med insurance. What's your take on that? Hope others in Nusajaya will post their thoughts.

Menish

We are very early into our research so it's great to have your feedback on what may or may not be possible. Still looking into things so thanks for your info.

Nusajaya

Hi, we have been living in Nusajaya for 4 years and most neighbours here work in Singapore. Non PRs and non citizens of Singapore are allowed to drive cars with Malaysian number plates into Singapore. Regarding maids: Most people I know have their maid still registered in Singapore. I have never heard of any problems for them at the border. Cleaning companies exist and are relatively easy to find. And don't forget to get MACS passes, so you don't get stamps into your passport on the Malaysian side. :-)

Menish

Thanks, useful to know. Just wondered if that means you and your neighbors are all on the MM2h?

Nusajaya

Nope. Only one couple is. The rest are PRs or EP holders. Anyone with a Singapore work permit can get a MACS pass which makes crossing the borders easier.

Froggybarnacle2000

First of all- terima kasih banyak to Harlow Lad for the links! You're a star. Def not lazy at all in my book! Cheers.
And hello Nusajaya- thanks for joining the forum. After reading your posts, I'm feeling a teeny bit more relaxed about moving.
Hello Baked bean, knowing how porous the border is between JB and Singapore, and seeing how the two "gahmens" are finally trying to better the relationships, I don't think any of us are planning to do a runner of some sort. Hopefully by living in JB we get our COLA down, and get to save hugely in the process. Mm2h is a great scheme, but somehow us younger ones are still trying to scrape together the deposit! ;]

bakedbean

That's great info Nusajaya... MACS pass eh.

What's the deal with driving Malaysian car into Singapore though? We drove down to Singapore a couple of times and had to get some special pass. Can't remember what it was called now, but I know we could only be in Singapore for a week or so per year. After that, there was some fee involved. Singapore great for fees.