luvejoy

Hi All,
Newbie on this forum, so please go easy on me
We have conditional approval for the MM2H program & will hopefully obtain our visa's in September 2013. We will be living in UK for the forseeable future (next 3-5 years) & just taking holidays in Malaysia. We may look to buy property in Lagkawi.

My queries are as follows:
1. Any tips on opening a fixed deposit account for the 350,000 ringgit to be deposited bearing in mind we will be in UK majority of the time? We were thinking about the possibility of keeping transfer charges to a minimum by choosing a bank like HSBC. Not sure if our therory would work?
What are the best rates currently? Do they vary a lot?
How many days does it normally take to transfer money from UK to Malaysia once the fixed deposit account is opened?
We would like to visit Langkawi in the two weeks we are in Malaysia but are unsure how long to allocate to obtaining the visa? Any estimates?
Any other tips about obtaining the visa on arrival in Malaysia would be most welcome.
Thanks in advance.

Davita

Hi luvejoy and welcome to the forum.
First, if you are under 55, the fixed deposit (FD) requirement is MYR300,000.
Fwiw...this is what I did from Canada. I opened an HSBC Account in Vancouver and settled an FD there to qualify for their Premier Status.
When we arrived in KL we went to HSBC and offered our conditional approval letter and they opened an account.
Once opened I was able to use their Global View and electronically transfer into a Canadian $ account in KL. From there we exchanged, at a favorable rate, into MYR and established our FD.
In my case (over 55) I established 3 FD's; one for MYR100,000 and one for MYR50,000 and another for MYR50,000. I also instructed interest to accrue in a current account and not in the FD.
The first 2 FD's were a lien to the MM2H programme. The final FD was to satisfy HSBC Malaysia's Premier Status; thus I was able to collapse the Canadian FD requirement.
Since then I have been able to electronically transfer freely into any of my world-wide HSBC Accounts (I have 5).
Hope my experience helps...please ask anything and search for MM2H; there is a site dedicated to MM2H and moderated by smart Penang MM2H'rs.

bakedbean

Hi Luvejoy and welcome to the forum . The 300K Fixed Deposit is for under 50s but this should be in your conditional approval letter. Best to get 2 FDs as you can claim 150K back if you buy property (see the Gov website or MM2H info site). You'll find links to both sites in the 'sticky' thread right at the start of the Malaysia section on here.

Be a bit careful buying property in Langkawi especially houses as I think legally most are for Malays only but do check this out.

Did you apply for the visa directly or through an agent? (If I'm not being too nosey )

Good HSBC info from Davita

Davita

As usual BB is correct...the cut-off age for the different FD's for MM2H is 50...my bad.
I confused it with my Indonesian Retirement Visa which is minimum age 55.

luvejoy

Hi Davita/Bakedbean
Thanks for you prompt replies.
Just realised my typo. It should have been 150,000 not 350,000. Sorry for the confusion. We are over 50... just... so only require 150,000 for the FD.
Once in Malaysia did you open a Malay current account then transfer to it from origin then set up the FD's afterwards, then transer from the malay current account into the FD's?
How long did all this take before going back to the immigration to collect your visa? We are trying to establish how long from start to finish including the other stuff.... medical etc, etc we need in Malaysia before we can start looking to explore Malaysia? Would one week be enough?
Agent: We used an agent called Joy-Stay (Yvonne Lim). So far Joy-Stay have been very efficient.
Langkawi: We are looking at freehold apartments. There are not many available but this may change?

bakedbean

We used Yvonne. Think Davita may have too. Very helpful lady.

Will leave Davita to,answer the bank questions as our method at the time was not quite orthodox. Don't ask.

luvejoy

Thanks BB,
Are there any other tips you know of that could help us in the processing of our visa? Mainly thinking about what the process involves & timescales once in Malaysia to obtain the Visa.

Davita

1. Something like that...it was all done simultaneously and the speed of E-transfer from Canada to Malaysia using Global View was instantaneous. As I said I initially set up 3 FD's for a total of MYR200,000 to satisfy HSBC's requiremet to maintain Premium Status, which also provides Premium Status to any other HSBC accounts world-wide and the use of Global View and free E-transfers.
To re-iterate, set up 2 FD's, one for MYR100,000 and another for MYR50,000, and have the interest deposited into the current account.
2. We did the bank in the morning (took a couple of hours as the girl tasked to us was new at this job). The medical check and the MM2H we did that afternoon and next day we took a bus to Penang.
3. So did we and she can set up your medical at a clinic near her office that know exactly the minimum requirement for a health check. We were in/out from the doctor in 5 minutes....he just made sure I was breathing. Other medics think it needs a more serious check used for immigrant workers....not so!

Good luck and feel free to ask anything but I don't live in Malaysia...I live in Bali on a Retirement Visa and keep the MM2H as an option in case of problems in the region.
btw the Ringgit is quite strong and I think I currently get 3.5% or thereabouts...I just let it roll over. I also cashed my 3rd FD and deposited in HSBC Indonesia as their FD requirement for Premium Status is lower than Malaysia. Also, I get over 6% on the Rupiah.

luvejoy

Thanks Davita,
Sound like HSBC is the way to go. Not sure if any other banks offer this service?
I did chuckle at the medic part. I think I will pass that medical.... just,
if Yvonne takes us to the same medical centre.
Any advice on obtaining health insurance to cover Malaysia?

Davita

We used our temporary travej health insurance covering Malaysia and they accepted that...even though it was only for 60 days.

bakedbean

The Malaysia forum on britishexpats is very broad based. We are quite a diverse bunch on here some working, some not, loads of folks in KL and Johor, but not too many MM2Hers I'm afraid. Me and Davita are two of those MM2Hers but, whilst we both have some knowledge think I can say that neither of us are experts and keep up with all the ever changing rules and intricacies of the visa.

For all things Living in Malaysia, do fire away with questions on here. There are loads of us to help out and give opinions.

For anything to do with MM2H visa, please have a good read here. There's reams and reams of up to date info. Davita already mentioned the site above. It is non-commercial site - just run by a retired Brit who is enthusiastic about helping out MM2Hers - and you'll find lots of folks like yourself who are currently getting the visa, so you can chew the fat with like-minded folks.

Have you visited many places in Malaysia by the way? Wondering why Langkawi? Though it is a very nice place albeit a bit quiet.