caferacer59

Hi All, Im sitting here in the UK, Im 49,bit depressed, its not where i want to be, and the feeling is getting worse, The reason is Ive been working on boats for the last 10 years and used to spend my breaks in Malaysia, and Indonesia, I love them both equally, and cant stand being back in the UK, thinking this is it, fortunately Ive had it good,and saved my money, but I dont want to buy a house here and settle, that was the plan, but since being back,I cant do it.


I have decided to apply for the MM2H visa, I have today done the letter, CV, and sent off for the police check...now here is the problem
Ive been contracting offshore full time the last 10 years, but since last year haven't worked offshore, things really dried up.

My company is willing to give me a letter, to say im a self employed offshore oil and gas contractor, and when working what my day rate is.
will this help?, along with old payslips.

The plan is, to live off Malaysian bank interest , about 3.5, on 600, and when the industry picks up again, do one trip a year, as a bonus, this is the easy bit , the hard bit, is getting over this hurdle in the application process.
what do reckon?, will I have a chance to get past the post????

bigwoofa

Welcome to BE forum, Caferacer59

I am no expert in applying for MM2H visa but have just in the last 3 weeks completed my visa process and there is a lot of helpful advice from people who have been through the process on this forum and they help me during my application.

I don't know your financial position but there is a lesser financial requirement for those over 50 years old and as you are 49, you may wish to consider this.The current financial requirements for under 50 are to show proof of liquid asserts worth RM500,000 and offshore income of RM10,000/month or for over 50, RM350,000 and RM10,000/month.

I did the whole application process myself as my case was straight forward, in your case proving an current offshore income of may be an issue and you may wish to consider using an approved agent.

I am sure others on the forum will be able to give you more or better advice.

Good luck with your application.

Regards

bakedbean

Hi. As BigWoofa says, you would be best waiting till you are 50, for a start-off.

You also need to be showing at least 3 months of current bank statements showing that you are generating equivalent of RM 10,000 a month outside Malaysia. That's what they want to see right now.

caferacer59

Thk Woofy and Big bean....Im fine for the under 50 criteria for the fixed deposit of 500k ringgit, Im 600 and not ringgit, the problem is being a contractor, so self employed, so to show a monthly wage into my bank will be difficult

bigwoofa

Hi Caferacer59

RM500,000 is not the fixed deposit amount, that's the amount you have to show in assets during the application process and it sounds like you don't have a problem with this. if you go on MM2H website they state a requirement for a FD of RM300,000 for under 50 years old and RM150,000 for over 50 years old.

As BB says and I believe they are quite strict with the requirement to show you have a current income of RM10,000/month outside Malaysia, i.e. not from any interest from bank account from inside Malaysia and from what you say I don't know how you will do this and unless you can it will be difficult for you to get approval.

Maybe an approved agent can help, I don't know.

caferacer59

Thx Woofa, I have emailed Joystay and one other agent , and I will see what they say...as a last resort, I think I may have to suck up the next 4 months, head to Birmingham, and try to get a half decent position paying enough to show up on some bank statements, wont be easy in this current climate

JC3

Hi caferacer59

In your shoes, I think I would be looking at how to generate a monthly income with the £600,000 whilst maintaining “liquid assets”.

One way would be to buy a diversified portfolio of Investment Trusts. Many Investment Trusts yield over 4% per annum at present, and some are ‘Dividend Heroes’ having raised their dividend each year for 20 years or more.

See:
Dividend Heroes revealed: Investment trusts with longest history of raising payouts | This is Money
And:
10 trusts for a £10,000 annual income | Money Observer

If you bought say 20 Investment Trusts that paid out their dividends on different monthly or quarterly dates you should be able to arrange it so that you receive a fairly steady monthly income. The best way (to avoid running out of money) is to only take the ‘natural yield’ as your income.

You could of course do this just for a year or two to establish the regular income requirement, and once you have your MM2H pass, and have settled in Malaysia, sell your shares and do something else with the money.

Another thought is to use some of your capital to purchase a Buy-To-Let UK property (BTL). You should be able to generate a gross rental yield of 6%-8%.

See: Buy-to-let: hotspots for 2015 revealed - Telegraph

For example, a £350,000 property with a 7% gross rental yield = £24,500 pa (enough to satisfy the MM2H income requirement).

The attraction of BTL is that the rental yield will probably be greater than bank/building society interest, and as well as the rental income there’s a strong possibility your ‘asset’ will also grow in value, giving you a capital gain.

A UK BTL also allows you to keep a toe-hold in the UK property market, where house prices have a habit of running away from you, if you live abroad for a long time. Think of it as a bolt hole to return to if necessary.
You should be able to use monthly rental income in your MM2H application. I am sending you a Private Message with an idea or two about this.

I think it’s risky to park £600,000 in a Malaysian bank account and live off the interest. You could find your capital evaporates with inflation, and/or because you dip into it.

You don’t say whether you will have private Pension Income. If you will (and potentially could take it from Age 55) then you should add this information to your MM2H application, as it’s very relevant.

Basically Malaysia Immigration/MM2H just want to see you are reasonably affluent, and will have more than enough to live on, now and in the future.

Given you don’t have a regular income at present, using an MM2H agent is probably a good idea. Personally I think it’s achievable. You just need to tread carefully.

Good luck

JC3

caferacer59

JC3, Cheers for taking the time to reply,even though im in the UK, its dollars, I wish it was pounds!!I always seem to fail when it comes to financials of any sort, I have the worst timing, shares Ive lot a packet in the past, FX the same...so My life, and investment decisions are very simple, they have to be for me

In the last two weeks Property Investment trusts have now frozen out many folks in the UK, BTL a nightmare, you have to be very lucky, if you live close by thats OK, but miles away, everyone whats a cut looking after the place. Maybe its wise to buy a place, but being a nomadic soul, doesn't bother, me,perhaps it should and that was even the plan 3 months ago, thats why I came back to the UK...but the UK is not for me, being back in Asia, I can act on opportunities, I cant see any here....I have a few ideas. and Im determined to get the second home visa.

JC3

Hmmm, Dollars and not Sterling makes it a bit more difficult. Although you get a lot more £ for the $ this month than last!

Note that it's several Property Unit Trusts (open-ended funds) that have been suspended to give them time to sell illiquid assets, and not Investment Trusts (closed-ended funds) that are structured differently, and better able to ride it out. There's a good explanation of what the difference is here: http://citywire.co.uk/money/open-end...-rise/a931036?

It's true though that the share price of Property Investment Trusts have also fallen sharply, but as a result the dividend yield has gone up. If you can take a long term view they could now be a bargain. See:

Investment Trust Watch: property promise not peril - Citywire Money

If you are inexperienced at investing (or have previously lost money), read up on Investment Trusts, make sure you have a well diversified portfolio, and don't try to time the market, but rather buy and hold for the long term. The monthly Money Observer magazine covers Investment Trusts well, so does Citywire.co.uk. No guarantees of course, but using decent Investment Trusts is a much better and safer way of investing than stock-picking individual company shares yourself.

JC3

caferacer59

Thx..Interesting stuff, have sent you a PM

Davita

Wow JC3...I've been an investor since I worked in Hong Kong in the 70s and I'd never recommend investing anything in UK right now!!!
Even though I thought that Brexit wouldn't happen....a couple of weeks before the referendum I sold all my UKP cash into other currencies...
i.e I sold some UKP to Indonesian IDR at IDR20,000 ....and get an interest rate of 6% on monthly calls in HSBC.
Yesterday IDR20,000 would get UKP1.18p and I just heard the UK Chancellor is thinking of reducing the interest rate.

Davita

Edit to my post #11
Correction....I see you are advising Investment Trusts which may not be investing in the UK but administered by a UK based Financial Company. I agree as I currently have 5 of those trusts myself but none are invested in UK as such....they are, as you suggest, very diversified. They have done extremely well overtime...a couple (Templeton and J.P. Morgan) up around 6-700% over 13+ years.
They have jumped recently as they're quoted in UKP but invested in other jurisdictions, so there is clearly a currency exchange element to the price.
I'd suggest investing in UK at present to be not for those averse to risk....but could be a good bet...buy low sell high...

JC3

Hi Davita,

Thanks for the correction, I was just about to reply along similar lines.

The only investment advice or recommendation I feel able to make is to have “a well diversified portfolio, and don't try to time the market, but rather buy and hold for the long term”.

That said, I would still invest in some UK funds as part of that diversification. It’s worth remembering that the FTSE 100 has gained a boost from the pound's fall, not least because the companies in the index derive around 75% of their earnings from outside the UK. When reported in GBP, that will be a significant gain.

For any BE members are wondering “What is JC3 banging on about….
Here’s a good one-page introduction to Investment Trusts –

Investment trusts: a beginner's guide | Money Observer

Be sure to read the paragraph on ‘Dividend Payouts’ - One of the key benefits of Investment Trusts is their ability to smooth dividend payouts over the years even during lean periods

JC3

Back to topic?

Davita

JC3

On topic.....I can say I couldn't prove the monthly income of equivalent to 10,000 MYR when I was approved for MM2H.
I was retired (two small pensions) and had a diversified tax-efficient investment portfolio to reduce taxable income in Canada.
At the time I applied it was necessary to use an agent and Joystay managed my application. She somehow manipulated it to have the income requirement accepted.

SushiFan

Very sound investment advise for the long term. However, Caferacer is looking for a "quick fix" to pass the MM2H monthly income requirement. From his messages I get the impression that he is not willing to wait another 5 - 10 years before applying.