Malaysia My Second Home Programme Upgraded

[bumper]

Muselim aspect I'm sure would be different but then again I wasn't a budhist when I came here and I'm still not. I will say this so far the Thai courts have treated me fairly.

The comment about ti being 1.5 more then Thailand factor that by ten years and do the math again. It's not an annual visa like you have here. It can be in the form of property Ect can you do that here. Can you legally open busine here? Can yuo work in a buiness that you open without a special work pemit?

Rates of exchange really tell you very little. what counts is purcahsing power it may be more here or less, I donlt know. If I were to do somethign like this it's going to require scouting it out on several trips. Followed with renting for a period time and seeing what it's really like. In my case it would keeping this place here for the wife when I croak

You know I did all those things before I bought here. Either I was very naive or things have changed dramatcially in Thailand and Udon.

I was trying to find some Malayasian forums and didn't have much luck does anyone know of any that are active?

[old-timer]

This re-location to malaysia thing would never work out for a retired falang married to a Issan lady -
In fact it would be very hard for anyone to consider taking a northeastern thai wife to live in malaysia -
You see, there will be nothing for her - wrong language, wrong food, wrong religion, no friends, no family, - except a husband that has his own motives to live there... because it suits him, not both of you. From my experiences the Issan wife will happily go with you to your home country, whether it be for work or holiday, and adding to that they do love a holiday and telling their family and friends about it when they get back - but to re-locate into a situation where neither party are natives could prove ok for one, but not the other, as well as being overall a bit tricky - imo only.

[arjay]

This is a potted resume/summary of the proposed changes to the MM2H programme, which I recently received from my contacts/sources:-

A proposal put forward in a meeting at the Ministry of Tourism at 12pm
18th February 2009. For those who have the visa already, please let
your friends (who are interested in MM2H) know so that they can make
an informed decision.

A few confirmed changes (goodies) that are beneficial to the program

1) Foreigners with Malaysian spouse are allowed to apply for the
program now. Previously, they are to join the spouse program.
2) No more cooling off period for those who are working in Malaysia
currently. They do not need to wait for 6 months.
3) For those with 5-year visa, you will get a 10-year visa on your next renewal.
4) Working in Malaysia (not full time) is allowed for certain sectors.
We have no details as yet.
5) Children's age has been increased from 18 to 21

The proposal is to increase the fixed deposit from RM150,000 to
RM500,000 (for those more than 50 years old) and RM300,000 to
RM750,000 (for those who are less than 50 years old). This is just a
proposal that needs to be ratified by the government. We know that
this is ridiculously high. We certainly hope that it will not be
implemented as it will reduce the attractiveness of the program.

Please note that this is just a proposal and it is not finalized. It
may not even be approved. Although it is difficult and looks counter
productive, we are not in the position to see the big picture. The
government sees the big picture and I am pretty confident that they
know what they are doing. MM2H is a dynamic program and the
requirement will change according to the needs of the country. So, we
have to wait and see if this will be implemented.

This is not a sales tactic as we are equally concerned that if it is
approved, it will be disastrous for this program. We don't like
surprises and neither do we want our clients or potential clients to
be surprised as well. Since you have written to us before on your
interests on Malaysia My Second Home, we would like to inform you on
this potential change that might come. We don't know IF or WHEN it
will be implemented.

For those who have been approved or already submitted, there will be
no worries as you will still use back the same condition as you have
used for application (and renewal). There will be no changes.This is
only applicable for those who wants to apply now.

The main purpose of this email is to let you know the potential
changes and how it might impact your decision making. We take pride in
working closely with our clients so that things can go smoothly and
easily.

For further information, please visit website:-
http://www.penangmyhome.com
.... for the details of this program.

[arjay]

You might like to have a read of this:-

post74398.html?hilit=Penang%20trip#p74398

...and yes, I think it would be even more difficult for one's Thai spouse living in a foreign country where Thai is not usually spoken, and with different customs etc.

[aznyron]

well after I did the math Malaysia will get very little retirees even the current system is very
expensive Arjay I was not promoting Cambodia I was just trying to show other options including Vietnam
no problem as for deleting the url

[Pakawala]

Well Ron, for sure, according to the 'brighter' minds (above) than mine, it would cost a bit more in Malaysia. At $2750 per months required income, it just manages to cut me out of the picture... guess I'll have to stay here. or

[aznyron]

Pak your not alone I am also stuck here unless I want to seek other countries and there Itinerary
but remember the fat lady has not got up to sing so all options are still on the table

[bumper]

This re-location to malaysia thing would never work out for a retired falang married to a Issan lady -
In fact it would be very hard for anyone to consider taking a northeastern thai wife to live in malaysia -
You see, there will be nothing for her - wrong language, wrong food, wrong religion, no friends, no family, - except a husband that has his own motives to live there... because it suits him, not both of you. From my experiences the Issan wife will happily go with you to your home country, whether it be for work or holiday, and adding to that they do love a holiday and telling their family and friends about it when they get back - but to re-locate into a situation where neither party are natives could prove ok for one, but not the other, as well as being overall a bit tricky - imo only.

ssounds about like us coming here doesn't it

[jackspratt]

In case you couldn't be bothered to read the site that Paul linked in his OP, here are the requirements for those over 50.

Upon Approval : Aged 50 years and above

* Can either choose to:
- Open a fixed deposit account of RM150,000.00 ; OR
- Show proof of government approved pension funds of RM10,000

* After a period of one year, participant who fulfills the fixed deposit criterion can withdraw up to RM50,000.00 for approved expenses relating to house purchase, education for children in Malaysia and medical purposes.

* Participant must maintain a minimum balance of RM100,000.00 from the second year onwards and throughout his/her stay in Malaysia under this programme.

In other words, the RM10,000 per month is only one of the alternatives.

As my dear old mum keeps telling me, if in doubt, read the instructions. =D>

[aznyron]

Jack after getting as far as 10000 RM monthly income no need to read any further unless you have plenty of money

[jackspratt]

Ron, the alternatives are:

1. 10,000 ringgit (US$2800 or 98,000 baht) per month income OR

2. deposit 150,000 ringgit (US$42,000 or 1.5m baht) for the 1st year, and 100,000 (US$28,000 or 980,000 baht) after that.

Very similar to the Thailand alternatives for retirement extension ie

1. 65,000 baht (US$1850) per month income OR

2. 800,000 (US$23,000) in the bank

[bumper]

Well I've settled down and I wonl be going nothing new with that. But the program is attractive, becuase he visa time is much longer. I still want to ride there next year. English widely spoken so I have been told and we will find out.

It's really not an option for guy with kids in school here I would think. That being said things can go wrong here nice to know there is a reaonable back up plan.

Loas offers the best economic siutuation adn not much different then Issan except for the infrastructure. Malayasia best infrastructure in the region, english widley spoken, good immigration plan. My guess is it will be more expensive to live there, compared to Udon.

The only way to really find out is boots on the ground I would think several times to get a feel for it. Easy you can drive to it.