Malaysian Local Governments Seek Foreign Investment Despite COVID-19

Sarawak Lowers S-MM2H Application Age from 50 to 40 to Boost Foreign Real Estate Investment
Purpose to Increase Foreign Investment in Property

[Asia Economy Kuala Lumpur Hong Seong-ah, Guest Reporter] Unlike the Malaysian government, which is tightening controls on foreign arrivals, the local government of East Malaysia has lowered the age requirement for long-term residence visa applications. As foreign tourists stopped coming due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the direction has shifted toward increasing the number of long-term foreign residents.

Giant Malaysian Flag [Image Source=EPA Yonhap News]

According to local media such as Free Malaysia Today on the 6th, Sim Kiang Chiok, chairman of the Sarawak Housing Development Association, announced that the application age for the Sarawak-Malaysia My Second Home program (S-MM2H) has been lowered from 50 to 40 years old. He said, "In the past, the program's support age was set at 50 to attract retirees receiving pensions, but we decided to significantly lower the support age to increase foreign investment in real estate."

This program is a long-term residence visa independently operated by the Sarawak state government for the purpose of expanding foreign investment and encouraging immigration. Foreigners holding the S-MM2H visa can stay long-term in Malaysia for 10-year periods if they meet the condition of residing in Sarawak for more than 15 days per year, and ownership of real estate is also recognized. From 2007 to 2019, a total of 1,240 foreigners were issued this visa over 13 years.

Abdul Karim, Sarawak's Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, indicated his intention to actively attract long-term foreign residents in this regard. The goal is to increase long-term foreign residents through the 'S-MM2H' program and revitalize the tourism industry. The Sarawak state government estimated that adjusting the application age for 'S-MM2H' and other factors would increase investment by 31 million ringgit (approximately 8.7 billion KRW).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.