Advice on documentation, please

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Hi,

I'm in the process of collecting all the documentation and wonder if anyone can clarify a few inconsistencies between advice from my agent (Corporate Transcend in Penang), the official MM2H site and various forums about what is required?

1. Certified copy of passports (all pages) - is this required just for me, or for my wife & kids too?

2. Certified copy of academic/professional qualifications (as referred to in my resume, presumably) - my agent mentioned this but I've never seen it anywhere else. In any case, as I will be 'retired', how could this be relevant?

3. Evidence of sufficient funds - as I'm aged under 50 & cannot draw any pension yet, I can submit a copy of my bank savings account showing a significant 6-figure sum (UK pounds - monthly interest will be plenty to support the whole family), but only on the most recent statement as the funds have only just been credited due to an unexpectedly large gift from a relative - should this be OK?  And I don't want to keep this amount there too long as I can get better interest elsewhere - would transferring it to a new account cause problems after my application has gone in?

Finally, assuming I get all the required documents to my agent by early September, do I stand a chance of getting approval by December, which ideally is when we want to leave the UK? I have an offer of places for the kids at Uplands School for Jan 08, but have to pay the deposit in September to secure the places.

Any advice on the above gratefully received! Also I'd love to hear from anyone on this forum who has already made it to Penang.

thanks,
John B.

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hi, John,

Government regulations in Malaysia are seldom clearly defined, and there are usually numerous anomalies. They are also subject to change without notice, or even announcement. Hence it's best to cover all bases, and to keep copies of any emails you receive from government officials - just as proof that that's what it was before it got changed.

It's not as bad as the above sounds as such "lack of clarity" means that there's plenty of room to appeal this or that, to ask for waivers, exemptions etc. If you ever need them.

1). Passports. From my own experience you need to photocopy all passports, and all pages. Daft as it seems you'll need to copy the blank pages. This is to ensure that you haven't resided in any blacklisted countries. All these copies, of the passport and other documents, need to be certified "as a true copy."

2). Academic/Professional Qualifications. I assume that your agent is trying to make your application as impressive and authenticated as possible. It is not specifically required but if it helps for the totality of the application then why not.

3). Sufficient Funds. It is very important to show a large sum. Figures suggest that at least RM500,000 is needed, but the more the better. See also Sufficient Funds. It's Post #5 onwards.


At one stage (last year) MoTour required 6 months worth of bank statements. Then it got reduced (this year) to 3 months worth. Check with your agent and ask what is the current acceptable minimum period. Once your application is in there's no requirement to keep the cash in the same account.

Make sure that your covering letter stresses the sufficient funds bit. Don't just attach a statement. Spell out the amount (in Stg and RM) in bold.

4). Approval Period. The average approving period is 12 weeks. Sometimes a bit more if there are many applications and important holidays, sometimes considerably less.

There are several members on this site who live in Penang. I'm sure that they'll say hello. I'm living further south in the Sitiawan/Pangkor area of Perak.

If you have any more questions or if the above needs expanding please feel free to post.

regards, Scott

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Hi Scott,

thanks for your quick response and for running such an invaluable forum.

I will take your advice and embellish my covering letter.

As my wife is Indonesian I have experience of dealing with that country's bureaucracy and I don't expect the Malaysian system to be much different!

If necessary I suppose we could arrive as 3-month tourists initially and await MM2H approval in Penang - however, that may cause problems with getting our kids into school - maybe someone else on the forum has experience of this approach?

John B.

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Hi JB

My agent has just told me that earlier in the year applications were taking 12 weeks however in the last month or so they have been coming back in 45 days. I would not take this as any sort of guarantee as these thing seem to go up and down. If you are considering arriving on a 3 month visa and awaiting approval then you may be disappointed if you are not granted approval at the first time of asking (this is quite common).

I havent come across any requirements for academic qualifications. If you own your own home in the UK it would be useful to state this and possibly back it up with a deed report or certified copy of the deed. If the property is mortgaged a deed report can be provided by the lender at no charge. They can take a few days to come through. If the property is on the market then your estate agent can provide a a letter to give the market valuation.

We are in the same position as yourselves although my wife is Malaysian. We are having our appeal heard on 24th of this month (maybe or maybe not). Our orginal application was in late April and failed (presumably) for insufficient financial information. If we get the go ahead we may be arriving in Penang about the same time as yourselves.

I really hope things go smoothly for you.

Bob

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Hi QJumper,

We have also had to appeal due to insufficient "financial information". One thing I would like to point out though is I thought you were not allowed to apply for MM2H if your wife/husband was Malaysian. I remember reading this on one of the government web-sites. Perhaps I mis-read this but I am sure this is what it stated.

Cheers

Brian

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Hi Brian,

You are right, a spouse of a Malaysian has to apply under a separate scheme.

I was not being very clear about this. My wife was born in Malaysia but has British nationality due to the date and location of her birth. She has been in the UK for 36 years but you can never truly stop being Malaysian.

Here's what I mean,

Two Chinese ladies walking down the road. How do you tell which one is from Malaysia?

The one with the smile!

It's true, I've tested the theory.

Bob

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The information from Vincent Fong mentioned the changes to the security check. This is something I had missed up to now. Do you know if this refers to a check done prior to conditional approval or is it something that has to be done after we come over to Malaysia?

We intend to live in Penang but I understand from our agent that we will have to go to KL for the finalised visa (after medical checks etc) . If the security is check is done at that time does it mean that we have to wait arround for 7-14 days for this check to be completed?

Bob

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hi, Qjumper,

The security check is done during the initial application process. It's based on the photocopies of your passport.

Once you get conditional approval then there's no more checking. The letter of conditional approval has the following conditions, (a) that you get the FD, (b) that you get medical report, (c) that you show medical insurance, and (d) that you turn up within 6 months to collect the visa.

Showing all the above, and getting the MM2H visa stamped into your passport takes a short time at the KL Immigration office. Check out Rainbow's posts on Medical Insurance.

regards, Scott

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Thanks Scott,

I was a bit worried that I may have to camp down in KL for a while.

Regards

Bob

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hi,

These are 2 comments on documentation posted on the "Indonesian Alternative" thread. I've extracted the relevant parts for posting here as it may give members additional info on their own documentation.

By the way, just had latest communication from my MM2H agent saying that the MM2H office are asking for my last 3 payslips (proof of income, apparently) and letter confirming my UK employment, even though I have already terminated my employment and submitted proof of large deposit income with my application - ah, the joys of Malaysian bureaucracy!

John B

I understand the frustration but believe it or not your post marks a major step forward for MM2H. As far as I know until now motour refused to give the slightest clue as to why an application was rejected or what further information was required. It was a silly guessing game and my agent told me that it nearly always turned out to be a financial reason. I suggested to motour that the general reason be stated on their website when querying application status but I didn't get a reply.

After supplying the "guessed at" info our appeal was upheld and visa letter issued. I needed to show no info about employment as like you I had already terminated. All they required was FD and proof of £1000 per month income from anywhere.

Bob

I think that the reason for the no reply from MoTour is that it's just too difficult to answer. They respond quite well to obvious questions. But there's no response to questions or suggestions that need a policy decision. And asking about "daft" regs is purely a one way street.

Even the agents are kept in the dark, they have to look at the MoTour site to notice any changes.

regards, Scott

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Hi Scott,

Thanks for moving the posts. I suspect that lurking deep within the administration of MM2H there is a genuine desire to provide a good service. It's nice to hear of improvements to the system such as the provision of proper information about rejections.

I was telling a mate of mine about you sailing exploits and he was horrified. He has been sailing Lasers for years and has only just got out of sight of land. Your trip from Singapore must have been quite a learning experience.

Bob

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hi, Bob,

Yep, I think the same thing. A genuine desire to provide a good service. I just wish that MoTour would reach-out to all of us my2homers and accept some of the free goodwill to improve matters.

My experience has been that, face-to-face, the folks at the One-Stop Centre are very friendly and polite, even somewhat enthusiastic.

The boat (see avatar) trip took 10 days, followed by 10 years in recovery.

regards, Scott

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Thanks for moving my post, Scott.

My agent has spoken to Motour again and was told that they want to see my final 3 pay slips to prove the source of income for my savings deposit, and that this deposit is actually my money and not borrowed funds.

Of course I will comply with this request, though I did point out to my agent that my current financial situation is the result of 45 years of savings, salary, investments, family inheritance etc, and in this respect my last 3 months earnings are pretty irrelevant!

John B

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My first post, so hi to all.

Myself and my wife are just about to apply for MM2H from Penang and have a question. We will apply using the FD method and our deposit is with a UK Bank, but in an internet account. My Bank does not issue postal statements on internet accounts, instead you must log-in and print-out your statements as you need them etc. It occured to me that perhaps self-printed statements might not be acceptable, so I printed out the current one, which cover a one year period, and had my Bank manager stamp it and state in writing that it was a true and accurate representation of funds at that time. Do those who have already applied think that this will satisfy the MM2H committee criteria ? Or are 'postal' Bank issued statements essential ?
 
'gards;
Tahoma.

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hi, Tahoma,

Nice to hear from you. A friend of mine applied a couple of years ago and had no problem with printed-out statements. Like you, the bank certified the print-out as a "true copy."  The bank also added it's own branch/address stamp, although this was just on the basis of "the more the merrier."

regards, Scott