Help! Letter of Good Conduct

[Zingle]

I've been working in Malaysia for the past 7 years, and retired at the beginning of June.  My contract runs until the end of July, and it just happens that my work permit is valid until July 2010.  I've applied for MM2H and been rejected because my work permit makes it appear that I'll still be working.  I guess they didn't read my letter of application. I've talked with various people at the MM2H office and they seem hopeful that my appeal, (with explanation and letter from my employer), will be accepted and I'll be on to the second stage. 

I'm most concerned about getting a letter of good conduct.  All my departing colleagues were given them through the Dept. of Foreign Affairs, but because my request stated it was for MM2H they would not issue one to me.  I gather it's a new MM2H rule since April 09, and the staff at the PWTC have made various suggestions as to where to get this letter, (police, Dept of Immigration, Embassy, etc.)  It was clear that they didn't really know.  One idea was to obtain it from the UK, but I haven't lived there for 35 years.  Also, it costs 700 GBP and takes around 3 months.  Can anyone help on this?

Much appreciated.

[scott]

hi,

Welcome to the site.

As I understand it, the Letter of Good Conduct is a requirement only for those people making the application by themselves, i.e. through Direct Application.

(If you go through an agent you don't need one as there's the Personal Bond.) ****

As the LGC is a new thing, it's yet to be defined. Another new item was allowing those on work permits to apply when the permit ended rather than waiting for a cooling-off period of 6 months. Win some, lose some.

Some suggestions :
1). Make another request to the Department of Foreign Affairs and delete the reference to MM2H.
2). Ask your Employer to source/provide you with the letter.
3). As this is a Police letter, try them. Take along a copy of a letter that one of your colleagues received. It's really good to have a reference.

also :

4). The Sabah MM2H requirements are pretty much the same as those for the Peninsula. They have a Letter of Good Conduct which has a reference number printed on it. I tried to find this but gave up. I'll try again over the next few days.

5). Contact Yvonne at Joy-Stay. Explain your situation and maybe she can assist.

and :

Other members on this site are applying via Direct Application and I'm sure they'll post some advice.



PS : 29th July 2009. **** Please note that NOW a Letter of Good Conduct is required by all applicants, and dependents no matter if applying via DA or Agent.

[Zingle]

Thanks Scott.  I went to collect my EPF today, and our HR guy suggested trying the Dept. of Foreign Affairs again too, after I get approval from MM2H to move on to the next step, (fingers crossed). 

I'm so impressed with this site, which I just found this morning.  It's the most active MM2H site I've seen.  Was looking at the medical insurance info, as I'm trying to wade through all of that and make some decisions. 

Grrr!  Just a bit stressed, which is not how I'd hoped to begin my retirement.

[scott]

hi,

I've been looking at the Sabah sites with no success. A reference number to a standard Letter of Conduct was there some time ago but now, the sites have changed and it's gone.

It's a step at a time. It will, eventually, get resolved. And the important point is that all government departments concerned with mm2h want you to succeed. Sometimes it may not seem like it, but it is.

My own first try failed when an officer at the immigration counter gave me the forms. Exactly 1 week later when I went back to the same officer to submit them. I was told that they were the wrong forms. It's not as if the immigration office was round the corner.

It's best to look at it all as 3 tries , and 3rd time usually lucky.

The medical insurance depends on, (a) do you want a low premium, low benefit policy, really just for mm2h purposes or, (b) are you looking for something more substantial.

[papaya]

As I understand it, the Letter of Good Conduct is a requirement only for those people making the application by themselves, i.e. through Direct Application.

(If you go through an agent you don't need one as there's the Personal Bond.)

We got sent an Application Checklist from Yvonne at Joy-Stay for "Documents to be submitted to Joy-Stay" i.e. through Application with them (not direct application), and one of the many documents to be submitted (a longer list than you have Scott I'm afraid) is Original Letter of Good Conduct from Police Department (Country of Origin) and ticked for both Mr P and spouse 

I presume country of origin means the UK for us?  We've not lived there for years either.  This is a joke surely?

We'll be getting back to Joy-Stay tomorrow as quite a lot of things don't seem to be so straightforward so I'll put a posting on here when we get a reply.

[scott]

hi,

I've just checked the MoTour site and for application via an agent there's a list of 14 items. The last time I looked it was 11. I think that items (3), (8), & (9) are recent. Or maybe they are just being spelled-out as distinct items. I don't keep a record of the MoTour site. And the site doesn't keep a record of it's changes that's available to the public.

APPLICATION THROUGH AN AGENT
Documents

1.   Letter of Application ( by the applicant);

2.   A copy of resume by the main applicant which include the following information;
* Academic qualification
* working experiences
*skills or expertise acquired

3.   One (1) copy of MM2H Application Form - can be downloaded from MM2H website;

Note: Applicant and all the dependents have to complete the Form individually

4.   Three (3) copies of IM.12 Form (Social Visit Pass );
*One (1 ) original copy - can be downloaded from MM2H website/obtained
at Immigration Department.
* Two ( 2 ) Photostat copies

Note : Applicant and all the dependents have to complete the Form individually

5.   Four (4) coloured passport size photographs;

6.   Copy of Passport/Travel documents ( all pages) with certification on the pages
with personal particulars;

Note : Copy of previous passport is required if applicant/dependent (s) has renew his/her passport within the last 12 months.

7. Personal bond * ( must be completed and signed by Malaysian who is one of the Board of Directors/Share Holders/Managing Director/Manager from the appointed MM2H licensed company );

Note : A Personal Bond is to be made for each applicant and dependent

8.   Letter of Good Conduct from your relevant government agency ;
i) The police authority of the applicant’s home country; or
ii) The Embassy of the applicant’s home country based in Malaysia provided that the LGC issued by the Embassy has made a reference to the respective police authority and the LGC must be attested by the Embassy.

9.   Self declaration on your/dependents health conditions - Form can be downloaded from MM2H website;

10.   Certified copy of Marriage Certificate ( if accompanied by spouse );

11.   Certified copy of Birth Certificate/legal documents ( if accompanied by children/adopted children/step children/parents );
*   Letter of Confirmation from Medical Specialist/General Practitioner
(if accompanied by disabled children above 21 years old);
* Statutory Declaration by principle applicant to bear all expenses and financial requirements during the stay in Malaysia for dependents;

12.   Certified copy (s) of latest 3 months’ bank statement /other related financial
document (s) to indicate the financial capability to support stay in Malaysia;

13.   Latest 3 months certified copies of pay slip / income statement ( If employed)/
pension slip etc;

14.   Authorization letter from applicant to Malaysia My Second Home Centre to
verify the financial documents with the relevant financial institutions;

You're right - you need a Letter of Good Conduct. I think that this is new. I'm sure it was initially just for DP. I'll add a PS to the post.

Although getting one of these is a drag, it means that the various embassies in KL will become familiar with the procedure. I guess. 

I've also updated the other relevant posts. Thanks for pointing it out. Guess I need to do another general updating.

[georgeshooter]

https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q542.htm
check this out for UK people re- letter of good conduct

[papaya]

Re the Letter of Good Conduct, Yvonne at Joy-Stay confirmed that it's a new requirement and some other info - she's on the ball, isn't she?

Where from?  That's the interesting bit.  If the Ministry agree that it's difficult to obtain from your original country, you can get one from any country which you have lived in stating that you have no criminal record in that country while you were there.   

So, what's the best one:

1.  Norfolk (UK) Police (our last address in the UK) 

2.  Singapore (where we used to live and work) 

3.  A police station in Phuket   

Think we'll ask around the forums.

[scott]

hi,

This is from an email that I received from Joy-Stay :

The requirement for the submission of Original Letter of Good Conduct from Police Department (Country of Origin) is mandatory now. This rule is applicable for all, including those who submit through MM2H agents. For those who do not reside in their home country for some years may obtain the LGC from other countries which they have been residing in.
 
For your information, currently this LGC is being listed as one of the conditions in the MM2H Conditional Approval Letter which the applicants may submit together with other conditioned documents. But Joy-Stay insists that they obtain this letter prior to their MM2H application, this is to avoid any rejection by the Immigration Department issuing the MM2H visa if the applicants were to complete the other conditions.
 
Some prospects explained to us that they can not obtain the LGC with clean record due to violations of laws. Therefore, we make it a point to request the clients to submit the LGC right from the beginning after they reveal their interests to apply for the MM2H status.
 
I attached here a copy of page 2 of the MM2H Conditional Letter which we obtained 2 weeks ago, this was the first time the Immigration Department stated the LGC as one of the conditions. For those who have included their LGC at the time of application need not submit again.
 
I hope the above is clear and helpful to some of your members.
 

Thanks, Yvonne, that was kind of you to update us on the matter. For the copy of Page 2 of the Conditional Letter, please download the attachment.

[papaya]

Thanks for that Scott.

Personally, I'd be interested in anyone's experiences in obtaining the LGC.  Which country? Was it an easy procedure?  Time consuming? 

From what I've found so far, it looks to be quite time consuming.  Going the UK route takes quite a long time it seems, though I think it may be possible to do by post.  Going back to UK is not an option for us.

I've not checked out Singapore yet.

I've found someone in Thailand who required a Thai Police Clearance Report (actually to obtain a Aus 4 year visa).  I'm assuming this would be acceptable for the Malaysian authorities and also assume that it must be in English.  It looks like it requires a personal trip to Bangkok though to the Thai FBI (  ) but, amazingly (amazing Thailand!), very efficient and English speaking service.  It does however take a few weeks for the letter(s) to materialise.

Either way, this does lengthen the MM2H application procedure.

[Davita]

For what it is worth I offer the following:

I'm British and worked in Hong Kong from 1974 to 1990. I immigrated, as a retired person, to Canada in 1990 and have lived in Vancouver, as a Canadian citizen, ever since.

I am using Joy-Stay as my agent for the MM2H programme. It was their requirement to have the Letter of Good Conduct from the beginning of our contract. I went to our local police station and paid for a search. It appears I have no criminal record of note!!!
Joy-Stay have advised me that this is recognised and is proceeding with my application.

I have to say that I also applied for a USA green card over 10 years ago, paid over US$ 1,000 and they required Letters of Good Conduct from every country I have lived since 1955 when I was in the RAF in Malaya, as was; Singapore, Hong Kong, UK, Canada.
This was so silly that I gave up on the application.

I believe this requirement for MM2H is not so onerous.
BUT, I have not yet succeeded in my application...let's wait.

David

[Zingle]

My appeal was accepted and I finally got my MM2H visa almost a month ago. Yeah! I didn't need a Letter of Good Conduct after all.  I did include a sponsor in the initial application, and maybe that made them waive the LGC.  Anyway, I didn't use an agent, but I did have a little help from a Malay diplomat friend, (who was my sponsor).  I also spent time getting to know people at the MM2H office, which I'm sure didn't hurt.

Good luck to people who are applying.  It could be simpler!

[scott]

hi, zingle,

Congrats on the visa,     and many thanks for the post.

I agree, it could be simpler and it was a few years back. However, it's not rocket science it's just the usual bureaucratic excesses that we all know and love worldwide.

Hey, if we weren't filling in forms, and waiting, and queuing, and checking, and running around for duplicates to maintain the 60% of GDP for government use, we'd all be wasting our time on the beach, or having fun, or something equally unproductive.

[Zingle]

Thanks, Scott.  Love the "tooting" smiley.  Now I have to get the hang of retirement!  It's a bit odd, but I'm sure I'll settle into it eventually.

[papaya]

Yvonne at Joy-Stay has advised us that the LGC must be no more than 21 days old when submitting all the documents.  I imagine this could be a problem if you have to get one sent by post from some far away country.

We're off to Bangkok in a couple of weeks to see if we can organize ours.  A pity it has to be a 400 mile journey but I guess it could have been worse.  At least the Malaysian authorities didn't want letters from all countries we've lived in, which could prove very time consuming especially in Mr P's case.

Reading Davita's posting, it sounds like Canada is on the ball with LGCs.