A relocation index published in September 2026 placed Malaysia third of 192 countries. ExpatGo, reporting it, noted that the index credits Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) in its scoring for retirees. The ministry that runs the programme publishes every term, and several are not what “retirement” suggests.
Everything below is from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture’s own MM2H pages, read on 23 September 2026.
There is no retiree category
The programme has four categories: Platinum, Gold, Silver and SEZ/SFZ, the last aimed at investors in Malaysia’s special economic and financial zones. Applicants must be aged 25 or over for the first three and 21 or over for SEZ/SFZ.
None is a retirement tier, and none of the money is priced by age. A 62-year-old applying for Silver meets the same financial test as a 26-year-old. After the minimum age, the only age-linked term is the rule on days spent in the country, and the ministry’s pages disagree about it (see below).
The three personal tiers
| Silver | Gold | Platinum | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed deposit | US$150,000 | US$500,000 | US$1 million |
| Participating fee (one-off) | RM1,000 | RM3,000 | RM200,000 |
| Minimum home you must buy | RM600,000 | RM1 million | RM2 million |
| Pass length | 5 years | 15 years | 20 years |
| Work or business | Not allowed | Not allowed | Permissible |
| Renewal fee after the full term | RM1,500 | RM3,000 | RM5,000 |
The deposit must sit in a Malaysian financial institution licensed under the Financial Services Act 2013 or the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013. After approval, up to half of it may be withdrawn, but only to buy a residence, or for education, medical treatment or tourism in Malaysia.
The house is compulsory
Most summaries leave this out. On every personal tier you must purchase and own a residence after approval, at or above the value in the table. The ministry states that you may not sell it for ten years, except to upgrade by buying a residence of higher value. Failing any of these terms means the pass is revoked.
The real entry cost of Silver is therefore US$150,000 held in a Malaysian bank, plus a Malaysian home costing RM600,000 or more, bought and kept for a decade. Half the deposit can be withdrawn to fund part of the house, but that does not remove the house.
The state where you buy sets its own floor for foreign buyers, plus a fee and levy:
- Penang gives MM2H participants a lower floor than other foreigners: Penang’s price floors and levies.
- Selangor and Johor set RM1 million or more with no MM2H discount.
- Stamp duty for a foreign home buyer is a flat 8% since 2026: what the transfer costs a foreigner in duty.
For a retiree this changes the decision. A deposit can be recovered by leaving. A home you cannot sell for ten years ties you to one city before you have lived through a single monsoon season there. Living there for a month first is the cheap part of the decision.
The 90-day rule
The ministry’s pages disagree.
- The Guidelines page says participants aged below 50 must be present in Malaysia for 90 days, cumulative, in a year. Read literally, that exempts anyone 50 or over.
- The category pages for Silver, Gold and Platinum state the 90 days without that age limit. They add that for participants aged 25 to 49 the principal or their dependants may make up the days. Read literally, that applies the rule to everyone and only relaxes how younger participants meet it.
Both pages were live on the same day. For someone retiring, the difference is whether the programme carries a residence obligation at all. We cannot tell you which reading governs. Ask the licensed operator handling your application to confirm it in writing, and keep the reply.
You cannot apply on your own
Applications go through an MM2H tour operating business licensed by the ministry under the Tourism Industry Act 1992, and every application passes through the programme’s One Stop Centre. Final approval belongs to the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Home Affairs, which also hears appeals. The ministry publishes a list of licensed agents but not what they charge.
After approval, the principal and every dependant must have a medical check-up at a panel clinic or hospital the ministry appoints.
What the programme gives back
- Tax exemption on foreign funds or income, such as the fixed deposit, stated as the category benefit on every tier. A separate ministerial order exempts a resident individual’s foreign income on its own conditions, pass or no pass: how Malaysia treats a foreign pension brought in.
- Parents and parents-in-law may come as dependants, as well as a spouse and children. That is unusual among the region’s retirement routes, and it matters to people retiring in their fifties with parents still alive.
- Long-term medical treatment in Malaysia is permitted within the pass.
- If the principal dies, the pass transfers to the next of kin among the registered dependants.
Renewal is every five years, or with the passport. It costs a visa fee of up to RM50 depending on nationality, plus a fixed pass fee of RM500 a year. Once the full term of the tier has run, renewal needs a valid passport, a current medical report and health insurance.
Before you commit
- Currency. The deposit is set in US dollars and the house in ringgit, so a pension or savings in any third currency is converted twice: the exchange rate inside the visa test.
- Property. Even the cheapest tier obliges a ten-year property commitment. That is the strongest argument on this page for renting in the city first.
- Medical care. If it is part of why you are looking at Malaysia, the law caps what a private doctor may charge: Malaysia’s private doctor fee caps.
Other routes
Two states run their own versions outside this federal programme: Sarawak’s state MM2H in Kuching, under its own ministry and with the house optional, and Sabah’s three-tier MM2H in Kota Kinabalu.
If the cost is the problem, Thailand and the Philippines both run retirement visas with no property purchase. Compare Thailand’s baht tests and the Philippine SRRV.