BEIJING: The Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme is not the key to obtaining permanent residence (PR) status, Immigration Department deputy director-general Datuk Raja Mohd Raja Ismail said.

Foreigners should consider other programmes designed for talented professionals instead of hoping that the MM2H programme would give them a better chance to obtain PR status, he added.

“To become a Malaysian PR, you need to live in the country continuously and there are other conditions.

“The MM2H participants will usually not stay for a long time and return to their countries from time to time,” Raja Mohd said after attending a seminar on the MM2H programme here yesterday.

Immigration Department and Tourism Ministry officers are in China for a week to promote the programme in Beijing, Shenyang, Dalian and Hohhot.

To qualify for the programme, foreigners aged above 50 have to provide proof of a minimum monthly income of RM10,000 and a minimum fixed deposit of RM350,000, while those below 50 should earn at least RM10,000 and have at least RM500,000 in a local bank.

The participant will be given a 10-year multiple entry social visit pass. His spouse, children aged below 21 and parents can follow as dependants. They can use the fixed deposit to buy properties and spend on education and healthcare or set up business in the country.

Since MM2H was renamed from the Silver Hair Programme open to foreigners aged below 50 in 2002, the number of participants from China has increased steadily from 24 to 502 in 2005.

The number dropped to 154 participants last year but China remains the top contributor of participants with a total of 2,452; followed by Bangladesh (1,806) and Britain (1,636).

Tourism Ministry deputy secretary-general Dr Junaida Lee Abdullah said the programme had attracted 14,816 participants from more than 100 countries.

“This year we are targeting 400 participants from China. In the first two months, we approved 62 applications from China,” she said.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/29/nation/8369659&sec=nation

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