Thursday 7 April 2011

MM2H - Direct Application

I have previously mentioned the option to either do a direct application for an MM2H visa or use an agent. An agent will charge upwards of RM 3,300 for a single applicant and this figure can rise, in some cases substantially, dependant on which agent you use and which level of service you opt for (in some cases, for instance, they offer a 'guided' service when you visit Malaysia to finalise your visa which can be useful if you are perhaps concerned about how to get to the various places you have to visit such as a bank to pay a security bond and a suitable place to get your medical done). Whichever option you go for there is a substantial amount of paperwork to be prepared/gathered and you will have to do all the 'leg work' on this whether you use an agent or not. On that basis, personally, I saw little added value in using an agent and decided to go the direct application route. One distinct advantage an agent will have is seeing what the MM2H office accepts and rejects and they can build up a level of expertise is that area, helping to make sure you get it right first time. The forms are however relatively straight forward and, as I am visiting for a holiday anyway and am thus able to visit the MM2H office to discuss the application, I am content to do it myself.

The MM2H site (see 'Useful Links') provided precise details of the documents that are needed to apply and as these may change over time I would refer you to the MM2H 'Direct Application' page to check what these are. One of the links they provide is to download an application and this is a composite document that actually includes (at the time of writing:
  • An individual/spouse application form
  • A 'Child - under 21' application form
  • IM.12 - Social Visit Pass application
  • List of rates for Security Bond (by country of applicant)
  • Authority to verify financial information
  • Security Bond Form (not needed for application)
  • RB I - Medical Self Declaration Form
  • Application guidelines and checklist

As I went through the documents I did come across a number of points upon which I sought some clarification from the MM2H forum site from people who had been through this before. Before providing details of those points I will re-iterate some other useful points from another post on that site which might be useful as general principles:

a) They place a lot of importance on your reason for wanting to stay in Malaysia. That should be a big part of the cover letter.

b) Whilst the application asks for 4 photos and seperately it lists 4 forms that require a photo (1 application and 3 IM12 forms), it doesn't state that you should paste a photo on each form. You should. I know it sounds obvious however you never really know with these government offices.

c) Whilst they don't ask for a table containing a summary of your financial status, you should do one. You should list your various income sources, your liquid assets- cash,
FD's, shares etc. and your real assets- property etc. In my case however I merely listed those assets that were set as MM2H qualification criteria on the basis that those are all that is needed and the less potential for confusion you introduce, I think, the better.

d) Whilst they don't state it, the checklist of requirements (which is pages 8-9 of the application form) should be the first pages of your application submission.

Now, onto the specific points I raised with regard to the bundle of application forms (and the below takes into account the responses):

1. Where forms have something which is not applicable (e.g. employment when you are retired) I intend to fill these in with "NOT APPLICABLE" rather than leave blank or putting "N/A" (which might not compute!!)

2. The declaration on page 4 has a space for a witness, together with their passport number? It seems that this can be done by anyone. I suppose you could even use your spouse but, rather than get a rejection on this basis, I plan to use a friend who lives nearby.

3. The IM12 Social Visit Pass says at the bottom "This form must be typed". I don't even know anyone who owns a museum piece typewriter, let alone uses one!!! Apparently others have submitted this form handwritten so I intend to do the same. It would perhaps be useful if MM2H made these available from their site in 'Word' rather than 'PDF' format if they insist on them being typed.

4.Again on the IM12 it asks for says "Details of Sponsor in Malaysia". This should be marked "NOT APPLICABLE".

5. Final IM12 one, under Item D it asks about your "Visa Requirement" and whether you need "Multiple" or "Single Entry". At this stage I am assuming this is a "YES" and for a "Single Entry". I plan to take my application to Malaysia when I visit and tis is one of the things I will clarify.

6. The Security Bond form is part of the application download bundle but is there for convenience only at this stage as you do not submit this with your application. If your application is accepted you fill this in and take it with you when you visit Kuala Lumpur to get deposit the bond and get the visa.

7. There are some documents included which you can strip out of the bundle of papers if they are not relevant to your application such as the list of charges for the SB and separate forms for 'under 21' year olds.

8. The form for medical self declaration which the application checklist shows as RBII is actually an RB I (and this is the form the download bundle contains). The form RBII is the form you have completed by a medical practice in Malaysia, again at the visa collection stage.

9. The download bundle also
includes a form of "bankers authority letter" giving the MM2H office the authority to verify your liquid asset details etc. should they so wish (though I suspect in the form it is writtenwritten, and without proof of authority/identity, a UK bank would refuse to respond to) and starts off "Whereas on...............I/we etc etc". In the space following "Whereas on" section I intend to insert the date.

10. Some confusion seems to have crept in over a suggestion that the "Letter of good conduct" (LGC) must be less than 21 days old when it is submitted with the application to MM2H. This emanated from a MM2H agent as a stipulation to one or more of their clients and it seems this is complete rubbish and is one the AGENTS's requirements rather then the MM2H Centre. For me, the process is burdensome enough as it is without agents adding their own complications and creating yet further pressure and false deadlines and constraints for applicants.

11. Finally, on page 2 of the application, despite my mailing address being the same as the permanent address , I still intend to complete this in full. Again, easy enough one might think, but government offices seem to have a knack of deciding things are a problem and any one of the options could be 'wrong' where their admin/systems are concerned. I figure that if it is filled in there should be no problem.

Whilst I may not be able to finalise my application in Malaysia (thanks to my reading too much into the LGC 21 day 'rule' and failing to check with the MM2H office in a timely manner meaning I now may not get it in time) I do intend at least to call into the MM2H offices and go through my application with them. If, on the basis of that visit, any of the above changes, or indeed any further advice/guidance is given, I will return to this post and edit it rather than have multiple posts about the same thing which can lose people and get confusing as to what replaces what.


2 comments:

  1. How much money needed to start a restaurant business in penang ? and live there !

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry, no idea about this. Clearly it would all depend on the size, type, location and such like. I would think the best option would be find a restaurant which is similar to where what you want to open and talk to the owner.

    ReplyDelete