Malaysia

Working for a Malaysian employer — the Employment Pass

The employer sponsors; the pass is tied to the job. The Employment Pass (ESD / Immigration Department) is employer-specific and Peninsular only — changing employer means a new application. Only holders earning above RM5,000/month may bring dependants: a Dependant Pass for a spouse and children under 18, a Long-Term Social Visit Pass for children over 18 and parents or parents-in-law.

The salary floors, in both dated regimes. Until 31 May 2026: Category I RM10,000+/month, Category II RM5,000–9,999, Category III RM3,000–4,999. From 1 June 2026, for all new and renewal applications: Category I RM20,000+ (pass up to 10 years), Category II RM10,000–19,999 (up to 10 years, with a succession plan), Category III RM5,000–9,999 (up to 5 years, with a succession plan). The 31 May 2026 Category III dependant and renewal conditions predate the revision — re-confirm them at filing. A page quoting RM10,000 as the Category I floor after 1 June 2026 is stale.

No immigration medical screening rides with this pass. Employment Pass holders face no FOMEMA or equivalent immigration medical screening at application, endorsement or renewal on the official sources captured 8 October 2026 — FOMEMA’s screening regime covers blue-collar PLKS workers, a different population, and the ESD endorsement flow runs on passport, visa sticker and flight ticket. An employer may still require its own pre-employment medical.

Named, not dressed up. TalentCorp’s 10-year Residence Pass-Talent exists for high-value professionals; no TalentCorp page was opened for this edition, so no terms print — a gap, not a route card.

Investing and high income — the Premium Visa Programme (PVIP)

Attribution, printed with the terms. These are Immigration Department programme terms as published by registered PVIP agencies, captured 8 October 2026; confirm on imi.gov.my before filing. PVIP is a live Immigration Department programme — not an MM2H tier — and it is not permanent residence.

The tests. Offshore income of at least RM40,000/month or RM480,000/year for the principal; a fixed deposit of RM1,000,000 in a licensed Malaysian bank, 50% withdrawable after one year for property, health or education; participation fees of RM200,000 principal + RM100,000 per dependant; a pass fee of RM2,000/year.

The shape. Approval for 20 years issued in 5+5+5+5 tranches against passport validity (minimum 24 months). Work, business and study are permitted; there is no minimum stay. Dependants are a spouse, children, parents and parents-in-law, plus foreign domestic helpers. Applications run only through agencies registered with the Immigration Department, with police security screening for participants and dependants.

One unconfirmed note, and nothing more. Agents have reported PVIP condition changes from early 2026; Immigration had published no confirmation we could open (8 October 2026), so no changed term is printed here.

Family — the Malaysian-spouse route, and dependants inside the other doors

The only true spouse route needs a Malaysian spouse. The Long-Term Social Visit Pass covers the foreign spouse of a Malaysian citizen: marriage certificate, a statutory declaration that the marriage subsists, a security bond, and the sponsor’s identity and income proof, per the Immigration Department’s published requirements (captured 8 October 2026). Passes are reported up to five years, and a work or business endorsement on the spouse pass is reported practice. It is not a general family-reunification visa for foreign couples — a foreign couple’s family shape exists only inside the work and capital doors below.

Dependants inside MM2H: a spouse; biological, step or adopted children under 21; children aged 21–34 who are not working or married in Malaysia; medically certified disabled children with no age limit; and parents and parents-in-law. A foreign domestic helper is Platinum only. Children may study at government-recognised institutions, and long-term medical treatment is allowed.

Dependants inside the work doors: Employment Pass holders above RM5,000/month — Dependant Pass for a spouse and children under 18, Long-Term Social Visit Pass for older children and parents. PVIP dependants include parents, parents-in-law and domestic helpers. DE Rantau dependants are a spouse or common-law partner, children under 18 and parents — and a spouse may not work on that dependant pass; school-age children need a Student Pass unless home-schooled.

School vaccination is not a legal bar — records are checked and refusal is accepted; the full enter-vs-stay detail is in the health section below.

Buying in — the state floors that stand under every route

How to read this card. State floors below are dated secondary evidence (Malaysian Bar Circular 444/2024 transcription, October 2024; PTG Selangor Circular 1/2014 as transcribed on a Selangor government portal; PropertySifu’s state tables, February 2026), checked 8 October 2026. The state land office (PTG) circular for your state and zone is the document that governs — confirm the floor and the consent levy in the consent application before you sign anything. Where sources conflict, the conflict is printed, not resolved silently.

The federal baseline: RM1,000,000 per residential unit under the Ministry of Economy’s Garis Panduan Perolehan Hartanah (in force 13 July 2022) — stated here from a dated secondary transcription; the guideline itself was not opened from ekonomi.gov.my for this edition. The applicable minimum is always the higher of the MM2H tier floor and the state floor, and consent tests valuation, not an inflated sale-and-purchase price.

• Kuala Lumpur (Federal Territory): RM1,000,000, strata and landed — so the RM600,000 federal MM2H minimum does not buy in the capital.
• Penang: island strata RM1,000,000 / island landed RM3,000,000; mainland (Seberang Perai) strata RM500,000 / landed RM1,000,000 (Bar-circular transcription, October 2024). The PTG Penang guideline confirmed current on 29 May 2025 is the confirm-at-consent source. Barred: the RM600,000 “island condominium with MM2H” figure — one agent site only; that is the federal Silver minimum, not a Penang floor.
• Selangor: RM2,000,000 in Zones 1–2; RM1,000,000 in Zone 3 (Hulu Selangor and Sabak Bernam), per PTG Selangor Circular 1/2014 as transcribed on a Selangor government portal; strata and landed-strata only; commercial RM3,000,000 in all zones. Conflict printed: an agent table’s RM2,000,000 Zone 3 figure contradicts the circular transcription.
• Perak: replaced its flat floor with a zoned matrix under PTG Perak Circular 01/2026 (in force 4 March 2026, as transcribed by PropertySifu; the circular itself was not opened — for Ipoh/Zone 1 the reported ceilings reach RM2,000,000–RM2,500,000 depending on route and title. Do not quote an Ipoh floor until the conveyancer confirms it against the circular.)
• Johor: RM1,000,000 (dated secondary); the consent levy rose 1 July 2025 to 3% (minimum RM30,000) on two agreeing secondary sources. Conflict printed: a RM2,000,000 landed-in-international-zones figure is one agent table only.
• Sarawak: for the optional S-MM2H purchase, reported minimums of RM600,000 in Kuching Division and RM500,000 in other divisions (MTCP guidelines, 31 July 2025).

Closed at any price: Malay Reserve land, low- and medium-low-cost and state affordable-scheme units, and Bumiputera-quota units except through a state release mechanism where one exists; auction purchases are barred in Penang and Selangor. And the compulsion runs one way only: no MM2H visa is legally required to buy Malaysian property — MM2H is what requires the participant to buy.

Working remotely — DE Rantau, the MDEC nomad pass

What it is. DE Rantau is a Professional Visit Pass for foreign remote workers (MDEC FAQ Version 10.0, 28 August 2026, captured 8 October 2026): issued for 3–12 months and renewable once for up to 12 more — 24 months maximum — multiple entry, valid for Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan only. Sabah and Sarawak are entered on a tourist pass. It is a real remote-work door with a hard ceiling, not a residence route.

Two income tracks — the flat figure never prints. Tech professions: at least US$24,000/year. Non-tech professions: at least US$60,000/year (non-tech has been eligible since 7 June 2024). Any guide quoting “US$24,000 for everyone” is working from a superseded version. The employer must be foreign-based and not registered in Malaysia; freelancers may serve foreign or Malaysian clients. Evidence means contracts started at least three months before application, three months of payslips or invoices, and matching bank statements.

The fees and the clock. Processing RM1,080 for the principal and RM540 per dependant (including 8% SST, non-refundable); the immigration pass fee is RM90 per three months or RM360 per year. Processing is estimated at six to eight weeks (MDEC, captured 8 October 2026).

The limits print with the door. A spouse may not work on the dependant pass. School-age children need a Student Pass unless home-schooled. A tourist pass cannot be converted — an approved applicant exits and re-enters on the approval’s stated permission. From 1 August 2026, rejections cannot be appealed; a fresh application is the only path. Endorsement requires Malaysia-valid health insurance and an LHDN tax e-registration slip. MDEC’s own tax material ties liability to source, days present and residence status — this pass promises no tax-free treatment.

Retiring here — MM2H, the capital door

What it is. Malaysia My Second Home is a renewable long-term social-visit pass run by MOTAC, applied for only through a MOTAC-licensed MM2H company — individual walk-in applications are not accepted. It is not permanent residence, and it is not presented in the official material as a citizenship path. The former offshore-income requirement has been removed for the standard tiers; what replaced it is capital, stated plainly in the next paragraph.

The capital test, up front. Silver asks for a US$150,000 fixed deposit plus a compulsory residential purchase of at least RM600,000, with a 10-year resale lock. Apply the maximum permitted 50% deposit withdrawal to the purchase, add only the items priced in this research — the RM40,000 licensed-operator service charge, the RM1,000 participation fee and 8% foreign-buyer stamp duty on RM600,000 (RM48,000) — and the household commits ≈RM995,000 before legal, valuation, consent, furnishing, insurance and living costs. At Kuala Lumpur’s reported RM1,000,000 floor the same arithmetic is ≈RM1.43 million. If your plan is to live on a pension and rent, read the rest of this card with that sentence in hand — there is no pensioner door at pension prices.

The tiers, exactly as MOTAC states them. Silver (age 25+): US$150,000 deposit, RM1,000 one-off participation fee, purchase of RM600,000 or more, 5-year renewable pass. Gold: US$500,000, RM3,000, RM1,000,000 or more, 15 years. Platinum: US$1,000,000, RM200,000, RM2,000,000 or more, 20 years. The deposits print in U.S. dollars because MOTAC states them in U.S. dollars — ringgit conversions of the deposit circulating on agent pages are moving-rate arithmetic or superseded drafts, never official figures. After approval, up to 50% of the deposit may be withdrawn for home purchase, education, healthcare or tourism; the purchase is compulsory; the home may not be resold for 10 years except to upgrade to a higher-value property; non-compliance can cancel the pass.

How a filing actually runs. After conditional approval you endorse with a short official packet: the approval letter, a medical report, health insurance if you are 60 or below (Malaysian or foreign insurer, worldwide coverage), the stamped security bond, and the fixed-deposit certificate — the official checklist states it in U.S. dollars (Silver US$150,000) and tagged under lien (MOTAC Endorsement Checklist, updated 10 October 2024). Confirm with the bank, at endorsement, how it books the dollar amount. Printed as agent practice, not a MOTAC rule: licensed operators state that the purchase SPA must reach MOTAC within 12 months of the visa being issued or the pass is cancelled (Alter Domus guide, checked 8 October 2026). That deadline appears in operator guidance, not in a MOTAC checklist we could open — treat it as the working deadline and confirm it with your operator in writing.

The stay rule — both official wordings, never merged. MOTAC’s category overview states that participants aged 25–49 must accumulate 90 days a year in Malaysia (shareable with a spouse and dependants) and that age 50+ has no minimum-stay requirement; the guidelines page and the individual tier pages state the 90-day rule without spelling out the 50+ exemption (MOTAC pages checked 8 October 2026). If you are under 50, plan on the 90 days. If you are 50+, the overview’s exemption is the words to rely on — get your operator to confirm it in writing.

Work, help and the rest of life. Platinum alone allows business, investment and employment activity, and Platinum alone lists a foreign domestic helper; Silver and Gold need a separate relevant pass to work. Dependants, the panel health screening after approval, and what happens on the principal’s death (the pass may transfer to the next-of-kin among registered dependants) are in the family card.

Fees — two sourced rows, never one total. Fees as MOTAC publishes them, not yet reconciled into one official total: the programme overview shows renewal at RM1,500 (Silver) / RM3,000 (Gold) / RM5,000 (Platinum) after the maximum term, while the guidelines page describes the in-term sticker renewal at a fixed pass fee of RM500 per year (visa fee RM0–50 by nationality). The RM5,000 principal processing fee (RM2,500 per dependant) is stated separately from the licensed operator’s government-set service charge (RM40,000 Silver / RM55,000 Gold / RM70,000 Platinum; no more than 20% collected upfront, against a RM200,000 operator bank guarantee). MOTAC’s pages do not say whether the operator’s package absorbs the processing fee. Get your operator’s mandated participant agreement — no hidden charges, refund terms in writing — before the 20% deposit.

Leaving is a defined process. A termination application, your approval letter and passes, and the fixed-deposit certificate or an official bank letter; MOTAC’s client charter is three working days on a complete file (MOTAC MM2H Application Guidelines Booklet, 2026). Deposit withdrawals before that run on the same rails: the sale-and-purchase agreement and payment receipt in, lien status confirmed by the bank’s original letter out.

The cheaper doors come with a map attached — Forest City and Sarawak

The cheap headline buys a zone, not a city. The cheap headline — US$32,000 deposited at age 50+ — buys a home you must purchase directly from the developer inside the designated special zone (in practice Forest City, Johor), not a freely chosen home in Penang or Kuala Lumpur. It carries no work or business rights and the same 10-year resale lock. The SEZ/SFZ terms as MOTAC states them: minimum age 21; fixed deposit US$65,000 (ages 21–49) or US$32,000 (age 50+); one-off participation fee RM1,000 for the principal; the property price floor follows the relevant state policy; a 10-year renewable pass with a RM300 renewal fee for principal and dependants; no foreign domestic helper; business, investment and employment are not allowed. The filing sequence as licensed operators describe it — conditional approval, then the developer purchase, then endorsement — is agent practice until MOTAC publishes the category’s own checklist.

Sarawak’s door is a Sarawak pass. Sarawak’s S-MM2H authorizes residence in Sarawak (30+ days a year there are mandatory). No current official Sarawak source authorizes full-time residence in Peninsular Malaysia, and approval letters issued since November 2022 are reported to permit Peninsular travel, not residence. It is not a cheaper back door to Penang or Kuala Lumpur, and reported non-enforcement of that condition is unofficial and changeable. The terms (MTCP SMM2H Application Guidelines, version dated 31 July 2025): main applicant age 30+; a fixed deposit of RM500,000 per application — spouse and dependants included — in an S-MM2H panel bank in Sarawak; plus one financial proof: a pension of RM10,000/month (RM15,000 with dependants), offshore employment income of RM10,000/RM15,000 a month, or a savings closing balance of RM100,000 (RM200,000 with dependants) shown over three months. After one year, up to 50% may be withdrawn for a Sarawak house, car, medical expenses or children’s education in Sarawak, with at least RM250,000 remaining. The pass runs 5 years + 5 years; after 10 years you apply again as a new application. Processing fee RM5,000; physical submission at the MTCP One-Stop Centre in Kuching; a sponsor is an S-MM2H licensed agent company or a qualifying immediate-family personal sponsor; the medical examination is performed in Sarawak. Property purchase is optional (Sarawak floors in the buying card). No full-time work; part-time professional work is capped at 20 hours a week in approved sectors through MTCP/State approval; business participation is a minority, sleeping joint-venture role up to 49% with at least RM250,000 paid-up capital. It is not permanent-residence status.

The stale-source warning. Live MTCP subpages and the Sarawak Tourism FAQ still display pre-2025 figures and a blanket work prohibition. The dated 31 July 2025 guidelines and the ministerial announcement effective 1 January 2025 govern — do not quote the stale pages for numbers, and do not import Sarawak’s different dependant and part-time-work rules into the federal cards above.

The old MM2H numbers still circulating — labelled, dated history

Printed only so you can recognise them. Before the 2024 restructure, MM2H quoted an offshore income of RM40,000/month (the 2021 rules; RM10,000/month before that) with RM1,000,000 in liquid assets. Every one of those figures is superseded. The RM40,000/month and RM1,000,000 tests that agent marketing still attaches to MM2H belong to the Premium Visa Programme in the investor card above and to this dead history — they are not, and never print on this page as, an MM2H requirement.

One more slogan that does not print. MOTAC’s programme overview carries the line “NO TAX ON FOREIGN FUNDS/INCOME.” That is programme-page wording, not a Malaysian tax rule, and it never prints here as one — the tax section below carries the tax authority’s (LHDN’s) actual position, with its condition and its 2036 horizon attached.

The recognition test for any helper: an agent quoting an income-only MM2H at RM40,000 a month, or converting the Silver deposit into a supposedly official ringgit figure, is quoting a dead programme or a moving exchange rate — exactly the stale-number failure this dossier exists to correct, and a rejected category in the contacts section.

To enter — certificates that open doors, not residence rights

One certificate can be legally required on arrival: yellow fever. Malaysia requires a valid yellow-fever vaccination certificate from travellers over 1 year old arriving from a country with a risk of yellow-fever transmission, including a transit of more than 12 hours through such a country (WHO country-requirements listing, captured 8 October 2026). A direct U.S.–Malaysia journey does not trigger it. The certificate’s own validity rule did not appear in the material opened — print stops at the requirement; confirm before travel, as the Health Ministry’s own traveller page was not opened for this edition.

Beyond that, the official-capture pass found no general entry health certificate, no COVID test or proof and no active COVID-era digital arrival form (dated absence, checked 8 October 2026 — printed as a dated absence, not a permanent promise).

The hospital ladder, honestly tiered

Kuala Lumpur is the ceiling. Gleneagles Hospital Kuala Lumpur (IHH; 376 licensed beds, 40 specialties, International Patient Centre; published direct-billing and guarantee-letter partners including Cigna, Aetna, Bupa, Henner and International SOS; published October 2026 figures: specialist consultation RM235–300, rooms from about RM105 (four-bed) to RM399 (single executive) per night before nursing and doctor fees, admission deposits around RM5,000–10,000 medical / RM15,000–30,000 surgical). Prince Court Medical Centre (also IHH, with international-patient pathways; its captured direct-billing detail is thinner this pass). Named as depth behind them: Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Sunway Medical Centre, the KPJ network and the Institut Jantung Negara heart institute.

George Town (Penang) is a genuine second hub, not footnotes. Island Hospital Penang — Malaysia’s first Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital, a Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) / Ministry of Health programme assessed with JCI/IQVIA input — runs around 600 beds and 120+ specialists across cardiology, oncology, orthopaedics, gastroenterology and neurology (ACHSI/MSQH accreditation). Penang Adventist Hospital (est. 1924; JCI) covers cardiology, oncology, renal and health screening. Gleneagles Hospital Penang and Pantai Hospital Penang (Bayan Baru, about 190 beds) complete the city’s set; an official international-patient page was not opened for either of those two.

Ipoh prints regional. Hospital Fatimah, KPJ Ipoh Specialist Hospital, Pantai Hospital Ipoh and Perak Community Specialist Hospital appear on the insurer/regulator panel list (November 2025); Sunway Medical Centre Ipoh appears in newer lists. No international-patient or direct-billing page was opened for this bench — it is regional private care with complex cases routing to Kuala Lumpur, roughly two hours by road or ETS train.

Johor Bahru, with its warning attached. Gleneagles Hospital Johor (Medini, opened 2015, about 300 beds, JCI) and Regency Specialist Hospital (reportedly the only Johor Bahru hospital on Singapore’s MOH MediSave overseas list since March 2010) lead it, with KPJ Johor Specialist and Puteri Specialist in panel lists. The MediSave point concerns Singaporean entitlement — living in Johor Bahru gives a U.S. retiree no Singapore residence, insurance entitlement or MediSave rights, and this page never lets JB copy imply one.

Kuching prints materially thinner, because it is. Timberland Medical Centre (IHH), Borneo Medical Centre (about 80 beds; cardiology, oncology, nephrology, haemodialysis, radiotherapy), Normah Medical Specialist Centre (state-linked, est. 1988) and KPJ Kuching Specialist Hospital are the named bench; no official international-patient or direct-billing page was opened for any of them, on published evidence a step or more below Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

Kota Kinabalu is a printed gap. No Kota Kinabalu hospital’s international-patient or direct-billing page was opened in this research — the tertiary bench sits in Kuala Lumpur, a flight away. What prints for KK is the public backstop in the “To stay” card and the eastern-Sabah carve-out in the safety print, nothing more.

To stay — the repeat checks that stay live

The certificates you met at entry belong to the statuses. MM2H runs a panel health screening after approval, endorsement health insurance if the applicant is 60 or below, and — at the post-term five-year renewal — a medical report plus health-insurance evidence “if below 60 years old” (MOTAC Endorsement Checklist, updated 10 October 2024; MOTAC MM2H Application Guidelines Booklet, 2026). PVIP agency-published terms add a medical screening in Malaysia and health insurance to age 60. DE Rantau endorsement requires Malaysia-valid health insurance lasting at least three months and covering the pass period, plus an LHDN tax e-registration slip. The Employment Pass, on the official sources captured, carries no immigration medical screen — FOMEMA’s regime covers the blue-collar PLKS population — though an employer’s own pre-employment medical may apply.

For school-age children: vaccination is not a legal enrolment bar. Malaysia’s health and education machinery records immunisation history in the school health record and seeks parental consent, accepting refusal; there is no Malaysian law barring an unvaccinated or undocumented child from schooling (Health Minister statement on the citizen/non-citizen charge split; MOH/KPM mechanics as captured). Non-citizen children are charged at public clinics — the Health Minister put typical charges at RM40 registration/consultation plus RM40 immunisation for undocumented children — while National Immunisation Programme vaccines are free to citizens. Mandatory-schedule proposals for MMR/DTaP were considered and not enacted. Private and international schools may publish their own admission requirements — a school-level confirmation, never a general exclusion.

Public care is a backstop, priced by the gazette. Non-citizen charges follow the Fees (Medical) (Cost of Services) Order 2014 (P.U. (A) 363/2014, Federal Government Gazette 31 December 2014); the citable page is the Health Ministry’s foreigner-charges page (moh.gov.my, last updated 23 September 2025): general outpatient RM40, specialist RM120, emergency RM100 per visit; Class 3 ward RM160/day (Class 2 RM180; Class 1 RM200–320; adult ICU RM360). Admission deposits are not fixed by the Order — it leaves the amount to the Health Ministry Secretary-General: published hospital tables show RM600–1,200 for a Class 3 foreigner admission (Hospital Melaka: RM600 medical / RM1,200 surgical), with higher figures (RM1,400/RM2,800) reported in current practice (secondary) — confirm the deposit at the hospital. Emergencies are stabilised first and billed after. U.S. Medicare pays $0 here — Medicare usually covers nothing outside the U.S., with narrow documented exceptions (a foreign hospital closer in a U.S.-border emergency, the Alaska–Canada direct route, a foreign hospital closer to a U.S. home than any U.S. one) and Part D never covers drugs bought outside the U.S. That is not a residence health plan; budget Malaysian care as private insurance and/or self-pay.

Private insurance at 65, 70 and 75 — published tables, then the gap

Malaysian tariffs from Pacific Insurance Malaysia’s published premium tables (effective 1 July 2026; age next birthday, standard risks); insurer named on MOTAC’s official insurer list (#28, “among others,” motac.gov.my, opened 8 October 2026). Renewal premiums are never guaranteed.

At 65, first entry exists and is published. Medi-Care RM1,747–4,376/year; Medi-Major RM746–1,070; Medi-Pro RM4,997–6,778. At 70 the same tables print renewal-only tariffs: Medi-Care RM2,368–5,941; Medi-Major RM1,199–1,721; Medi-Pro RM7,750–9,548. AIA Malaysia publishes entry from 14 days to age 70 with cover options to 100 (no premium table published on its official page; a trade-press rider cost of RM6,028–7,607/year for a 70-year-old woman is rider cost of insurance only). Allianz FlexMed Choice prints entry to 70 and expiry at 100 (65–69 around RM5,063–12,087 and 70–74 RM6,250–15,969 on its RM5,000-deductible table; its MediSafe Infinite “entry to 70, guaranteed renewal to 90” is an indexed-only reported rule).

At 75, no new-entry local price exists — say so. No Malaysian local insurer we could open sells new medical entry at 75 — at that age the dated evidence is renewal-only tariffs (Pacific Medi-Major RM1,540–2,237; Medi-Pro RM10,316–12,698 at 75, same 1 July 2026 tables) or international cover priced by individual quote. Verified age rules print instead of invented prices: Cigna Global senior plan — applications at any age at sale or renewal, lifetime guaranteed renewability; Allianz Care — applications to the day before the 76th birthday; William Russell — new members up to and including 75, renewable thereafter with no age stop. No international insurer publishes a 65/70/75 premium as text; all of them price by individual quote.

The pre-existing condition fork decides more than the headline price. Local Malaysian plans exclude pre-existing (and congenital) illness, with a 30-day general and 120-day specified-illness waiting period; international plans underwrite case by case — accept, exclude, load or decline. Never assume a named condition is covered until the named insurer underwrites it in writing.

And the immigration duty is narrower than the fear. MM2H’s official insurance duty binds applicants 60 and below at endorsement, and below 60 at renewal — the over-60 buyer still needs a health plan as a life cost, priced from this card and the public-charges scale, not as an endorsement checkbox.

MM2H, PVIP and immigration — the official registers first, then licensed agents

Official route (the authority, not a vendor): MM2H runs only through companies licensed by MOTAC. The licensed-company register at motac.gov.my (and the agency directory at mm2h.gov.my/agencies) held 253 records when opened on 8 October 2026 — check your operator’s licence number and validity there before anything else; where the register and a website disagree, the register wins. MOTAC’s operator rules cap what an agent may collect (service charges: Silver RM40,000 / Gold RM55,000 / Platinum RM70,000 / SEZ RM40,000; no more than 20% upfront; a RM200,000 operator bank guarantee backs each licence). PVIP filings run only through agencies registered with the Immigration Department (verifiable on imi.gov.my — the authorised-agencies list was updated 3 April 2026).

Verified against the MOTAC register, 8 October 2026 — one firm per line:

• Alter Domus (MM2H) Sdn. Bhd. — licence MM2H810 (register validity shown to Aug 2028; Penang HQ, plus Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru branches; alterdomus.com.my; +60124868966 per the register). MM2H handler since 2006 by firm statement, re-licensed under the current rules; its published 12-month SPA-practice line is attributed to this firm in the route card.
• My Expat (MM2H) Sdn Bhd — MM2H874 (validity 22/09/2025–22/10/2028; 8-02 Level 8 Plaza 138, Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur; mm2h.co; +60176699522).
• WANDA (MM2H) Sdn. Bhd. — MM2H855 (validity 25/08/2025–27/09/2028; LOT LG-42 PJ Midtown, Jalan Kemajuan Seksyen 13, 46200 Petaling Jaya; mm2hwanda.com; +601163343810).
• Second Home Plan (MM2H) Sdn. Bhd. — MM2H937 (validity 28/04/2026–27/04/2028; Excella Business Park, Jalan Ampang Putra, 55100 Kuala Lumpur; +60127992325). Its panel partners are referrals, not in-house professionals — diligence each one separately.
• Action Realty (MM2H) Sdn. Bhd. — MM2H851 (validity 19/08/2025–25/09/2028; Island Plaza, Jalan Tanjung Tokong, Georgetown, Penang; +60164401199). A real-estate-anchored entry: visa filing only here — take independent conveyancing before any purchase.

Sarawak’s register is a printed gap. No current public MTCP licensee register could be retrieved (8 October 2026); the last public list is the archived 15 March 2022 register (17 companies, validities expiring 2022–2025). Two names survive from that list as legacy-listed candidates only — not verified: Aramaz Borneo (MM2H) Sdn Bhd (Kuching; aramaz.com.my; [email protected] per the 2022 list; 2022 validity to 21-02-2025) and Jaunt Asia (MM2H) Sdn Bhd (Kuching; 2022-list validity to 25-06-2024 — expired on the face of the old list). Diligence instruction: verify current Sarawak licence status directly with MTCP Kuching before engaging anyone, and ignore outdated “no agents allowed — Sarawakian sponsor only” guidance: MTCP accepts a qualifying personal sponsor or a registered agent.

Refuse on sight: developers or general real-estate agencies giving MM2H eligibility advice without a MOTAC MM2H licence (licence numbers in the register run in the MM2Hxxxx format); “guaranteed approval” marketing; and any helper quoting an income-only MM2H at RM40,000 a month — a dead programme, printed as history in the route cards.

Hospitals — the desks that were evidenced

Dated-evidence, institution level — verify every phone on the hospital’s own page before travel:

• Gleneagles Hospital Kuala Lumpur (IHH; 376 licensed beds, 40 specialties; published direct-billing partners include Cigna, Aetna, Bupa, Henner, International SOS; published Oct 2026: specialist consultation RM235–300, admission deposits ~RM5,000–10,000 medical / RM15,000–30,000 surgical).
• Prince Court Medical Centre (IHH; Kuala Lumpur; international-patient pathways published; direct-billing detail thinner in this pass).
• Island Hospital Penang (George Town; Malaysia’s first Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital, MHTC/MOH with JCI/IQVIA input; ~600 beds, 120+ specialists).
• Penang Adventist Hospital (George Town; est. 1924; JCI; cardiology, oncology, renal, health screening).
• Gleneagles Hospital Penang and Pantai Hospital Penang (Bayan Baru, ~190 beds) — an official international-patient page was not opened for either in this edition.
• Gleneagles Hospital Johor (Medini; ~300 beds; JCI) and Regency Specialist Hospital (reported the only JB hospital on Singapore’s MediSave overseas list since March 2010 — a Singaporean entitlement point, not a U.S. retiree’s).
• Ipoh bench — Hospital Fatimah, KPJ Ipoh Specialist Hospital, Pantai Hospital Ipoh, Perak Community Specialist Hospital (panel list, Nov 2025): no international-patient page opened; regional care, complex cases to Kuala Lumpur.
• Kuching bench — Timberland Medical Centre (IHH), Borneo Medical Centre (~80 beds), Normah Medical Specialist Centre (est. 1988), KPJ Kuching Specialist Hospital: no international-patient or direct-billing page opened for any of them.
• Kota Kinabalu — printed gap: no hospital international-patient or direct-billing page was opened in this research; the public foreigner-charges backstop is the only hospital print this city carries.

Money, tax and the move — fee-published help, and the gap beside it

SSA pays into Malaysia by International Direct Deposit (Form SSA-1199-OP56, ringgit account; Federal Benefits Unit Manila is the serving unit — re-verify its contact on ssa.gov; no FBU email is printed here because none was verified against an SSA page in this edition).

Listed — not vetted — one firm per line (U.S.-side, fully remote; published flat fees at capture, 8 October 2026):

• Greenback Tax Services (greenbacktaxservices.com) — all preparers are U.S.-licensed CPAs or IRS Enrolled Agents; Form 1040/2555/1116, FBAR (FinCEN 114) and FATCA work; published flat fees from $565 federal and $125 for FBAR. The Malaysian host-country return runs through its partner network.
• Taxes for Expats (TFX) (taxesforexpats.com) — expat-only practice, CPAs/EAs/JDs; FBAR $85, Form 8938 $100, Forms 5471/8621, Streamlined packages and IRS representation; published flat-fee table; online-only, New York HQ.

Printed GAP beside them: no walk-in Kuala Lumpur firm was verified in this research as IRS-credentialed (CPA/EA), and no named Malaysian LHDN adviser is verified — the Malaysian residency/filing side prints as an open instruction: engage one locally, cross-border on paper. Any firm marketing treaty-based U.S.–Malaysia planning is a red flag: no U.S.–Malaysia tax treaty exists.

Moving the household — Verified (directory-dated), one firm per line (FIDI status prints only as directory-listed on the capture date, 8 October 2026 — re-verify on fidi.org before booking):

• Santa Fe Relocation Services Sdn Bhd (Shah Alam; santaferelo.com; +60 3 5569 1856; FIDI affiliate Kuala Lumpur; international moving, home search, settling-in incl. banking/utilities/school overview, licence help — corporate heritage, private-pay by quote).
• Crown Relocations Malaysia (Shah Alam; crownrelo.com; [email protected]; +603 6062 0388).
• Asian Tigers Malaysia (Shah Alam; asiantigersgroup.com/malaysia; +60 3 5565 2200; FAIM stated via directory profile; relocation services via a sister company — confirm the contracting entity before signing).
• Allied Moving Services Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, plus Johor Bahru and Penang; allied.com/my; +60 3-6253 6553; Malaysia operation since 1989; pet and vehicle moves via partners — get the pet specialist’s name in writing).
• AGS Movers Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Penang coverage; agsmovers.com; +60 36251 7175; ISO 9001 and IAM stated; freight and storage focus, settling-in limited).

Rentals — dated samples, and the tenant-side gap

What prints is what the places section prints: dated individual samples — Numbeo contributor crowd data (platform and update dates labelled, never a listing or a lease) and PropertyGuru asking rents for Ipoh (opened September–October 2026). The standing sentence of the places section applies: no signed-lease evidence was obtained for any Malaysian city in this research (checked 8 October 2026).

Printed GAP: no named tenant-side agent with a published tenant-fee policy was captured for any compared city. The relocation firms listed under “Money, tax and the move” do home search, but no published tenant-fee statement was evidenced. Do not accept a “typical rent” from any agent who will not state in writing who they represent and what the tenant pays.

The discipline that replaces the gap: treat every rent number as a dated sample, re-verify anything older than a season against the live listing, and let the dated samples — not an agent’s monthly budget — carry your budgeting until a signed lease exists.

Health insurance — listed firms, written quotes

Listed — not vetted (institution/offer level from the sources captured 8 October 2026; never a price this page has not dated). Local Malaysian insurers named on MOTAC’s official List of Insurance Companies (motac.gov.my, opened 8 October 2026 — “among others,” a floor, not an endorsement):

• Pacific Insurance Malaysia — the published age tables quoted in the health section (effective 1 July 2026; MOTAC list #28); 65 first-entry tariffs exist; 75 is renewal-only.
• AIA Malaysia — entry from 14 days to age 70, cover options to 100 (official page captured; no premium table published).
• Allianz Malaysia — FlexMed Choice (entry max 70, expiry 100); MediSafe Infinite (reported entry to 70, guaranteed renewal to 90).
• Cigna Global — senior plan: applications at any age, no age limit at sale or renewal, lifetime guaranteed renewability (a rule, never a price).
• Allianz Care — applications to the day before the 76th birthday; full medical underwriting above 65; the moratorium route closes the day before 65.
• William Russell — new members up to and including age 75, renewable thereafter without age stop; underwriting case by case.
• Pacific Prime — broker: free comparison quotes across insurers (AXA/Cigna/Allianz/William Russell/AIA/Bupa shown); the insurer is the counterparty; confirm adviser licensing for Malaysia placement before signing.

The discipline: no international insurer publishes a 65/70/75 premium as text — every one is an individual quote. Two insurers under 70 are enough to test; refuse to decide from a brochure. Published Pacific tariffs are premium-table text; anything else must be a written quote at your actual age, stating territory, limits, deductible, outpatient and pre-existing handling, and renewal age. Local plans exclude pre-existing and congenital conditions — the condition-level answer comes only from the named insurer’s underwriting.

Bringing a pet — the official machinery first

The machinery (DVS/MAQIS rules as summarised by the named relocators below; the Department of Veterinary Services page itself belongs on the re-confirm list): importing a dog or cat requires a DVS import permit; a government vet-endorsed health certificate (7-day validity); a microchip implanted before the rabies vaccination (30 days to 12 months pre-entry); and mandatory MAQIS quarantine — a minimum of 7 days, 10 days from Australia — at the KLIA, Penang or Padang Besar stations. Banned breeds cannot be imported at all (categories include Akita, American Bulldog and Pit Bull Terrier types); restricted breeds need extra DVS/MAQIS approval. Confirm your agent’s MAQIS/DVS registration at booking — the rules changed in 2024.

Listed — not vetted — one firm per line:

• RF Pets Relocation Services (pets2malaysia) — Kuala Lumpur (by appointment); pets2malaysia.com; [email protected]; +6012-651 8403; KLIA one-stop import/export/transit: DVS permit, quarantine booking and care, IATA crates, ground transport, rabies titre testing; Malaysia-based since 2009/2010.
• PetRelocation (petrelocation.com/country/malaysia) — global coordinator; flags the ink-endorsed USDA health certificate (digital-only not sufficient), ISO microchip standard and Sabah/Sarawak titre differences; Malaysian ground handling runs through local partners. Allied Moving Services (above) also arranges pet moves via partners — get the specialist’s name in writing.