Moving to Malaysia from Australia

I lived in Malaysia for around 12 years and used an insurance agent, although you can easily work directly with the big insurance companies yourself. The advantage of using an agent is that she did my vehicle insurance as well as my families health insurance and when better deals came long she's arrange everything at my home so that I could switch insurance companies. The last medical company that we used was with Pacific Insurance. I think we paid around MYR4,600 per year for myself (in my fifties back then), my wife and two young kids. That was for a private room. when I had my slipped disc operation they paid the hospital directly when I checked out. But if you have a good insurance agent they will visit your home and tell you everything you need to know and the cost.

Normally you cannot open a bank account whether with a local bank or international bank in Malaysia with a tourist visit.

Yes anyone can buy property with a tourist visa. I think I had already purchased four properties on a tourist visa before I every considered getting my MM2H. One of my banks was HSBC so transferring large amounts of money from overseas was easy between different HSBC branches. I don't know if it is still the same but I guess it should be.

With MM2H you can rent a place. You do not need to buy a house or apartment. That's totally up to you. With a tourist visa you need to queue up at immigration and that can be slow but some airports have a fast track for MM2H although I do not know if this is still applicable. Obviously with MM2H you can come and go as you please whereas with a tourist visa you might be blocked from making visa runs. Times have changed and immigration is less easy going.

You can bring your dog which has to undergo quarantine. Note that many Malays do not like dogs and many are scared of dogs, so if you live in an apartment you need to know in advance whether dogs are allowed on the premises. With a landed property or house, no problems if you are purchasing the house. If renting then you need to check if the landlord allows pets. Certain places allow dogs but many do not. Dogs won't be allowed in shopping malls.

Hi Daniel
90 day tourist pass (not a visa as such): You won't get one right now. Foreigners are not allowed to enter the country during the current health crisis unless they have MM2H or an employment visa.
2. Aged over 65, you will find it difficult (but not impossible, just less choice) to obtain entry to an insurance scheme. All I can say is shop around. Be aware that local policies have low limits on yearly payouts compared with international policies, but health costs in Malaysia are generally low.
3. No.
4. Anyone can buy a house in Malaysia, no visa required. But in KL it has to exceed RM1 million, and in Selangor RM2 million. I suggest you look at Transferwise or other money transfer companies rather than banks who will rip you off on the exchange rate.
5. Not advisable these days. Eventually you'll be caught and possibly excluded.

MM2H (also not really a visa, more a long term tourist pass conferring very few rights):
1. Shop around after you get here.
2. I'm told amounts above RM30k are going to attract attention unless you have a very good reason for the transfer. Buying a house or creating a Fixed Deposit for MM2H are of course valid reasons.
3. Renting is fine.
4. If you're married to your partner, you should be eligible for a Long Term Social Visit Pass. I think they hand out six months on first application, then gradually longer periods as you repeatedly renew. I know nothing about the process but I understand it's not really easy. You will need to register any foreign marriage in Malaysia.

Your dog: getting it here may be tricky. Once here and through quarantine etc, it's not an issue - dogs are common here. Renting with pets may be a problem.

Hi Shill,

I spent considerable time trying to research insurance brokers and couldn't come up with much information on them.  Can you recommend the one you used?

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"Firstly on a 3-month TOURIST Visa:
1.       I have been many times to Malaysia, and have a Malaysian partner.
2.       Which health insurance gives the best value, the offshore quotes are outrageous.
[Useless to talk about this now...but rates always better domestically, for Malaysia-only coverage, but tourist usually pay OTC as there is not guarantee that they can stay long-term]

3.       Can I open a Malaysian Bank Account as a tourist?
NO

4.       Stated that I can buy a property on a Tourist visa, how to transfer such a large amount?

You could probably make a bank-to-bank transfer to the sellers account. But without a long-term visa is this prudent? Many people now realize that even with an MM2H visa that access to their property and right to return to Malaysia is not necessarily guaranteed.

5.       Is leaving and returning every 3 months a problem for the visa?

Do you mean leaving for three months and then returning? Pre-Covid that was okay. But no tourists are being allowed in now...and even those with long-term visas (like MM2H) have been told that if they leave they may not be allowed to return...even with quarantine/negative testing.

But short term visa runs have long been subject to arbitrary crackdowns. Most people who used them would leave several weeks before the expiration date and stay several weeks out. Some have been denied more than a week pass if the immigration officer found several in-and-outs over a year period.

Now consider the reality that no surrounding country is accepting tourists...where would you go for the run?

*****

Secondly on an MM2H Visa:
1.       Which health insurance gives the best value?
[Depends on what you consider "best value". Many simply want a policy as a placeholder to fulfill the insurance condition, others want some service, particularly for catastrophic illness, other people want international as well as domestic coverage.]

2.       When I open the Malaysian Bank Account is there any money limits I can transfer?

  [Depends on the reporting requirements of you home nation, but generally there is no limit provided you use official conversion procedures]

3.       DO I need to deposit some money PLUS buy a house, or is renting ok?

[MM2H did not require purchasing property...or even renting...or even LIVING in Malaysia]

4.       Your BEST advice on MM2H or Tourist visa?

  [New MM2H applications are suspended until at least December 2020; Tourist "passes" are not being issued until at least August 31st and probably not for a good while.  The exception is Sarawak MM2H which is still open and not suspended. Sarawak requires either proof of pension RM7000/10,000 couple OR the submission of a Fixed Deposit of RM100,000/RM150,000 couple. The do currently require a Sarawakian sponsor

Money transfers by foreigners are met with a lot of scrutiny now. You might be asked to prove where you got the money, if it was honestly earned and prove you have paid income taxes on it in your country.

Insurance....you may be stuck and have nothing. Most local plans are not expensive but end before 70 and are only annual, meaning you have to apply for new insurance each year. If during the year you were sick with something, whatever you made a claim for would be excluded in the future. Part of qualification is a health exam wherein you are judged by local standards such as lower weight than westerners usually have. If your weight is say, 100kg, you may be denied insurance or pay heftily. If you have insurance in your country under retirement arrangements, my advice is to keep and pay for that, pay cash in Malaysia for small things and go home for serious things like surgery.

Forget in-out visa runs.

And forget even trying to come now. Incomers are forced into govt quarantine for 15 days, RM150/day charge, multiple covid tests, a bowl of rice a day, cant leave, cant order outside food, locked in a small room with others.

If you marry the malaysian you can get a visa to stay and given the shoddy and shabby treatment being given MM2H holders now, a spouse visa might be the final option.

Im with AIA for a family of 3 its RM4000 per year.

Me 47 years

Wife 23 years

Child 3 years

That's about right.

Back in 2015 we were paying around Rm4600 for a family of four with me in my late fifties and my wife who is younger and both kids at kindergarten age. And that's with a private room for hospitalization. But the biggest premium was for me because of my age.