China is the biggest source of foreigners under Malaysia’s international residency scheme

They are flocking there.

Chan Cheow Pong | March 23, 2017, 02:14 PM

It seems that Malaysia is a well sought after second home for the Chinese from China.

Chinese nationals form the biggest group of successful applicants under the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme.

MM2H is an international residency scheme that lets eligible foreigners stay in Malaysia for 10 years on a multiple-entry social visit pass that is renewable. The scheme, which is open to citizens of all countries recognised by Malaysia, also allows applicants to bring in their spouses and unmarried children below the age of 21.

From 2002 to November 2016, nearly 7,976 Chinese nationals have had their applications approved, out of an overall total of 31,723 successful applications.

This is followed by Japan (4,127), Bangladesh (3,399), the United Kingdom (2,361), Iran (1,331), Singapore (1,258), Taiwan (1,175), Korea (1,174), Pakistan (958), India (861).

Malaysia Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz gave these figures on Mar. 22, in response to a question from a Member of Parliament.

In recent years, many wealthy Chinese have flocked to Malaysia to buy property and take up residency. This has created considerable unease among Malaysians to the extent that it has become a political issue ahead of the country's upcoming General Election.

Earlier this month, Nazri had revealed that four North Koreans have been accepted under the MM2H programme in 2013 and 2014, while "hundreds of applications" were rejected amid concerns that it was being exploited by North Korea to deploy secret agents overseas.

Top photo from official portal of MM2H.

If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest updates.