Malaysia
In plain termsA long-stay pass can let you remain without letting you work. Tax residence starts at 182 days in a basis year. Foreign income received in Malaysia by a resident sits under a time-limited exemption that ends on 31 December 2026 — not a Thailand-style remittance machine.
StayEnter and remainMM2H (incl. SEZ/SFZ), Sabah / Sarawak state programmes, and DE Rantau — stay is not work authority.EarnWork lawfullyEmployment Pass, Professional Visit Pass, and Residence Pass-Talent — salary floors rose on 1 June 2026.TaxKnow who may tax you182 days, received-in-MY foreign income, FSI exemption to 2026.
Find your passport tax overlayEight corridors into Malaysia
What the codes mean10 terms in plain language
- MM2H
- Malaysia My Second Home — long-stay programme, not a work pass by default
- SEZ/SFZ
- federal MM2H tier for Special Economic / Financial Zones — Forest City, Johor
- Sabah MM2H
- Sabah state second-home programme — pass is Sabah-only
- S-MM2H
- Sarawak state second-home programme — separate from federal MM2H
- DE Rantau
- Malaysia digital-nomad track — Professional Visit Pass, max 24 months
- Employment Pass
- Malaysia ESD work authority — Categories I, II and III with salary bands
- Professional Visit Pass
- short host-sponsored assignment while you stay on an overseas payroll — max 12 months
- Residence Pass-Talent
- 10-year TalentCorp pass after three years on an Employment Pass at RM15,000+ basic
- 182 days
- Malaysia ITA s.7(1)(a) physical-presence test for tax residence in a basis year
- DTA
- double-tax agreement between two countries