Will Malaysia's 90-day visa prompt Hongkongers to seek 'much cheaper' medical treatment?

A new 90-day visa for Hongkongers looking to visit Malaysia might be a boon for the country's tourism sector as the city tries to forge closer ties in Southeast Asia.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said last week that Hongkongers would be able to enjoy a free-visa stay for three months in Malaysia, three times the previous limit.

The announcement was made after he met Hong Kong leader John Lee, who made the final stop of his Southeast Asian tour in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

According to visa consultants in Hong Kong and Malaysia, the new rule would go a long way in boosting tourism between the two places. Malaysia would also be reciprocating the 90-day visa-free travel that Malaysian passport holders already have in the Asian financial hub.

Vincent Fong, founder of the Hong Kong-based MM2H club that supports Hongkongers looking to relocate to Malaysia, said the reaction among his clients was generally "very positive".

"The lengthened three-month social visit pass will now align Hong Kong with other major Commonwealth countries such as the UK, Australia, and Canada, of which passport holders have always enjoyed extended 90 days stay in Malaysia," he said.

The extension might also spark interest in medical tourism and business investment opportunities, said Anthony Liew, president of the MM2H Consultant Association agency in Malaysia.

Hongkongers are likely to use this visa for tourism but also for practical reasons, including medical treatment.

In 2019, Malaysia attracted more than 1.2 million healthcare travellers, according to data from government agency Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council, with China, Singapore and Indonesia being some of its top source countries.

Following a drop in travellers during the pandemic, the medical tourism programme bounced back last year, bringing in 850,000 travellers to Malaysia, and a revenue of 1.3 billion ringgit (US$285 million).

According to Liew, while some of his Hong Kong-based clients were sceptical about the quality and safety of healthcare in Malaysia in the past, this had changed a lot because of positive word of mouth attention in recent years.

Malaysia's lower prices for medical procedures are also a strong appeal.

"For people from Hong Kong, it is also a much cheaper option," said Liew. "So for those who travel to Malaysia for short-term stays and medical check-ups, this [90-day visa] will be convenient."

Last week, the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council government agency signed a memorandum of understanding with a number of Hong Kong healthcare firms, including Swindon Medical and Diagnostics and Amber Medical.

Under the agreement, the firms will help arrange transport and screenings for patients from Hong Kong looking to get medical services in Malaysia.

Anwar told local media that Lee said his government was also considering opening a trade office in Kuala Lumpur to bolster cooperation between the two places. Currently, Malaysia falls under the purview of the Hong Kong trade office in Jakarta, which was set up in 2016.

According to Hong Kong government data, trade between the two sides was worth HK$220 billion (US$28.1 billion) in 2022, making it Malaysia's ninth-largest trading partner.

Business owners or investors in Malaysia will have more flexibility through this visa to come to the country, which might aid the ease of doing business, Liew said. "They can come to Malaysia more frequently and with an easier pathway," he added.

Lee's trip to Southeast Asia came as Hong Kong seeks to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the world's largest trade bloc made up of 15 Asia-Pacific jurisdictions, including all 10 member states of Asean.

Before his stop at Malaysia, he was in Indonesia and Singapore, where he signed pacts on trade and financial services.

The introduction of the 90-day visa comes after the Malaysian government announced in April that it would review the onerous requirements of its Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) visa scheme, Fong said.

Applications for the scheme plunged by 90 per cent from key markets in 2021, including Hong Kong, partly because of the pandemic but also due to a significant hike in the programme's income criteria.

Under the new rules, foreigners had to prove they owned liquid assets worth 1.5 million ringgit (US$354,000) - more than triple the previous amount.

But Malaysia is reconsidering the requirements to revive interest in the scheme, whose successful early years attracted tens of thousands of people relocating to the country.

"A lot more Hongkongers may consider applying for long stay programmes such as the MM2H or PVIP after sampling the lifestyle of Malaysia in these 90-day periods," said Fong, referring to the Malaysia Premium Visa Programme that allows wealthy foreigners to invest and live in Malaysia for 20 years.

But Liew said interest from Hong Kong in the MM2H had remained stagnant in the past few months because of a lack of new developments.

There have been no new announcements about changes to the scheme since a statement from the Malaysian minister of tourism, arts, and culture in April saying the application process for the programme "will be made more flexible".

"Once the new requirements are announced, I hope that it will attract more people from Hong Kong to come to Malaysia," he said.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.