Buying Property in Malaysia as a Foreigner: State Thresholds, MM2H and the 8% Duty

By Priya Mehrotra · Asia Pacific Properties, Bangkok · September 2026

The state minimums

This is the table most guides skip, and it is the one that decides where you can afford to look.

State	Minimum for a foreign buyer
Kuala Lumpur	RM1 million
Selangor	RM2 million landed; around RM1.5 million stratified. Foreigners may buy strata and gated landed-strata only — not standard individual-title landed
Penang Island	RM1 million strata; RM3 million landed
Penang mainland	RM500,000
Johor	RM1 million generally. New strata units bought directly from developers in Medini Iskandar are exempt from the state minimum

Penang Island carries the country’s steepest gap: a foreigner wanting a bungalow faces a RM3 million floor, while the same buyer can hold a strata unit at a third of that. Selangor’s restriction is structural rather than financial — individual-title landed property is closed to foreigners there regardless of price.

The consent nobody mentions until late

Every transfer of property to a foreign buyer requires the consent of the State Authority under section 433B of the National Land Code. It is not a formality to be handled after exchange; it is a condition of the transfer, it takes time, and it can be refused.

Build it into the transaction timetable and into the contract. A sale agreement that does not deal with what happens if consent is delayed or refused is a sale agreement that has not been read properly.

MM2H: three tiers, and a floor that overrides the states

Tier	Fixed deposit	Minimum property	Visa
Silver	USD 150,000	RM600,000	5 years
Gold	USD 500,000	RM1 million	15 years
Platinum	USD 1 million	RM2 million	20 years

The detail that catches people: the federal MM2H minimum applies regardless of the state threshold. If a state permits foreign purchase at RM500,000, a Silver-tier applicant must still spend RM600,000 to satisfy the visa requirement. Buying at the state floor and applying for MM2H afterwards does not work.

MM2H has been revised more than once and the tier structure above reflects the programme as currently constituted. Anyone building a relocation plan around it should confirm the conditions directly, including the deposit-retention and minimum-stay requirements attaching to each tier, which are the terms most often restated inaccurately in the secondary market.

Costing it honestly

Take a RM1.5 million strata unit in Kuala Lumpur. Stamp duty at 8% is RM120,000 before legal fees, valuation, and the consent process. That is a materially different purchase from the same unit in 2025, and it changes the holding period at which the transaction breaks even.

Real Property Gains Tax applies on disposal, at rates that vary with the holding period and are less favourable for foreign sellers than for citizens. We are not printing a rate here because we have not confirmed the current schedule to our own standard; ask your Malaysian solicitor for the figure that applies to your holding period and status before you model an exit.

What is closed regardless of budget

Malay Reserve land — not available to foreign buyers at any price.
Properties allocated to Bumiputera quota within a development.
Low and medium-cost housing as defined by the state.
Agricultural land, other than in limited circumstances and with consent.
In Selangor, individual-title landed property as noted above.

Sources

State-by-state minimum purchase thresholds for foreign buyers, 2026.
National Land Code section 433B — State Authority consent for transfers to foreign buyers.
Malaysia My Second Home programme tier structure and financial requirements.
Stamp duty on residential property transfers to foreign buyers, flat 8% from 2026.

This is journalism, not legal or tax advice. Malaysian state thresholds, MM2H conditions and duty rates change, and several differ by zone within a single state. Confirm with a Malaysian solicitor and the relevant state authority before committing.