This is Part 2 of an as yet indeterminate number of posts on the process of applying for MM2H in Sarawak. Week 1's adventures are here.

Days 1 and 2
We needed to get some other stuff on the move (more about that in due course), so we weren't back on the application trail until...

Day 3
... which was sponsor day and notary day.

Fortify yourself first with a walk in the park.


1. Then, collect from your sponsor the four items he/she needs to supply. In case you weren't paying attention in the first post, these are a) a letter of support for your application; b) a form with the sponsor's personal details; c) a "personal bond" form ("affixed with MYR 10.00 stamp duty by Inland Revenue"); and d) a certified copy of a piece of ID.

The personal bond form is the most painful. It has to be countersigned by a witness, and must contain no mistakes or second thoughts (because tippex is not acceptable, as we found to our cost). And as it's a long and draggy kind of form, it all but wills you to make mistakes.

(I'm jumping ahead here, but you need to note that you require one bond per person -- not one per couple. We didn't know this, and were enlightened only when we attempted to hand the stuff over at the end of the week. Your letter of support also has to mention both of you by name, and cite both your passport numbers. We didn't know this, and were enlightened only when we submitted the dossier for the second time... But we'll get back to this later.)

2. Next, start the certification process. We'd spotted several legal establishments in previous recces. The first two were shut come the glorious day (but you won't know that till you've climbed the steep flights of stairs to their offices). On the third attempt, and the third flight of stairs, we got lucky.

You'd think certification would be straightforward, but we actually needed to query a few things via WhatsApp with our helpful MTACYS contact.

In a series of exchanges, we established that, yes, you need to have every single page of the original document certified, and that, yes, that includes the blank pages of your passport, and that, yes, an "advocate" (the most common category of lawyer you see signs for out on the streets) was indeed an appropriate person to do this business (ie, you don't need a commissioner for oaths or anything like that).

3. Head for the Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia (LHDN -- the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia), where you will need to get your bond form stamped. Our nearest was on Jalan Green Hill. You start by filling in several computer screens full of information (but they'll help you with that), and then you collect a number, and wait until there's a slot at the stamping counter.

This is when we discovered that tippex on your bond form is a big, big no-no, and results in your having to do it all over again. But you won't make that mistake...

4. Next you return to your chosen advocates, to collect your brick-sized wodge of certification. All your medical forms, your term deposit certificate, your sponsor's ID, plus all -- yes, ALL -- the pages of your passport. The whole caboodle cost MYR 124 for both of us.

As we trod and retrod the circuit between our hotel, the lawyer's, and the LHDN, we kept passing through the Riverside Mall. So the soundtrack in my memory of this period will always be the slightly manic songs of CNY... Gongxi gongxi gongxi ni ya, gongxi gongxi gongxi ni...

5. Fill in the forms with all your personal details.

By this time you might need a little something from your hotel's happy-hour arrangement...


But take heart, friends, because the end is in sight...

Day 4
6. Return to the LHDN to get the untippexed version of your bond form stamped.

7. Get someone to witness your signature. We stupidly forgot to get our sponsor to do this during our communications yesterday. Our friendly certification person couldn't do it until the next day, so we tried another advocate (a fourth flight of stairs). This was the only time in this whole process that we've felt ripped off. Literally just a few minutes' work cost us MYR 100. What the...? Anyway, om... Bygones...

8. Stick your photos on your forms. Double-check you've left no box unticked or question unanswered. And pack all your documentation tidily into your nice purple box.

If we'd not had other fish to fry today, we could have wrapped the whole thing up. As it was, we ran over into...

Day 5
9. Head for Immigration. I'm not sure if the little bazaar on the ground floor is a daily event or just a Friday special. In any case, bypass that, and head for the second floor. You need the room on the right, and you need Counter 11.

This is when we discovered the one-bond-per-person thing. This meant our dossier was returned, pending another meeting with our long-suffering sponsor, and another visit to the LHDN (where they all recognize us by now, and greet us cheerily). But you won't make that mistake...

10. Head for Immigration again (Grab drivers in Kuching will be celebrating a little bonanza this weekend...)

This is when we discovered the mentioning-both-of-you-and-both-passport-numbers thing. So, although our dossier has been accepted rather than bundled back, it means we're not actually finished until we supply the revised letter next week. But you won't make that mistake...

So now we wait...

This has not, frankly, been a fun experience. I can't get rid of the fear that every official who looks at our application will find something else wrong with it. Until doomsday.

But, as my more cheery partner says, the thing has been substantially accepted.



And again (with that one exception noted above), the people we have dealt with have been unfailingly helpful, and generally more concerned to save you money than to take it off you.

To be continued... If the door eventually opens, it will all have been worth it.