KUALA LUMPUR: Only 47 people have applied for the premium visa programme since its inception in 2022.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing said the majority of those who applied were from Taiwan and China.
The exclusive residency-by-investment visa was launched by the then home minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin in 2022.
Tiong said since its inception, the programme remained under the purview of the Home Ministry.
He said besides the two countries, other holders of the premium visa include two from the Netherlands, two from Germany, two from the United States, three from South Africa, one from Japan, one from Turkiye and one from Bangladesh.
Earlier, the ministry announced a first phase target of 20,000 applicants for the premium visa. Each applicant will pay RM200,000 for the principal applicant, RM100,000 for each dependant and RM2,000 a year in annual fees.
Premium visa residents can work, do business, buy properties and invest in permitted industries.
Principal applicants must have an income of at least RM40,000 a month offshore and have a RM1 million deposit in a local bank.
The principal applicant can only withdraw half the sum to buy real estate and pay for education fees or medical expenses after a year.
A premium visa holder is granted a multiple-entry pass to stay in the country for up to 20 years.
In a parliamentary report, Tiong said based on the data, there were 23 principal holders of the premium visa and 24 dependants, which translated to RM7 million in fees.
In 2022, former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob set a target of RM206 million for the programme.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the government might review the premium visa programme if it did not meet its goals.
On a separate note, Tiong revealed that there were 56,066 active Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) pass holders in the country up to Jan 31.