Technical article
Income Test, Deposit Test or Property Test: What Each Asian Retirement Visa Asks For
Does each country want to see an income, a deposit or a property?
Picture a couple named Dale and Priya. Both are 58. Dale has a pension, Priya has savings, and they like the idea of a few winters in Southeast Asia. They ask a simple question. Does each country want to see an income, a deposit or a property?
The answer is a mix. I read the official pages for each country on 10 October 2026. Here is what they say.
The four routes side by side
| Country | Route | Age | What it asks | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | Non-Immigrant O-A (long stay) | 50 and over | Income or deposit (see the disagreement below) | Not shown on the pages I read |
| Malaysia | MM2H Silver | No age shown for the main applicant | Deposit of US$150,000 and a home of RM600,000 or more | 5 years |
| Malaysia | MM2H Gold | No age shown | Deposit of US$500,000 and a home of RM1 million or more | 15 years |
| Malaysia | MM2H Platinum | No age shown | Deposit of US$1 million and a home of RM2 million or more | 20 years |
| Philippines | SRRV Classic | 40 and over | Deposit, lower if you have a pension | Not shown on the page |
| Indonesia | Not stated on an official page |
Thailand: two embassy pages, two answers
The Royal Thai Embassy in Doha says the applicant must be "aged 50 years and over." It asks for "monthly income of no less than 65,000 THB or having the current balance of 800,000 THB." Health insurance must be "no less than 3,000,000 THB." That page was last updated on 12 April 2024.
The Royal Thai Embassy in Singapore also says 50 and over. It asks for a bank letter showing "no less than 800,000 Baht" and then "another 800,000 Baht (or equivalent)" in a separate savings statement. Insurance is "no less than 100,000 USD or 3,000,000 THB." That page was updated on 18 May 2026. It says the visa is granted only to Singapore citizens and permanent residents.
So one page offers income or a deposit. The other asks for two deposits. They may differ by the country where you apply, or one may be out of date. I cannot tell which, so I do not pick. A call or email to the embassy that serves your country would settle it.
Malaysia: a deposit and a home
The MM2H pages from Malaysia's tourism ministry were last updated, as shown on each page, on 10/02/2026. They list three levels. Each one asks for a fixed deposit in a licensed Malaysian bank and for a home bought after approval. The pages list no income test.
| Level | Deposit | Home | Fee for the main applicant | Renewal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silver | US$150,000 | RM600,000 or above | RM1,000 | RM1,500 |
| Gold | US$500,000 | RM1 million or above | RM3,000 | RM3,000 |
| Platinum | US$1 million | RM2 million or more | RM200,000 | RM5,000 |
On all three pages, up to 50% of the deposit may be taken out after approval, for stated purposes. The home cannot be sold for 10 years, though an upgrade is allowed. The pages also ask for 90 days in Malaysia each year. These pages do not show which levels are open today, so that cannot be said. The ministry's guidelines would show it.
Philippines: a pension lowers the deposit
The Philippine Retirement Authority page has no date. It says principal applicants must be "40 years old and above." For the Classic visa, the deposit depends on age and on whether you have a pension.
| Age 50 and over | Age 40 to 49 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pensioner | US$15,000 | US$25,000 |
| Non-pensioner | US$30,000 | US$50,000 |
A pensioner needs "Proof of lifetime pension of at least USD 800.00/month for single applicants." With dependents the page says US$1,000 a month. Fees listed are a US$1,500 processing fee and an annual fee of US$360 for the applicant and two dependents. The page also lists a lower-deposit "Courtesy" type, but its table is garbled, so I leave it out.
What is left open
Indonesia. The immigration site would not load for me, and the only pages I found about a retirement permit were not official. I will not state a figure from them. Indonesia is not stated on an official page.
Thailand's other embassies. I read two. There are many more.
You could…
- Add up what each route holds in a bank and what is spent on a home, and list what you could still reach.
- Write to the embassy or immigration office of the country you are weighing and ask for the current figure in writing.
- Ask an accountant or lawyer who works with Americans abroad (or Britons, Canadians, Australians) to confirm how a deposit or a home abroad fits your own tax picture.
If a visa asked you to put a large sum in one account abroad, how would you want to be able to reach it?
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Date read: 10 October 2026.
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