I came across the question about personal loans for foreigners in Malaysia on Quora. So, we talked to a few banks to find out what their policies are regarding giving loans to expats and foreigners. Since we were already in the banks, we also asked them about credit card applications and all the different kinds of loans that expats can apply for.
Personal loans
The Quora question specifically asked about personal loans. All the banks we talked with said nope. They don’t give personal loans to expats. The CIMB personal loans representative even specified that their personal loans are only for Bumiputras (indigenous Malays).
Car loans and home loans
We grouped them because they have similar terms and conditions. Banks are willing to offer expats a margin of financing up to 90% of the total amount. Say if you want to buy a car worth RM90,000, then you should have at least RM9,000 and the bank settles the balance.
CIMB auto loans—also referred to as hire purchase—provides expats and foreigners with businesses in Malaysia up to 75% financing. Typically, many of the banks we called and spoke with provided margins of between 70% and 90%, with the latter subject to the bank’s decision. For instance, Maybank and Public Bank offer 70%.
For home loans, Malaysian real estate laws specify a minimum limit that foreigners can spend on acquiring homes in the country. The minimum values are based on the states that the property is located in. Generally, in East Malaysia—Sabah and Sarawak, the property (residential or commercial) must be at least RM300,000 and RM500,000 minimum in the peninsula—depending on your Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) status.
CIMB, Maybank and Public all offer home loans to expats up to 90%, also subject to the bank’s decision. If you’re buying a home here, you should know that there are two different property titles—freehold means you own it forever, and leasehold means you let it from the government for 99 years. You can renew after that for a fee.
Download a free checklist of requirements for your car loan
Credit Cards
CIMB, Maybank and Public Bank all consider expat applications for credit cards. However, the bank still has the final decision about whether you’ll be getting one or not. To be eligible, applicants must be earning at least RM30,000 annual base salary (without bonuses) for workers, and have an employment/business visa.
Most banks require credit card applicants to have an account with the bank and have a fixed deposit of at least RM5,000. The amount in your fixed deposit account also represents, in most cases, the credit limit on your card.
TL; DR
- Many Malaysian banks don’t offer expats personal loans.
- You can get personal loans from the “loan sharks”, but unless you’re super extremely desperate, please don’t.
- You can apply for and get home loans car loans from most banks.
- Banks are usually willing to offer a margin of financing up to 90% in both cases.
- Although you should probably be prepared with around 30% of the total amount.
Did we miss anything? Have anything to add? Let us know in the comments section. Share if you found this helpful.
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Hi, Can you suggest some other secure source for personal loan in Malaysia for Expats ?
It is always better/safer to approach banks. You can even try asking them for approved lenders
If i apply for loan in malaysia bank and get approved for property purchase, is any condition i should not travel back to home country by renting out the property. Or how long should i need to stay here if i have taken loan in malaysia. Can i continue paying monthly installment from home country?
We’re not exactly sure but your location should not matter as long as you pay your loan installments as scheduled.
Hi, May I know which bank in Malaysia gives or considers giving 90% Car loan to foreigners. Thanks
I think it is best to contact individual banks to confirm as requirements may differ between individuals.
Hi may I know where is the best place to apply for expat personal loan? I just need 3000 to pay for my dependent visa.
No banks in Malaysia that we know of offers personal loans to foreigners.
Good afternoon. Does anyone know where I can obtain a personal loan as an expat with working VISA?
Foreigner can get a personal loan
Do you know from where?
HI, am Karthikeyan and am a foreigner here am working in flex johor PTP as a senior engineer.
i would like to take a personal loan. pls advice what are the requirements.
May Bank does not give loan only on new properties
Thank you sharing these interesting info.
I wonder, however, if you can give a few examples regarding the part talking about the ‘minimum limit’ of home loans granted to foreigners. For example, in case of peninsula MY, does the foreigner need to purchase a home that worths MYR 1 million at least in order to get the loan to finance it? (in other words, no loans will be given to purchase homes whose prices are less than MYR 1 million?)
or,
S/he has to pay that RMY 1 million as the first instalment and pay the rest instalments monthly (assuming the property is purchased with RMY 2 million) ?
Thank you again
Thanks for commenting, Adam. The first option.
You can only get a loan for purchasing a property that is above RM1 million. For instance, you want to buy a shop lot that costs RM1.7 million. You can get a bank to finance up to 70% (RM1.19 million) while you come up with the balance RM510,000 (minus other fees like stamp duties etc that you need to pay).
Foreigners are usually not allowed to purchase properties below RM1 million unless you have Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) status. I’ll update the post to show the value of properties foreigners can buy with and with MM2H.