Labuan Company Experience
- Thread starter AnthonyR
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Please keep in mind that the FAQ is from 2015, so some parts are already outdated. While you can live in west Malaysia, in 2015 you had to provide a Labuan tenancy contract, which was a document organised by the trust companies. All in all just another fee and few years later they accepted a tenancy contract from Kuala Lumpur during the renewal process.
Since Labuan requires a trust company as intermediary, I suggest you consult one of those companies for recent information.
Since Labuan requires a trust company as intermediary, I suggest you consult one of those companies for recent information.
Labuan dividends are exempted and foreign sourced income that is not transmitted to Malaysia will stay tax free until 2036.
https://www.ey.com/content/dam/ey-u.../documents/ey-take5-budget2025-18oct-2024.pdf
https://www.ey.com/content/dam/ey-u.../documents/ey-take5-budget2025-18oct-2024.pdf
Hi Anthony, hope you are doing well.
How is it going with the Labuan firm? Since it's been a few months did you make the move to Malaysia already?
I am a software dev working remotely and my family loves Malaysia. I am considering a move with kids. Researching online, I cannot get clarity on the substance requirements.
I can pay myself RM10K salary, but does that really count towards the 50K that needs︀ to be spent in Labuan.
Did you have to hire two staff members separately or︁ does that get taken care of by your agent? You also mentioned a new 5︂ year Director's visa coming in January. Did that get rolled out?
Thanks for your time.︃
How is it going with the Labuan firm? Since it's been a few months did you make the move to Malaysia already?
I am a software dev working remotely and my family loves Malaysia. I am considering a move with kids. Researching online, I cannot get clarity on the substance requirements.
I can pay myself RM10K salary, but does that really count towards the 50K that needs︀ to be spent in Labuan.
Did you have to hire two staff members separately or︁ does that get taken care of by your agent? You also mentioned a new 5︂ year Director's visa coming in January. Did that get rolled out?
Thanks for your time.︃
So I'm currently in Malaysia, although still waiting on my employment pass, the process for which started about 3 months ago. It seems a combination of Christmas, New Year, Chinese New Year and now Ramadan means that barely anything official moves in the first few months of the year (according to my agent at least).
Substance requirements still seem to be pretty sketchy. I have two Labuan resident directors for the company and I incur various costs in Labuan which they assure me is sufficient. I'm based in mainland Malaysia, although do travel to Labuan, so whether my salary is actually taken into consideration for︀ substance isn't entirely clear. I'm taking some formal advice from a Malaysian accountancy firm to︁ clarify all of this.
The 5 year permit didn't materialise, so I'm still awaiting a︂ 2 year permit.
Substance requirements still seem to be pretty sketchy. I have two Labuan resident directors for the company and I incur various costs in Labuan which they assure me is sufficient. I'm based in mainland Malaysia, although do travel to Labuan, so whether my salary is actually taken into consideration for︀ substance isn't entirely clear. I'm taking some formal advice from a Malaysian accountancy firm to︁ clarify all of this.
The 5 year permit didn't materialise, so I'm still awaiting a︂ 2 year permit.
Hmmm, thanks for the reply Anthony. Much appreciated.
It is this uncertainty which is preventing many people from committing to Labuan. If I have to take on two nominee directors and pay the annual costs and also my agent, what is the total annual cost of maintaining the Labuan company going to come to? Is it close to USD 10K or 30K? What if my own salary (living on mainland) not included in the substance requirements? Far too many uncertainties...
Once these become clear to you I would really appreciate and many others will also benefit if you update us here in this thread. Thanks︀ again.
It is this uncertainty which is preventing many people from committing to Labuan. If I have to take on two nominee directors and pay the annual costs and also my agent, what is the total annual cost of maintaining the Labuan company going to come to? Is it close to USD 10K or 30K? What if my own salary (living on mainland) not included in the substance requirements? Far too many uncertainties...
Once these become clear to you I would really appreciate and many others will also benefit if you update us here in this thread. Thanks︀ again.
Thought i should create an account and leave some notes here since I'm in the same boat as OP.
In regards with the costs, below is a breakdown from my trust company that I use (mind the service fees might be different from company to company) - however, some fees are fixed, Especially those that go to taxes or government, visas etc.
If we look at EP renewal fees and add those to yearly costs - it comes to about $15K in total operating costs.
Choosing this setup only makes sense if:
1) You pay more than 10-15K in taxes in your home country
2) You insist in exploring SEA and plan to make Malaysia as your homebase.
I would︀ like to talk about another advantage which is overlooked.
Malaysia has an exceptional English speaking︁ pool of talent so if you are in a position where you can "export" that︂ talent to western world I think a Labuan setup makes a lot of sense and︃ would help with substance requirements too (especially if the talent happens to be located in︄ Labuan)
I hope this makes sense, feel free to drop questions, i;m in the same︅ process and try to keep on top of all requirements and procedures
In regards with the costs, below is a breakdown from my trust company that I use (mind the service fees might be different from company to company) - however, some fees are fixed, Especially those that go to taxes or government, visas etc.
If we look at EP renewal fees and add those to yearly costs - it comes to about $15K in total operating costs.
Choosing this setup only makes sense if:
1) You pay more than 10-15K in taxes in your home country
2) You insist in exploring SEA and plan to make Malaysia as your homebase.
I would︀ like to talk about another advantage which is overlooked.
Malaysia has an exceptional English speaking︁ pool of talent so if you are in a position where you can "export" that︂ talent to western world I think a Labuan setup makes a lot of sense and︃ would help with substance requirements too (especially if the talent happens to be located in︄ Labuan)
I hope this makes sense, feel free to drop questions, i;m in the same︅ process and try to keep on top of all requirements and procedures
yeah good shout. The issue is that i don't want to live in Philippines, Malaysia is much more appealing
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