PETALING JAYA: Japanese YouTuber couple iChang and Jimmy who are popular with their videos featuring a variety of Malaysian food that they enjoy, have been granted the DE Rantau Nomad Visa by Malaysia.

This means that the couple will be able to return to Malaysia soon.

Minister of communications and multimedia Fahmi Fadzil confirmed with Sin Chew Daily that the couple, whose real names are Ai Nishida and Yusuke Nishida, had received the visa.

In a tearful video posted on January 10, iChang and Jimmy said they had to leave Malaysia as their tourist visas lapsed after reaching the maximum stay limit of 180 days while their application for digital nomad visas filed last October had yet to be approved.

In the video, iChang thanked many friendly Malaysians.

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation chief executive office Mahadhir Aziz confirmed that the couple received the approval before they uploaded the departure video on YouTube.

“We have been following up the matter with them and assisted them with the visa applications. We have also notified them of the approval,” he said.

Mahadhir said he believed the couple had to leave Malaysia as their tourist visas had lapsed.

The couple revisited Malaysia in May last year as they missed Malaysian food.

During their stay in Malaysia, they visited each state every month to experience how the locals live and they also uploaded videos of the local food that they had.

Many Malaysians are moved by their love for the country’s food, some treated by Malaysians who recognized them.

Their YouTube channel iChang RM featuring a variety of Malaysian food and their stay in Malaysia had since attracted more than 347,000 subscribers.

Their latest video posted today: