The Immigration Department has chosen four states and two Urban Transformation Centres (UTC) as part of a pilot programme to issue passports renewed via the ‘MyOnline Passport’ system, beginning Sept 1.

Its director-general Mustafar Ali said the service would be made available at the Immigration offices in Pahang, Sarawak, Penang and Putrajaya, as well as two UTCs, namely in Pudu Sentral, Kuala Lumpur, and Galleria@Kotaraya, Johor.

“The application for passport renewal online can be done from anywhere, including via mobile phone, regardless of the time or day.

“The applicants are allowed to choose any of the passport issuing counters in the four states involved, for example, the online application is made in Johor, but (the applicant) may want to collect it (passport) at the Immigration Department counter in Penang.”

He told this to reporters after visiting the Johor Immigration Department at the Setia Tropika Home Ministry Complex in Johor Baru yesterday.

Mustafar said hopefully, the online renewal system would help overcome the congestion at Immigration offices, adding that if the pilot programme went well, it would be extended to other states in the near future.

The ‘MyOnline Passport’ system was introduced to enable people to have the option to renew their passport online by updating their details, uploading the required photo, and making payment via a debit or credit card, before collecting the passport at any of the designated counters.

- Bernama