New passports valid for more than 10 years suspended after check-in problems

The Immigration Department has suspended the validity of Malaysian international passports with validity periods exceeding 10 years until the issue is resolved with airlines and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Immigration director-general Zakaria Shaaban said holders of the affected passports would be given priority for passport replacement, while notification letters would be issued to all airlines to assist affected Malaysian travellers abroad.

Zakaria (above) said the move followed several cases in which passport holders with validity periods exceeding 10 years encountered problems during check-in procedures with several airlines overseas.

“To address this confusion, the department has stipulated that the maximum validity period for a passport is 10 years.

“This stipulation is intended to standardise the validity period of passports and avoid confusion over the additional six-month validity requirement, which is interpreted differently by some airlines,” he said in a statement today.

Zakaria explained that under the 10-year renewal option, the remaining validity of the old passport, up to a maximum of six months, would no longer be carried forward to the new passport.

“This means applicants who opt for a 10-year renewal will receive a passport with exactly 10 years’ validity.

“For example, if someone renews their passport while it still has six months remaining, that remaining period will not be added to the new passport,” he said.

Not applicable to five-year passport

However, Zakaria said that for a five-year passport renewal, the remaining validity of the old passport, up to a maximum of six months, could still be carried forward.

“For those renewing for five years, the remaining period of up to six months can be carried forward, making the validity of the new passport five years and six months,” he said, adding that only 26,000 passports with validity periods exceeding 10 years had been issued since July.

Zakaria said the department took note of viral reports concerning difficulties faced by several passport holders with validity periods exceeding 10 years when travelling abroad.

He said the matter had been referred to ICAO and the feedback received did not prevent the implementation of passports with validity periods exceeding 10 years.

“However, confusion arose when several holders of passports exceeding 10 years encountered problems during check-in with several airlines overseas,” he said.

Continuous improvement

Zakaria said his team was committed to continuously improving the implementation of passports to facilitate matters for Malaysians and ensure international travel could be carried out more smoothly and systematically.

Recently, claims went viral on social media that a Malaysian traveller had encountered difficulties while travelling through several overseas airports because her passport had a validity period exceeding 10 years.

In a post on Threads, the woman, known as Miza, claimed she encountered problems in Dubai, Johannesburg and Windhoek, as the systems used by certain authorities or airlines allegedly could not accept passports with validity periods exceeding 10 years.

The Immigration Department launched the new-structured passports, offering a validity period of up to 10 years, effective July 1.

It was aimed at reducing the frequency of passport renewals, saving users time and facilitating domestic and international travel.

The fee for a passport with a 10-year validity period is RM350, while the fee for a five-year document remains at RM200.

- Bernama

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