Malaysians renewing their international passports online can now pick between five- and 10-year validity periods, after the Immigration Department opened the option through its MyOnline Passport system today. The department announced the change in a Facebook post on Sunday, NST reported.
The department said the choice lets applicants match a renewal to their own travel plans. “This initiative provides more flexibility and convenience to Malaysian citizens in choosing the passport validity period according to their individual needs,” it said.
Online applications had been limited to five-year passports, with the expansion held back until every issuing office at home and abroad completed the rollout and confirmed the system was stable, according to The Star. Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the online facility for 10-year passports would be added in stages.
The 10-year passport has been issued since 1 July and is open to Malaysians aged 18 and above. It costs RM350, while the five-year passport stays at RM200.
Public response to the new booklet has been encouraging, Zakaria said in October, with the longer validity, the improved security features and the redesigned cover drawing favourable feedback. He said the department would continue to monitor public feedback and the smooth running of the new passport.
Zakaria said the department had earlier set the maximum validity at 10 years after reports of travellers running into check-in problems with airlines overseas. The move was also meant to stop airlines reading the six-month validity requirement for international travel in different ways.
The new booklet carries 94 security elements, up from 49 in the earlier version, including holographic elements, ultraviolet printing, hidden visual elements and forensic features. It follows International Civil Aviation Organisation standards, and Malaysia, an ePassport user since 1998, prints it on machines able to produce up to 60 passports an hour.
Output runs at 180,000 to 220,000 passports a month on average, against demand of about 160,000 a month, Zakaria said. He expected demand to rise slightly now that the renewal option has widened.
The average wait for a new passport is about an hour after payment, depending on the process and the conditions at the issuing office. Queues can stretch at peak periods, he said, but the situation stays under control.
Travellers holding the older passport can keep using it for as long as it has more than six months of validity left, he added.
