Malaysia’s passports with over 10-year validity on hold after citizens face issues travelling

PETALING JAYA - The issuance of Malaysian international passports (PMA) with a validity period exceeding 10 years has been hal­ted with immediate effect follo­wing difficulties faced by some citizens travelling overseas.

Immigration director-general Zakaria Shaaban said exis­ting PMA holders whose passports have a validity period of more than 10 years would be given a free replacement.

He said the move was taken after several PMA holders with validity exceeding 10 years encountered problems during check-in with certain airlines overseas.

“Existing PMA holders with a validity period exceeding 10 years will be given free replacement passports with a maximum vali­dity of 10 years,” he said in a statement on Aug 12.

Zakaria said that if there is a validity of more than six months on the passport, it would be forfeited if the holder opted to renew it for 10 years.

He said the Immigration Department had referred the matter to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which had confirmed that there was no restriction on implementing PMA with a validity period exceeding 10 years.

“However, confusion arose when several PMA holders exceeding 10 years faced pro­blems during check-in with some airlines abroad,” he said.

Zakaria said the decision to standardise the maximum vali­dity period at 10 years was aimed at avoiding confusion over the validity requirement, which was interpreted differently by some airlines.

“We would also issue a notification letter to all airlines to assist affected Malaysian travellers overseas,” he said.

Zakaria also said the issuance of PMA with a validity period exceeding 10 years would remain suspended until the matter is resolved with airlines and the ICAO.

“We are committed to conti­nuously improving the implementation of PMA to facilitate travel for Malaysians in a smooth and systematic manner.”

The maximum 10-year validity period for the PMA will continue as usual, said Zakaria.

“First, I want to stress that the 10-year PMA validity will not be discontinued and will continue as usual, as implemented on July 1.

“What we will discontinue, however, is the additional period beyond 10 years. Previously, when applicants renewed their passport for 10 years, we gave them an additional six months,” he said.

Zakaria added that the additional six months were initially introduced to help Malaysians who still had significant validity remaining on their old passports when applying for renewal.

“So that Malaysians would not lose out on the remaining validity, we gave them an extra six months. Our intention was to help Malaysians,” he said. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK