Malaysia announces free replacement of passports

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has suspended the issuance of international passports with a validity period of more than 10 years with immediate effect following reports of Malaysian travellers facing difficulties with some airlines overseas.

Immigration Director-General Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said existing Malaysian international passport (PMA) holders whose passports are valid for more than 10 years would be issued replacement passports free of charge.

The replacement passports will have a maximum validity of 10 years, he said.

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

He said the decision followed cases in which Malaysian passport holders with validity exceeding 10 years encountered problems during check-in with certain airlines abroad.

According to Zakaria, the Immigration Department had referred the matter to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which confirmed that there was no restriction on issuing Malaysian passports 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.

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The department decided to standardise the maximum passport validity at 10 years to avoid confusion over validity requirements, which have reportedly been interpreted differently by some airlines.

Zakaria said travellers who replace their passports would forfeit any remaining validity exceeding the 10-year period. For example, if a passport holder has six months of validity remaining beyond the 10-year period, that additional validity would be forfeited upon renewal.

The Immigration Department will also issue notification letters to airlines to help Malaysian travellers affected by the issue while overseas.

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