Only 2 airlines have issues with passports with over 10-year validity

Malaysia's immigration department has temporarily halted issuing passports with validity periods surpassing ten years, following some travellers encountering complications while returning to the country. Zakaria Shaaban, the immigration director-general, revealed that only two airlines are experiencing issues processing Malaysian passengers using these lengthy passports.

According to Zakaria, the majority of airlines have not encountered any challenges with these documents, which comply with international standards and are recognized by immigration departments worldwide. However, he did not disclose the names of the affected airlines. Berita Harian reported the story. Zakaria clarified that there has been confusion regarding the acceptance of these passports in other countries, emphasizing that this is not true.

The issue arose due to the systems utilized by the two airlines in question, which do not support passports with validity periods exceeding ten years. The immigration department temporarily ceased issuing passports with validity periods exceeding ten years after some travellers faced difficulties returning to Malaysia. They had renewed their passports six months prior to expiration, adding a ten-year validity period on top of the initial six months.

The immigration department has since decided to issue passports with a maximum validity of ten years for now.