10-year passport renewal now available via MyOnline Passport

On November 2, Malaysia's immigration department launched an online facility for renewing passports, available via the MyOnline Passport system. The department announced the new service on Facebook, offering Malaysians the option to choose between five- or 10-year validity periods for their passports, providing greater flexibility and convenience.

Previously, Malaysians could only renew their passports for a maximum of five years, with the 10-year renewal option available only in-person at immigration offices nationwide since July 1. The 10-year passport costs RM350, while the five-year version remains at RM200.

However, a problem emerged when some airlines had issues recognizing passports with validity periods exceeding 10 years. Malaysians took to social media to report difficulties boarding flights back to Malaysia due to their new passports being deemed invalid by airline systems. Some had even renewed their passports six months before expiration, with the fresh 10-year validity period added to the remaining six months.

On August 13, the department announced it would stop issuing passports with validity periods exceeding 10 years, issuing only passports with a maximum validity of 10 years, regardless of the remaining validity period in the old passport.