The Immigration Department of Malaysia has revealed its plan to make the passport renewal process fully online by 2022. The plan was noted in an announcement dated 28 September on its website.
To prepare for the implementation, the Immigration department has established a self-service counter that utilises the online passport renewal facility at its Security and Passport division in Menara Ikhlas, Putrajaya. The department also said that Immigration officers will also be stationed at the self-service counter to assist users.
As the country begins to take a different approach to face COVID-19 very soon, the decision made by Immigration does not come as a surprise though. The timing is rather apt as well since the rakyat will be allowed to travel overseas again once the fully vaccinated adult rate reaches 90 per cent.
After all, the online passport renewal system which is called MyOnline Passport has been around for years. The process is fairly straightforward as well since it just consists of picture submission, verifying information that is retrieved from the department’s record, choosing the preferred Immigration location for passport collection, and paying the renewal fee.
That being said, MyOnline Passport does have very specific photo requirements though which is understandable given the importance of the document. At the moment, Immigration has set the renewal fee as RM 200 for citizens aged 13 to 59 years old while those that are above 60 years old are charged slightly lower at RM100 instead.
(Source: Immigration Malaysia. Image: Immigration Malaysia / Facebook.)
