Putrajaya will set out to conduct a survey and gather feedback over the proposal that could see the Home Ministry extend the validity period of Malaysian passports to 10 years. The announcement comes after Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said back in December last year that he would mull over the proposal and see if there was any merit in extending the validity period.
The status quo for the Malaysian passport validity period is set at five years. Given that overseas travel has grown far beyond pre-pandemic levels and, in the case of media and event launches, there has been a surge of major launch events that brands are hosting in other countries.
“I believe we will come to a policy decision within a reasonable amount of time following the results of the survey on whether or not the passport validity is retained at five years or extended to 10,” Saifuddin. If implemented, Malaysia would join a handful of other countries that have adopted the extended validity period, including the US, UK, France, Italy, Singapore, and Thailand.
One possible benefit to extending the validity period for Malaysian passports is that it would cut down on the number of applicants at application counters. Not only that, but it is also more economical, given that you’d only have to renew your passport once a decade.
(Source: The Star)
