10-year passports available soon, to cost slightly more

KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia’s new 10-year passports will cost slightly more than the current ones, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, who said an announcement will be made soon on when applications will be opened.

“We are now ready to issue Malaysian passports for 10 years like many other countries,” the Home Minister said, adding that the 50-page document will be priced higher than the RM200 it currently costs for a five-year passport.

“We are ready, we will announce it,” Saifuddin told reporters when opening the Immigration Department passport office at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) here yesterday.

He declined to give a timeframe on when the 10-year renewal option will be available.

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Saifuddin added that countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, United States, France and Italy have been issuing passports that are valid for 10 years.

The Malaysian passport is ranked 12th in the world by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and is ranked fourth among Asian nations after Singapore, South Korea and Japan.

Saifuddin said 183 countries allowed Malaysian passport holders to enter without a visa.

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Saifuddin also disclosed that they increased the number of counters at Sabah’s east coast Tawau International Airport in view of the arrival of international chartered flights.

As for the new KKIA Immigration passport office, six officers are on duty from 8am to 5am from Monday to Friday to handle applications.

He said the new office was opened two weeks ago and would help people in neighbouring districts like Papar, Penampang and Putatan to apply for and renew their passports.