You’ve dreamt of this moment all your life: packing your little suitcase, read through every Lonely Planet guide there is and you’ve kissed your pet dog goodbye. But wait, you do know you need a passport right? For first timers who are travelling out of the country, you’re required to own a Malaysian passport and unlike travelling locally via flights, your identification card alone is not enough.
Here’s a step by step guide to applying for a passport before you embark on that round the world trip! The Malaysian passport allows you to travel to any country in the world except Israel. For certain countries such as Japan, India and the United States, you are required to apply for a visa from the respective country’s embassy.
What You Need
Prepare two passport size photos and cash! You may obtain the forms from the immigration office itself or download the forms here. Make sure to print them back to back on a single sheet of A4 paper otherwise it won’t be accepted.
Where to Apply
You can apply for a passport at any Immigration Office in the country, just look them up here. For those looking to renew their passports, you can skip the queue and use the machines available. You need to renew your passport if there are less than 6 months left before the expiration date or else you may not be allowed to travel out of the country. Don’t worry, the remanding 6 months will be transferred to your new passport. Make sure you have your passport pictures ready, cash (credit cards are not accepted) and your current passports with you.
Validity and Cost
Malaysian passports are available for 2 or 5 year validity. The rates are below depending on how many years validity you require. There are also additional pages for frequent flyers at an additional cost of course.
RM100.00 for 32 Pages (Valid for 2 years)
RM300.00 for 32 pages (Valid for 5 years)
RM600.00 for 64 pages (Valid for 5 years)
A disabled person with a letter from the Welfare will be exempted from payment. Payment can be made in cash or crossed postal money order/bank draft under the name of Director General of Immigration Malaysia or State Immigration Director but we reckon that it’s easier to make a cash payment.
In recent years, the application process has sped up greatly. Nowadays it only take an hour to get your passport so make sure you bring along a book or have a fully charged phone to keep you entertained while you wait. Do come early as immigration offices can get pretty jam packed during weekends. Bon voyage!
