Only 2 airlines have issues with passports with over 10-year validity

Only two airlines have issues processing Malaysian travellers using passports with a validity period exceeding 10 years, says immigration director-general Zakaria Shaaban.

Zakaria said other airlines had no issues with these passports, which he reiterated met international standards and were recognised by immigration departments across the world.

However, he declined to name the two airlines, Berita Harian reported.

“There has been some confusion, that apparently these passports are not accepted in other countries. That’s not true.

“The issue only surfaced because the systems used by those two airlines do not support passports with validity periods exceeding 10 years,” he said.

The department has temporarily stopped issuing passports with validity periods exceeding 10 years after some travellers faced difficulties returning to Malaysia.

They had renewed their passports six months before the documents expired, with the fresh 10-year validity period added on top of the six months.

The immigration department has since decided to only issue passports with a maximum validity of 10 years for now.