The Immigration Department has dismissed viral claims that Malaysia’s 10-year passport validity breaches international limits or could cause travellers to be barred from boarding flights.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said international and domestic laws do not prohibit countries from issuing passports valid for 10 years or longer, adding that the longer validity period does not prevent international travel or create issues during border control.
“From a border control perspective, there is no issue if a passport is issued with a validity period of 10 years or more,” he told Berita Harian.
Zakaria said Malaysia had decided to cap passport validity at 10 years and had informed international airlines accordingly, following claims on social media that the validity period had caused boarding complications.
The claims surfaced after social media user Nurhamizah Zaid said she and several clients encountered difficulties while travelling in Zimbabwe, including being barred from boarding flights and facing baggage-related issues.
On problems involving online ticket purchases, Zakaria advised Malaysians holding 10-year passports to buy their tickets directly from airline service counters so their documents can be verified immediately.
He said the Immigration Department does not issue supporting documents to verify individual 10-year passports as valid travel documents.
“Travellers only need to purchase their tickets at the counter so direct verification can be completed there,” he said, adding that the department had received several complaints involving flight bookings.
