The Malaysian passport is the passport issued to citizens of Malaysia by the
Immigration Department of Malaysia. They were formerly designated Paspot
Malaysia, but the spelling was changed to Pasport in the 1980s.
The main legislation governing the production of passports and travel
documents, their possession by persons entering and leaving Malaysia, and
related matters is the Passport Act 1966.
Processing of Malaysian passport applications and renewals is very rapid,
with new passports usually issued one hour after payment for normal cases. The
introduction of passport renewal kiosks at Immigration Department branches
across the country allow passport applicants to apply and pay for their
passports without queuing at the passport application counters.
Visa requirements Holders of Malaysian passports enjoy
visa-free travel or visa on arrival to many nations around the world. According
to the 2014 Visa Restrictions Index, a ranking of countries according to the
travel freedom their citizens enjoy, Malaysia is ranked 8th in the world,
with Malaysian citizen enjoying visa-free access to 166 countries and
territories. Biometric passport
Malaysia was the first country in the world to issue biometric passports in
March 1998, after a local company, IRIS Corporation, developed the technology.
In December 2002, thumbprint data was added to the biometric data on the
passport chip. Similar technology is used in the Malaysian identity card,
MyKad. The biometric data included on the
Malaysian passport is a digital photograph of the bearer's face, and
images of their two thumbprints. Malaysian immigration checkpoints were
the only ones with the technology to read and authenticate the data from the
RFID chip using a fingerprint scanner and facial recognition technology, but
widespread adoption of ePassport technology around the world has seen the
technology installed in international airports in the US, the UK and other
countries. In addition to biometric data and the
personal information stored on the information page, the chip also records
the bearer's travel history of the last ten entry and exits at Malaysia border
control points. Concern about possible "cloning" of the
data from the passport chip for the purposes of identity theft prompted IRIS
to issue a press release in 2006, stating that the chip and data had never
been successfully cloned, and that digital keys stored on each chip made
such duplication and forgery impossible. On 2 February 2010, Malaysia started
issuing ICAO compliant e-Passports, valid for five years or two years,
replacing the current one. It was the 75th nation in the world to adopt the
ICAO standard. The implementation of the new passport began at offices across
Klang Valley, Johor and Pahang before expanding nationwide between March and
May 2010 and to foreign missions abroad between July and August 2010.
Types of Malaysian passports There are three types of Malaysian
passports: = Regular international passport =
The regular international passport is the ordinary passport issued to
Malaysian citizens for international travel.
The regular international passport has incorporated biometric features since
1998. The biometric passport contains an 8 kB microchip which was developed by a
Malaysian technology firm, IRIS Corporation. In February 2010, the
passport was updated to comply with the ICAO standard on biometric and
machine-readable passports, while the pages in a 32-page passport was
increased to 48 pages. Beginning April 2013, the passport underwent another
round of updating by introducing a polycarbonate sheet that holds the
passport bearer's information. The information is laser engraved into the
polycarbonate sheet for added security, including a hologram mini-photo of the
passport bearer. With this the passport now holds 50 pages instead of 48 pages.
There is no more 64 pages option since 2011.
A 50-page ICAO e-passport valid for five years costs RM200. Senior citizens,
children below 12 years old, Hajj pilgrims, and students below 21 years
old with proof to study abroad are entitled to half price from normal
price. Disabled people are entitled to have their passports issued free of
charge. Previously, a 50-page ICAO e-passport
valid for two years was available for RM100. On 15 January 2015, the two-year
passport option was scrapped in conjunction with the announcement that
reduced the normal five-year passport issuance fee from RM300 to RM200.
The passport is also used by citizens from Peninsular Malaysia to enter the
East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, as these two states have
autonomy in immigration affairs. However, citizens travelling directly
from Peninsular Malaysia may produce a Malaysian identity card, or birth
certificate for children below 12 years, obtain a special immigration printout
form at immigration counters for social/business visits up to 3 months,
and keep the form until departure. = Official passport =
The Official Passport is issued exclusively to Malaysian government
officials travelling on official business. It is issued by the
Immigration Department of Malaysia upon request through the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. = Diplomatic passport =
The diplomatic passport is issued to diplomatic officers.
Restrictions on travel As Malaysia does not recognise nor have
diplomatic relations with the State of Israel, Malaysian passports bear the
inscription: "This passport is valid for all countries except Israel". Likewise,
Israeli passport holders are not permitted to enter Malaysia without
written permission from the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs.
Officially, the Malaysian government allows Christians to visit Israel for
religious purposes. In 2009, the government imposed a ban on visits to
Israel, ostensibly due to heightened security risks posed by the
Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The ban was lifted in 2011, albeit with
restrictions such as a quota of 700 pilgrims per year with not more than 40
pilgrims per church group, and pilgrims must be at least 18 years old and not
visiting Israel more than once every three years with each stay a maximum of
10 days. On 20 December 2013, the government announced a relaxation of the
ban, which lifted most of the restrictions while increasing the
maximum duration of stay to 21 days, subject to the security situation in
Israel. However, the restrictions imposed by the
Malaysian government do not prevent Israel from issuing visa on a separate
sheet of paper to Malaysian citizens for entering Israel, and Malaysians are
known to have visited Israel with or without permission from the Malaysian
government. Previously, Malaysian passports were not
valid for travel to various communist countries, Israel and South Africa due
to its apartheid system. Following the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and
improving ties with the remaining communist countries, the countries were
removed, leaving Israel and South Africa. South Africa was removed
following the end of apartheid in 1994, leaving Israel as the only country on
the list. Passport note
The passports contain a note, written in Malay and English, from the issuing
state that is addressed to the authorities of all other states,
identifying the bearer as a citizen of that state and requesting that he or she
be allowed to pass and be treated according to international norms. In
Malay, the note inside Malaysian passports reads:
and in English, the note reads: Languages
The data page/information page are printed in Malay and English.
Identity information page The Malaysian passport includes the
following data: Type/Jenis
Country code/Kod Negara Passport number/Nombor Pasport
Name of bearer/Nama Nationality
Identity number or Birth certificate number
Place of birth Date of birth
Sex Date of issue
Date of expiry Issuing office
Height/Tinggi = Passport number =
The passport number is the serial number that uniquely identifies a passport. The
passport number changes every time a person is issued a new passport, with
the previous passport number noted in an endorsement on the last page of the new
passport. The passport number is alphanumeric,
with a letter followed by an eight-digit number, e.g. A00000000. The letter
prefix depends on the residency status of the bearer: "A" for Peninsular
Malaysia and Labuan, "H" for Sabah and "K" for Sarawak. From 1964 to 1965, when
Singapore was a part of Malaysia, Singapore citizens were issued Malaysian
passports with the prefix "E". = Naming scheme =
Due to Malaysia's heterogeneous ethnic demographic, including substantial
Chinese and Indian minorities as well as Malays, the name of the bearer on the
Malaysian passport is displayed using that person's customary naming practice
as it is on the person's identity card or birth certificate. Surname and given
name fields are not differentiated on the passport, and this can cause
difficulties or confusion in some countries as the placement of the
surname is not consistent. Technically speaking, every Malaysian
name regardless of the ethnicity is of this type: SURNAME, FIRST NAME UNKNOWN
when only the Machine Readable Zone area of the Passport Biodata Page is
considered. There is no '