Malaysia’s Immigration Department announced on August 12 that passports with validity periods exceeding 10 years are temporarily suspended until system issues with two airlines are resolved [1, 2, 3]. Immigration Director-General Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said only two airlines have reported system problems processing Malaysian passports valid over 10 years, though he did not name the airlines [1, 4, 5]. He emphasized the problem lies with airline systems, not with foreign countries rejecting the passports, affirming that all countries continue to accept Malaysian passports even if the validity exceeds 10 years [4].
Currently, Malaysian passports are issued with a maximum validity of 10 years. Previously, passengers renewing passports with more than six months remaining on their old passports could receive an additional validity period of up to six months, making some passports valid up to 10 years and six months [1, 4, 2, 5, 3, 6]. Passports already issued with exactly 10 years validity remain valid and accepted without issue [1, 4, 5, 6].
Datuk Zakaria clarified the 10-year validity policy remains unchanged and was never discontinued. Only the extra validity beyond 10 years has been temporarily suspended due to the airline system problems [1]. The Immigration Department is offering free replacements for passports already issued with 10 years and six months validity to affected holders [1, 4].
The department is working with the two airlines and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to resolve the system incompatibilities causing the processing errors [1, 2]. The suspension was made with immediate effect on August 12, 2026, and the issue was clarified publicly by Datuk Zakaria during a press conference on August 13 [1, 4, 2, 5, 3, 6].
Public confusion had risen amid reports incorrectly claiming foreign countries would not accept Malaysian passports exceeding 10 years validity. The department insists this is not the case, confirming that only certain airline systems are affected, not international acceptance [4, 5, 6]. The two airlines experiencing problems are among many that use global systems, but only these two have reported issues [1, 2, 3].
The Immigration Department remains focused on resolving the technical issues swiftly to restore the additional validity period. Passport holders with the extended validity are encouraged to apply for the free replacement passports as announced by the authorities [1, 4].
