One month to renew Malaysian Passport

Categories: Others

Latest Update on 9 Dec 2007

Caibin, in his comments dated 7 Dec, says it now takes only one day for the renewal - send in the morning and get it back in the evening! Hurray. He(She?) also gives a good description of what to bring and how to get there. Thanks Caibin!


Recently I went to the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore to renew my passport. This was after the completion of renovation and the relocation of the High Commission back to Jarvois Road. What a new experience I have compared to the old days.

The first visit was to get and fill the application form. This is done outside of the High Commission compound where a guard house also double as a counter for the purpose. Here you must have 2 photographs ready as without the photographs the application forms will be rejected. Fret not if you do not have the photographs at hand because there are entreprising people who will direct you to a van somewhere further down the road for the photos to be taken. Not sure how much they charge though. Filling the forms need some skills because there are no tables or flat-top surfaces available. I have to use my palm as a flat surface to assist in the filling - my palmtop experience helps! For those who do not know how to fill in, you can ask the guard and they can direct you to the relevant people to fill in the form - for a fee. Not to the guard, but the guy who help you fill the form. Once everything is in order, you will be given a date to come back for the application proper, usually in about 2 weeks' time. Together with the number and date, will be a form which will indicate to you the documents needed for the next visit. No documents are needed for verification during this first visit.

In the second visit, about 2 weeks from the first, with the number and notification form given from the first visit, you will have to get a visitor pass from the same guard house to get into the compound proper. Here you will need to place a card - driving licence, NETS card or library card - in exchange for the visitor pass. They discourage IC as deposit. This is to make sure you will return the visitor pass when you are done. Only those with a pass gets to get inside; don't bring your kids along, they will not be issued any pass unless they are also renewing their passports. From here you will need to queue up again where you will be issued a queue number for your documents to be checked and thumb print scanned. Next you proceed to make the payment which cost S$130 for a 32-page book or S$260 for a 64-page book. After the payment you will be given another date yet again for the collection. Collections are done in the afternoon.

I cancelled my application after the second visit as I needed to travel before the collection date. No problem here except that I have to go through the whole process again for my re-application.

My experience with the staff had been a good one. They are cheerful and helpful. This is certainly an improvement from the old days. The new place is nice and clean. For those who are cold-blooded, bring thick clothing along. My spectacles mist up after I left the waiting room! The only grouse I have is the lack of facility and shelter around the guard house-cum-counter outside the compound. I shudder to think what it will be like during the rain.

In total 3 visits are needed with a month's duration to have the Malaysian passport renewed in the High Commission. This is a departure from previously where it only took about 1 week for a similar renewal. So be warned, renew your passport early otherwise you will unkowningly become an illegal immigrant or over-stayer!


Updated on 14 July 2006
Got my new passport today. This was after I repeated the whole process from getting a form and submission to payment. Submitted my form on 19 Jun (Day 0), have my documents checked on 30 Jun (Day 11) and collecting on 14 July (Day 26).

Whereas the submission time and checking is in the morning, collection time is in the afternoon from 2.30 pm to 4.15 pm. To get into the compound of the High Commission, again you have to get a pass. This time the number on the pass will be the queue number. I do not know what time the queue number was given out but when I arrived at 2.15 pm, my queue number is 80! When I got to the waiting area, it was packed. The counter only opened at 2.30 pm. Therefore there is a backlog of people. My suggestion is to go later than on-time (unless you can reach there early) as this will allow for the backlog to be cleared. Once you are called you have to submit your receipt to get the passport as the you passport is arranged based on the number on the receipt. If you lost the receipt, be prepared to get a mouthful and a longer wait, as it is difficult for the counter staff to find the passport, as happened to one of the collector. At least remember the number on the receipt, if not at least the day your documents were checked and the time (this was what was asked to the person). Only collected my passport at 3.30 pm!

Now to the ICA.....

Updated on 5 Jan 2007
The renewal process maybe shorter now. Fellow Malaysian in Singapore posted in the comment that his passport was renewed in just 3 days! Lucky him. Just keep in mind that the renewal process may last up to one month, otherwise you may end up like the few people I saw (who 'inspired' me to write this blog) who could not get their passports renewed in time before the expiry date.