I've just gotten back from renewing my passport that expired mid last year as I'm planning to take a trip out of the country soon.
Hearing horror stories and people waiting for hours to obtain their passports made me a little jittery as I'm not really keen on waiting too long doing almost nothing. However, this is also not without success stories that people got their passport's done quite quickly.
As for me today, I thank God everything went smoothly.
Here's just a run through of what I went through and how the recent passport renewal system is like.
First and foremost, the preparation.
The new system is way better than the previous one as you need not bring a lot of things.
Please bear in mind that this is for passport renewal and might be different if you're applying for a passport.
1. Sleep early cos you will need to be up super early if you want to get it done quick.
2. Things to bring along include : your IC, your old passport, and a pen (you could bring along some hand sanitizer if you would like to so you could clean the stamp pad ink from your thumb later on) These are the essentials. Optionally, you could bring along a book or a power bank or just anything to privately keep yourself busy while waiting, maybe a fan as well.3. Dress appropriately, especially for your top as your photo will be taken at the counter instead (that is why you no longer need to bring along passport sized photographs.
Now, let's move on to the procedures that was carried out in the office that I went to today (in Kelana Jaya)
I left my house in Rawang at about 5.45am and got there at 6.30am.
I suggest you just park at the basement parking nearby (it's pretty near actually) as all the parking space near the shoplots are reserved for their respective tenants. The fee is RM1.50 an hour (however, mine came up to just RM4.20 today)
Initially, I thought those spaces are specially for the office people and took a big turn and last, ended up going into the parking lots. I guess it's because of that, initially when I arrived and glanced at the office, there were already about 5 people waiting but when I parked my car and got to the waiting line, there were already about 10 or 15 people in front of me. And that was around 6.30am, an hour before the office opens.
Therefore, remember to go there as early as you can (well, not at midnight though, that would be too extreme, but if you want to, i guess there's no one stopping you).
People began to crowd the place at about 7 and by 7.25am, the officers begin to open the doors.
One of the guards/officers will hand out a sheet where you are to write your details on it. That is when I realized I should have brought a pen along. Thankfully, there was a pen inside and the people behind me were gracious enough to let me back into the line.
Hold on to that sheet of paper and to make matters easier, take out your IC and passport from your bags and hold them in your hand to ensure the line go by quickly (please don't be that inconsiderate bum who holds the line by digging through his bag at the numbering counter itself)
I think the most important part to fill in on the sheet is the type of passport you are applying for renewal be it a 2 year passport (RM100) or a 5 year passport (RM300) [prices are for citizens 12 years old and above. Children below 12, Seniors and Handicapped will have a special rate]
Looking at the numbers and peeping at other peoples' sheets, I can conclude that the numbers are given out according to whether you are renewing for 2 or 5 years where if you are renewing for 2 years, the number will begin from 1001 onward and 2001 onward for a 5 year passport.
The counters are also divided into the passport renewal type where about 3 counters were operating for each type. I was fortunate enough to get number 1008 and my turn came quite quickly (probably due to the 3 numbers in front of me are from the same family and they all requested to be done at one counter itself). I guess I only waited for say 15 to 20 minutes and my turn is up. Hand your passport and your IC to the officer at the counter and await instructions where you are to have your thumb scanned and photo taken).After that, you will have another round of waiting where you "submission" will have to go through some other officers before you can make your payment.
I didn't have to wait long and got my number called in about 15 to 20 minutes.
At that counter, you pay and you will get a receipt. Simple as that.
They will ask you to return an hour later to collect your passport.
Once you got your receipt, now, you can relax a little and go have your breakfast.
There are 3 shops open nearby where you can have either Malay, Chinese, or Indian food. I went to the Malay restaurant (cos I'm thinking of just getting something relatively cheap, plus, i need to break my notes for parking later.)Got myself a plate of Nasi Lemak and a sausage rolled in a bread for only RM3.70.
After finishing, I took a stroll but decided to just hang in the office as I heard of people getting their passports without waiting too long.
I headed back to the office and saw that a couple handed in their receipts to the collection counter.
So, I followed in his steps and the officer said that my turn is not up yet as it was only about half and hour past my payment. However, she said she will take my receipt and call my name once my passport is ready.Lo and behold, I got my passport by 8.55 am and I'm ready to leave.
So, all in all, the whole process took me about 1 1/2 hours where at first, I thought of going to Paradigm for a while just to get out of the house but decided against it as it was too early.
So, a simple break down of my passport renewal process
0635 - arrival and waiting in line
0730 - obtain sheet and number
0750 - passport renewal application process at the counter
0815 - payment at the counter and receipt retrieval
0855 - collection of passport
This is how the new passports look
Front and Details Page (black and white photo this time, so, no need to bother wearing clothes with beautiful colours)
Details of the office I went to is as below:
Pejabat Imigresen Kelana Jaya
(Kelana Jaya Immigration Office)
Blok A, Plaza Glomac Jalan SS7/19, Kelana Jaya
47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor,
Malaysia.
Tel: 03-7883 0975 / 7885 0149 / 7885 0301
Fax: 03-7885 0243
Office Hours: Monday - Friday: 7.30 a.m - 1.00 p.m and 2.00 p.m - 5.30 p.m
Saturday - Sunday: 8.00 a.m - 1.00 p.m (Passport Processing Only)
(photo taken from Google Maps Street View cos I forgot to take a photo of the office)
Below is a link on another post on Malaysian passport renewal
What's the process for renewing your Malaysian passport in Penang? by Diana Tan
