I was in the midst of planning for my upcoming Europe Trip 2.0 and when I was about to book my flight tickets last Friday, something shocking came upon me. I took out my passport from the drawer and realised that it was going to expire soon by the end of this month, so I decided to quickly renew it today (5 March 2018, Monday) at the Kajang UTC.
I left my house before 6:00am and reached there at 6:45am because I've read from another blogger that the queue would be long even before the immigration office opens at 7:30am. Guess what? I was the second in line. Wow! That mother of two was the earliest.
The officer opens the door at 7:30am sharp and we went into the first counter to take our numbers. Here, you have to hand over your Identity Card together with your old passport to the officer. It was less than 5 minutes for the second officer to call my number. I walked to the counter and he insert my Identity Card into the machine and all my details appear on his computer screen. You do not need to fill up any form now. What a great improvement!
After checking my details, I was asked to put my right thumb on the scanner for verification. The officer will ask for your latest mobile number. Next, the officer will ask you to sit up straight and look at the camera to have your photo taken for the new passport.
Just a note of reminder, you have to wear a dark colour shirt as the background is white. I've seen many applicants wearing yellow, light pink, light green, white shirt and the officer will lend you a coat to be worn.
After the photo has been taken, I was asked to sign on the form and thumb print on it. All these only took 10 minutes.
Now, I have to wait to be called to another counter to make payment. The fee for passport is now set at RM200 (the old fee was RM300 for 5 years). There is no longer passport for 2 years. The best part is the fee is half price at RM100 for senior citizens, students,
I waited for 1 hour to be called to the next counter to pay for my new passport. After payment, the officer returns my Identity Card to me and asked me to wait to be called to collect my new passport. It didn't take long for the next officer to call my number to hand me my new passport. All I need to do is to sign the form proving that I have collect my new passport and to sign on my new passport in front of the officer before I can leave.
In total, you will be called to three different counters. The first one is to verify your details, thumb print, and sign. The second counter is to make your payment and get back your Identity Card, and the third counter is to collect your new passport.
The whole process from taking the number to getting my new passport took one and a half hour. I left the immigration office at 9:00am. Overall, the process and service was good and efficient. I like the fact that you can now have your new passport on the same day you renew it.
One feature I like about the new passport is the first page inside where your details and photo are, that particular page is now laminated with a harder material, unlike previous passport (see the photo above). After getting home from the immigration office, I quickly went back to bed and have a nap till lunch time because I didn't have enough sleep.
The new pages in the new passport comes with butterfly and hibiscus flowers.
Here's the summary of what takes place:
- Queue at the first counter to take your number. Make sure you tell the officer that you're renewing your passport.
- Hand your old passport together with your Identity Card to the officer.
- Wait for your number to be called and go to the respective counter to verify your details with your thumb print and the officer will take a photo of you for the new passport. Sign the form and print your thumb.
- Wait for your number to be called to make payment at the cashier counter. When you pay, the officer will return the Identity Card to you.
- Now, wait your number to be called to collect your new passport. Sign on the release form and on your new passport and you're ready to go!
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