How to Renew a Malaysian Passport

Here we were again, the countless times visiting the government office at Jalan Duta and this time round was for my passport renewal.

Basically, the renewal of a Malaysian Passport is a simple process. There are a few tips and documents as below.

EARLY ARRIVAL

Though the office time starts at 8am based on the Internet, the door of the passport unit opens earlier. On 18 December, my husband and I arrived at the office before 7am and there were already 6 people queuing in front of us. When the door opened, we went in straight to the ticket counter to collect my ticket number by presenting my old passport and my identity card. We waited for a while for the officers to settle down and numbers were called slightly before 8am.

My ticket number

THE RENEWAL PROCESS

My number was called about 7.55am and I went to the counter by showing my old passport and I.C.. Shortly after that, I was asked to face the camera for photo taking. I was then asked to wait to be called again for payment. At 8.05am, I was called to pay RM200 and given a receipt with a reminder to collect my new passport ONE HOUR after the time printed on the receipt which was 8.05am.

DOCUMENTS / PREPARATION NEEDED TO MALAYSIAN PASSPORT RENEWAL

1. Old passport

2. Identity Card

3. RM200 (13-59 years old) / RM100 (12 years old and below or 60 and above)

4. Wear formal and a shirt in darker colour

5. Passport photo is taken instantly at the counter

COLLECTION OF THE NEW PASSPORT

After about an hour, I was called to collect the new passport to check all the details in my new passport. The whole process from the early morning till I obtained the passport took about 2 hours, subject to early arrival. However, I believe that the renewal process has been shortened tremendously throughout these years whereby the new passport can be collected within hours, seemingly 2 to 3 hours after payment based on my experience.

Collection of a Long Term Social Visit Pass (LTSVP)

We went back to the Immigration Office, Jalan Duta on 16 October after the submission of application on 12 September. As we have known that this particular office has been extremely busy, we reached there 30 minutes before it opened and there was already a queue there. For visa collection, we showed the officer the confirmation slip we got on 12 September, she gave the ticket number of ‘7002’ and took my husband’s passport. We were happy that we were the second one to collect the visa. Unexpectedly, we were told to wait for an hour to be called, but the actual fact is that we waited for more 1.5 hours to only be called for payment. Why did it take such a long period of time just to collect a visa which had already been applied for more than 20 working days? No one knows.

When our number was called, I was shocked to be told that I needed to pay RM2,141.40 in total in order to collect my husband’s visa. For your information, they only accept CASH, whereby I only prepared RM1,650 for payment (security bond of RM1,500 and other visa fees of about RM150). Frankly speaking, I was not aware that there was a JP (Journey Performed) charge of RM500. We quickly went to withdraw RM500 there and went back to the counter for payment. After payment, we waited for about 20 minutes and finally collected the visa. When we got home, I checked online that certain nationalities are required to pay this JP charge of RM500. Unfortunately, Polish is one of the nationalities.

The breakdown of the payment

We were given two receipts and asked to check the visa details in my husband’s passport. In my husband’s passport, there are two visas, which are a ‘Single Entry Visa’ crossed with a ‘JP’ wording and a 6-month ‘Multiple Entry Visa’. Throughout the process of obtaining my husband’s visa, we have come to a conclusion that it is costly and time-consuming to have a foreign spouse living in Malaysia. However, we are genuinely grateful to be able to be together despite having gone thru the tedious process settling down in KL.

How to Fill in a Statutory Declaration (Surat Akuan Sumpah Perkahwinan) for Foreign Spouses

This is relatively easy to me compared to filling in a Security Bond. This is my version and it might not be accurate, posted here for your reference.

My Version of Surat Akuan

How to Fill in a Security Bond for Foreign Spouses

It took me sometime to figure out how to fill in this document. This is my version, and again, it might not be accurate, but it was accepted by the immigration officer. Hope it could provide some help.

My version of filling in a Security Bond

Applying for a Long Term Social Visit Pass (LTSVP) for Foreign Spouses in Malaysia

*Disclaimer:

This blog is solely written for the purpose of experience sharing. It is not deemed to be any form of legal advice.

6-month Cooling Period

Before we could apply for a LTSVP, the condition of the cooling period of 6 months starting from the marriage date must be fulfilled. In our case, our ROM is in March, thus we applied the visa in September (few days after the cooling period).

Obtaining the latest checklist and forms

A few days after our ROM, we made a trip to the Immigration Office, Jalan Duta (since it is near to our house, it would be better to have our file opened there) to re-confirm the requirement of 6-month cooling period (The answer was YES!), and obtain the latest checklist and forms (forms printed from the Internet may not be accepted). Bear in mind, different immigration offices may have different requirements. It all depends on which office you are applying from.

According to the checklist (see screenshot below), there are plenty of documents to prepare, which looks rather overwhelming at first glance. Don’t worry and take a deep breath. These documents can be sorted out one by one, step by step. I would say the process is not difficult but tedious and time-consuming.

The checklist - all the items will be explained below

Preparing the required documents thereafter submitting them on 12 September 2019

I am writing this based on our experience (Malaysian Chinese marrying a Polish in Malaysia), hence the preparation of the documents may be different from yours if you are in Muslim marriage, get married overseas and other special cases.

From our experience, to get all the documents ready, we made few trips here and there, requested documents from several parties, photocopied some documents, developed some photos and filled the forms to get every single item in the checklist ticked. They are (1) to (10) listed below which would be further explained thereafter.

(1) Certifying photocopies in JPN offices, Jalan Duta (Item 4 to Item 7 based on the checklist)

(2) Getting Security Bond (Item 11) stamped for RM10 at LHDN (about 5-minute driving from the Immigration office, Jalan Duta)

(3) Engaging a Commission of Oath to certify Marriage Statutory Declaration (Item 12: Surat Akuan Sumpah Perkahwinan)

(4) Obtaining certified bank statements (Item 18) from the sponsor’s bank

(5) Photocopying passports (Item 8 and Item 9)

(6) Preparing and developing marriage photos (Item 10) and the photos of your residential house and its surroundings (Item 16)

(7) Photocopying a set of the Sale and Purchase Agreement (S&P) / Tenancy Agreement of your residential house (Item 15)

(8) Obtaining the latest utility bill showing your residential address (Item 14)

(9) Obtaining the sponsor’s salary slips (latest 3 months) certified by the employer (Item 18)

(10) Filling in the forms (Item 1 to Item 3 and Item 13)

(1) Certifying photocopies in JPN offices, Jalan Duta (Item 4 to Item 7)

1. Malaysian’s Spouse MyKad (Item 4) – original and photocopy certified by JPN (I.C. Dept.)

2. Sponsor’s MyKad (For Item 15 or Item 17 and Item 18) – original and photocopy certified by JPN (I.C. Dept.)

3. Security Bond Witness’ MyKad (For Item 11) – original and photocopy certified by JPN (I.C. Dept.              

4. Malaysian’s Spouse Birth Certificate (Not requested in the checklist, but they took mine upon submission) – original and photocopy certified by JPN (Birth Cert. Dept.)

5. Marriage Certificate (if you get married in Malaysia) (Item 6) – original and photocopy certified by JPN (Marriage Dept.)

I would advise spending half a day to get the above done. The queues in JPN Marriage and Birth Cert. Departments at Jalan Duta were relatively short and it took us merely 15 to 30 minutes each department to get the photocopies certified. 

However, the queue in the I.C. department was crazy, perhaps it was a school holiday when we were there. We spent at least an hour to get the certified copies of mine and my father’s I.C. done (my father is the co-owner of our house and the witness of the security bond). I took my father's I.C. there and my father was not present. The officer asked about my father and I frankly told him that I had my father original I.C. with me but my father was not there. He said nothing and certified the photocopies.

Certifying photocopies by these offices did not cost us anything, assuming it is for free.

(2) Getting Security Bond (Item 11) stamped for RM10 at LHDN (about 5-minute driving from the Immigration office, Jalan Duta)

Please read How to Fill in a Security Bond for Foreign Spouse, if you need some guidance.

Basically, (2) and (3) were done on the other day (another half a day). After filling in the form, we made a trip to Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri (LHDN), Jalan Duta which is 5-minute driving from the Immigration Office, Jalan Duta and got the security bond stamped with stamp duty of RM10. It was easy and fast, done in 5 minutes.

(3) Engaging a Commission for Oaths to certify Marriage Statutory Declaration (Item 12: Surat Akuan Sumpah Perkahwinan)

Please read How to Fill in a Statutory Declaration for Foreign Spouses, if you need some guidance.

After LHDN, we went straight to the Immigration Office (first floor) at Jalan Duta as there is an office (ground floor) with the service of Commission for Oaths. There was quite a long queue when we reached there, surprised to have seen many couples queuing there. For about 10 minutes, it was our turn, and the Commission of Oaths checked and certified the declaration form. We paid RM8 for the signature.

(4) Obtaining certified bank statements (Item 18) from the sponsor’s bank

As my salary account is with OCBC, I went to the nearest branch to obtain the latest 3 months of bank statements for my salary account. I also requested bank statements of my savings account to prove my financial status as my husband’s sponsor. I then got them certified by the Bank, charged RM40 all in (pricey!). Upon submission of documents, the officer took both of my bank statements (salary and savings account) with no issue arisen.

(5) Photocopying passports (Item 8 and Item 9)

Foreign spouse’s passport must be photocopied, the main page together with other pages with stamps. However, they do not require Malaysian spouse’s passport to be photocopied, unless you get married overseas.

(6) Preparing and developing marriage photos (Item 10) and the photos of your residential house and its surroundings (Item 16)

We prepared more than 6 photos for each. The office ended up choosing two of our marriage photos (one with only two of us and another one taken with my parents) and five photos of our house and its surroundings (the sign of our Taman, the junction with a road name towards our house, the outlook of our condominium, the main entrance with a security guardhouse of the condominium and our front door with the unit no.). We brought the photos there and were not aware of the need to paste them on blank A4 papers for easy filing. Fortunately, the officer was helpful enough to paste the photos on papers with our assistance.

(7) Photocopying a set of the Sale and Purchase Agreement (S&P) / Tenancy Agreement of your residential house (Item 15)

I had read some post mentioning that the photocopy of these documents has to be certified by the lawyer. To double confirm this, I had asked the officer before we went to submit the documents. The answer was that a photocopy will do without being certified by the lawyer, however the full copy of the contract is required besides the main pages.

As the current house that we live in is owned by my father and me, thus our I.C. certified copies are required (one copy each is enough). If you are the Malaysian spouse but not the sponsor / house owner / landlord (if renting), you will need to provide their I.C. copies certified by JPN.

(8) Obtaining the latest utility bill showing your residential address (Item 14)

Since we applied for the visa few days after we moved into our new house, it makes sense that our utility bill for a new house would be much cheaper. We submitted an electricity bill of about RM8. After our documents being checked by another officer, she came to ask us about the amount and wondered whether we did stay there. We explained to her that we had just moved in, that was why it was merely RM8. She accepted our explanation and explained that they just wanted to make sure we did stay there (perhaps, to re-confirm our residential address for further site visit, I guess).

(9) Obtaining the sponsor’s salary slips (latest 3 months) certified by the employer (Item 18)

This part is easy if the sponsor has monthly income of RM3000 and above working in a legally registered company in Malaysia. Since I am working in a private high school, I had kept the latest 3 months of salary slips and got my school principal and HR manger to certify the documents.

Other than salary slips, I had also requested my school to provide me an employment letter to prove that I am currently one of their employees. The letter prepared by my school was rather simple, confirming my position at school since when in Malay. Upon submission, they took the employment letter without any questions.

(10) Filling in the forms (Item 1 to Item 3 and Item 13)

Borang IMM. 55 / Borang IMM. 12 – 2 copies / Borang IMM. 38 / Borang Maklumat Tambahan

Fill in the borang (forms) accordingly. For me, I made photocopies of these forms to ensure that I knew what I needed to fill, what information I needed, how to fill, in short, practising to fill in order to minimise my mistakes. I found some of the columns or information required rather confusing. However, I managed to fill in 99% of the forms and left a little blank. The blank parts were then filled while the officer was attending us. 

For Borang Imm. 55, we were asked to fill in 6 months for No. 14 Period of Extension and told that we would only get a 6-month visa for the first time (as expected). For Borang Maklumat Tambahan (Form of Additional Information), Part C is to be filled in front of the officer.

Other than these forms, I found filling in forms like Security Bond and Marriage Statutory Declaration tricky, thus I will also share my version of filling in these forms (it might not be 100% accurate, but it got through anyway), which eventually got my husband his first spouse visa.

Unexpected question(s) encountered while submitting documents for LTSVP application

After checking all the documents, we thought that it was final and we had everything submitted. Out of our expectation, the officer asked us whether we obtained my father’s statutory declaration as a sponsor. Instantly, I explained that I was the sole sponsor of my husband though the current house we live in is owed by my father and me. The officer further asked that who is paying for the utility bills and any other living expenses. I explained that I am paying it as my father is a retiree. Fortunately, he accepted my explanation and let go of the need of my father’s statutory declaration as a sponsor (whereby my father is not the sponsor!)

Hence, the preparation of documents related to any sponsor could be tricky. My advice is to make sure you have a clear picture of who the sponsor is and get his I.C. certified copy, salary slips and bank statements ready.

Last step after submitting the documents

After submitting the documents with his passport and my I.C., we were asked to wait and the documents were brought to the back office for checking. It took about 45 minutes, then we were called by the same officer together with the lady officer mentioned earlier who asked about our utility bill. Once confusion was cleared, the officer returned us our passport and I.C. and issued us a memo / confirmation slip regarding our application, asking us to return after 30 working days.

As my husband’s tourist visa was expiring on 18 October, the officer informed us to come back on that day (only about 20 working days) to check the status. He also further added that during these working days, they might call me if there was any issue with the documents which would put our case under KIV. Because of this reminder, I had been quite alert to incoming calls in hopes that everything would be fine and we could successfully obtain my husband’s visa when we returned for collection. No payment was made for the application submission.

Last but not least, our pieces of advice:

1. Most importantly, it is rather unnecessary to engage an agent to help the documentation. As I have mentioned, the process is not difficult but just tedious and time-consuming.
2. Planning required on how and when to get these documents done beforehand 

3. Double check the documents before submissions

4. Reach the immigration office at least 30 minutes before it opens so that you can get things soon ASAPs

5. Be PATIENT~

Please click the related links below for more information:
1. Filling in a Statutory Declaration for Foreign Spouses
2. Filling in a Security Bond for Foreign Spouses
3. Collection of LTSVP

Our ROM Ceremony

Pre-ceremony

On the actual day, we arrived at JPN Putrajaya about 8am. There were already three couples in front of us. When our number was called, we were seated at the counter for the officer to key in ours and the witnesses’ details such as I.C. No. and asked to check the details on the marriage certificate before the final printing. Thereafter, we were waiting for our ROM ceremony to take place. While waiting, I had my bestie to be my camerawoman to capture some ROM photos of ours together with my parents and relatives.

During the ceremony 

Time was well spent and after about an hour, it was our turn. We went into the ceremony room and the officer instructed us what to do, where to sit and to give her our I.C. and passport together with the witnesses’ I.C. for checking. I asked my parents to be our witnesses, which was perfectly fine. After all the checking, the ceremony started. Despite waiting for about an hour for the ROM, the ceremony itself took merely 15 minutes to finish. And again, we took some photos in the room and adjourned to the outdoors for photo-taking. 

While waiting for our turn...

Made good use of time LOL!

Post-ceremony : Photo-taking session

It was a brilliant decision having our ROM there since we could take photos with different backgrounds. The buildings and greenery there were so much different compared to other ROM offices. However, if you would have your marriage photos taken professionally, ROM photos might not be unnecessary to you. As we are still uncertain whether we would want to have proper wedding shooting with wedding gowns and suits, ROM in Putrajaya would then be a better option for us.

Absolutely love these photos taken outdoors~

Why Having Our ROM in Putrajaya?

After much research done obtaining information on the related sites / the respective offices and reading posts shared by FSSG (Foreign Spouses Support Group), though JPN Jalan Duta is so much nearer to our house and my I.C. address is W. Persekutuan, we eventually opted for JPN Putrajaya.

A trip to Putrajaya is a must regardless of which JPN we choose

For us to have ROM in JPN Jalan Duta, we were required to make a trip to JPN Putrajaya to obtain a marriage form together with an official letter issued by JPN Putrajaya, and then send them back to JPN Jalan Duta in order to register there. However, by having ROM in JPN Putrajaya, we could get the form straight without the need of the official letter, then got every document checked, signed and submitted. It would save the trouble going back and forth choosing JPN Jalan Duta.

Preparation of documents: Time and trouble saving

I personally felt that though Putrajaya is relatively far, we could easily get things done. With the thought that we might miss out some details to be done for the documentation, choosing JPN Putrajaya seemed to be more secure since all related offices are nearby, so that missing details could be rectified more quickly. Well, the only downside was the ROM ceremony would be carried out there, and our family and friends needed to make a further trip there.

All in all, we do not regret choosing JPN Putrajaya, but in fact, are glad to have done there as we went around taking some amazing photos. Afterall, Putrajaya is one of the tourist attractions, isn’t it?

Preparation of Documents for Registration of Marriage (ROM) with a Polish Husband

Disclaimers:

(1) This blog is solely written for the purpose of experience sharing. It is not deemed to be any form of legal advice.

(2) As our ROM was in March 2019, the latest requirement of documents and fees may differ now, kindly check with the respective office for the latest update. Fees may be different on a case-by-case basis.

(3) My husband came to KL with me holding a 90-day visa as a tourist. Hence, the application process / documents are likely to be different from those are holding a student / working visa and wish to register for marriage in Malaysia.

Step 1: Inquiring about what you need

In February 2019, a few weeks after flying back from the U.K., we were planning for our ROM. We were thinking whether to register our marriage in JPN Jalan Duta (10-min trip from our house) or JPN Putrajaya (about an-hour trip). We were uncertain as it seemed that registering in Putrajaya would be much easier after much research done reading some online posts shared by foreign spouses (and we ended up choosing Putrajaya, for the reasons, please read Why Having Our ROM in Putrajaya?). To be sure, we made a trip to JPN Jalan Duta to inquire about the documents needed to apply for ROM. We were given some information to do the necessary.

The checklist we obtained back in February 2019.
Kindly ignore my scribbles and crosses on the list. 

Step 2: Getting ready of the TWO most important documents - Translated (if need) and certified

Before heading to any JPN to apply for ROM, TWO documents must be obtained / translated (if needed) and certified.

1. Foreign Spouse’s Letter of Single Status

2. Foreign Spouse’s Birth Certificate – original and photocopy

**Both documents are to be certified by the embassy (Poland Embassy, in my husband’s case) and the Ministry of Foreign Affair.

As the above documents of my husband are in the Polish language which we obtained in Poland in early January, we got them translated and certified by the Polish Embassy in KL. With the original and translated documents, we then went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Putrajaya in February to get the documents certified. We paid RM40 for the two documents certified, it took us about an hour to get things done.

Despite the fact that it was about 11am, we naively thought that we could proceed to JPN to submit the documents for ROM since these two offices are near to each other. Unfortunately, when we arrived at JPN, we were told that the number tickets had finished, the officer advised us to re-visit JPN on the other day in the early morning.

Step 3: Fulfilling all the requirements / documents and reaching Putrajaya at dawn

Following the officer's advice, we reached a lot earlier a few days later to submit the documents. Upon submission, we were required to have the below documents.

1. Foreign Spouse’s Letter of Single Status – translated and certified by the Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

2. Foreign Spouse’s Birth Certificate – original and photocopy - translated and certified by the Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

3. Foreign Spouse’s Passport – original and photocopy

4. Malaysian Spouse’s Birth Certificate – original and photocopy

5. Malaysian Spouse’s I.C. – original and photocopy

6. Passport-sized photos for both spouses

7. Form (Malay Language) – It was given after presenting our documents at the queue.

**Foreign spouse must reside in Malaysia for at least 7 days (based on the date stamped on the passport) before the submission of documents.

Before the submission, we got the application form filled. However, it was in Malay language and that was a part which required a translator to sign together with the foreign spouse who does not understand the Malay language. As such, we were taught to go to the Court (the Federal Court, 5-min walking distance from JPN Putrajaya) to look for a certified translator. They offer translation in Chinese, Malay and English. It took only 5 minutes for the translator to explain to my husband in English and both signed on the form and the fee was RM30.

After we had submitted the above documents and duly signed form attached with passport photos, we were given the dates to choose (20 days after the submission date), and of course, we picked the earliest availability then paid RM30. We were told that on the ROM actual day, we needed to be there as earlier as we could since the ROM was carried out on a first-come, first-served basis, thus reaching there earlier would be better. 

Final step: Getting prepared for the fateful day to come

We were given a confirmation letter with the ROM date and some reminders below.

1. Formal attire (T-shirt, jeans and slippers are not allowed)

2. Spouses’ I.C. and passport (original and photocopy)

3. Two witnesses aged 21 or above with their I.C. (original and photocopy), one for each spouse

Basically, this is our documentation preparation and submission process before the actual day. I would say it is not difficult but requires time, planning, travelling, checking and a lot of patience. Last but not least, I would like to thank FSSG (Foreign Spouses Support Group) for providing me tremendous information and guidance on how to go through the tedious process.