PUTRAJAYA (May 16): Malaysian international passport renewals at three immigration offices - Kajang, Kelana Jaya and Wangsa Maju - will go fully online from June 1, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

He said that with the implementation of the fully online application, applicants aged 13 to 59 can no longer make applications at counter services or via walk-ins at these three offices.

Speaking to the media conference after the Immigration Department’s 2023 Outstanding Service Award (APC) ceremony, here, om Tuesday (May 16), Saifuddin said other immigration offices will still accept passport applications as usual.

“These three branches were chosen because they are the most popular in the Klang Valley and which issued the highest number of passports.

“These offices are also located in areas with good internet connectivity and, as such, there is no reason why online applications cannot be implemented,” he said.

All three branches, however, would still accept counter service or walk-in applications for children aged 12 and below, applicants aged 60 and above, haj pilgrims who received their Tabung Haji offers, students aged 21 and below who have received offers to study abroad, the disabled and the family members accompanying children aged 12 and below, he said.

For this year, as of May 12, he said the department had issued a total of 1.67 million passports and, of that number, a total of 464,725 passport applications were made online.

Meanwhile, Saifuddin said the change of working hours for the new shift for immigration staff at the entrance of the Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) and Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) in Johor, which came into effect on Sunday (May 14), did not involve the peak hours between 4am and 7am and 5pm and 7.30pm.

This is to ensure all counters can operate at those times as the BSI entrance is one of the busiest in the world, with an average of 220,000 cross-border visitors on a normal day, he said.

He said the working hours of the existing shift had been improved, with the morning shift now between 9am and 6pm; the evening shift from 4pm to midnight; and the night shift from midnight to 9am.

Previously, the working shift was 7am to 4pm (morning); 3pm to 11pm (evening); and 11pm to 8am (night).

“The change in the new working shift has taken into account the welfare of the immigration officers. Since the change in time is not so significant, it reduces the impact on the officers having to adapt to the new working hours,” he said.

“As an additional measure to address the issue of congestion at the entrances of BSI and KSAB as well as the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), he said a total of 100 new KP19 immigration officers will be stationed at BSI and KSAB while another 100 will be deployed at KLIA after they complete their training at the Malaysian Immigration Academy next week.