The Hurdles of Passport Renewal: A Personal Reflection

During the Hari Raya festivities, my family and I geared up for our upcoming travels by planning to renew our passports. Little did I know, what seemed like a straightforward task turned into a series of hurdles, costing us both time and money. In this blog, I'll share my personal journey and offer some insights to help others avoid similar pitfalls.

Without further ado, let's dive into the content.

The plan:

We had planned to return to Penang for our passport renewal, relying on our familiarity with the process in our hometown.

On Monday morning, we arrived at the Immigration Department eager to renew our passports. However, our hopes were dashed when we found a long queue and were informed that walk-in slots had already been filled, just an hour after opening. We were advised that online applications were faster and spared the need for such lengthy queues.

We decided to apply online and headed to get passport-sized photos. While my mom and I managed to apply online successfully after taking our photos, my sister faced a setback as her passport had expired for over five years, necessitating an in-person visit the following day.

Despite helping my mom with her online application, I encountered difficulties with mine. Frustratingly, I couldn't find the page to resubmit my photo, as the previous uploads possibly did not meet the requirements.

Fortunately, my mom received a notification email confirming her successful application within hours, contrary to the three-day waiting period we were warned about. She promptly visited the Immigration Department and returned home with her new passport, albeit with disappointing news.

It turns out, according to the staff there, I need to renew my Identification Card (IC) before I can proceed with my passport renewal, since I'm currently over 18 years old. However, my parents informed me that it typically takes a week to collect a new IC. With this knowledge, the prospect of successfully renewing my passport seemed bleak.

Despite this setback, we decided to give it a shot the next day, accompanied by my sister who needed to walk in for her passport application.

On Tuesday morning, my mom arrived at the Immigration Department bright and early at 6 am to queue up for the 8 am opening. My dad dropped my sister and me off at 7:45 am, and to our surprise, there was already a queue forming in front of my mom. This highlighted the determination of people willing to wait over two hours before opening time. It also made me reflect on the shortcomings of government services, which often force the public to adopt the mindset of arriving excessively early just to secure a spot in line.

When I presented my printed receipt and went to the counter, I was promptly rejected. It turns out my IC needed to be renewed before I could proceed with passport renewal. With no other options, I had to make a trip to the National Registration Department to renew my IC.

The decision to go to Bukit Mertajam was simply because it was familiar to my mom. However, upon registration, we were informed that this branch would take 2 weeks to process our IC, whereas we could collect it in just 1 hour at the Kepala Batas branch. Surprising as it was, we agreed to change the collection location, and after a short drive with my mom behind the wheel, I received notification for collection.

The trip took us about 20 minutes by car, with just a few minutes of waiting to get my IC. While the process was swift, the car ride did eat up some time. Although registering at the Kepala Batas branch would have been more convenient, reducing the IC renewal time from 7 days to 2 hours was still a significant improvement.

With my sister's successful passport collection, we returned to the Immigration Department, hopeful for a same-day passport renewal. It was only 10:30 am when I arrived, and since I had already paid for my application online, I was optimistic about receiving my passport. However, my hopes were dashed once again when the staff informed me that there were no more queue numbers available and asked me to return on Friday.

With our plans set to return to Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday for family reasons, I found myself in a predicament. I inquired at the counter whether it was possible to collect my passport at other branches in Kuala Lumpur next time. To our surprise and delight, the staff said yes.

In Malay, she assured us, "Since the passport hasn't been printed out yet, you can present your receipt at any counter in Malaysia to complete the process." We made sure to clarify that we had originally registered to collect our passports in Penang, and she confirmed that collecting at other locations was indeed an option. With this reassurance, we decided to stick to our original schedule and headed back to Kuala Lumpur to continue the renewal process.

To be honest, I had a nagging feeling that the staff might not have been entirely truthful with her words. I couldn't shake off the doubt about whether to trust her, knowing that a mistake in her instructions could result in another exhausting 4-hour journey back to Penang. Yet, I reasoned that perhaps the staff knew better than I did, and that I could indeed renew my passport at the branch in Kuala Lumpur.

Friday morning, the first official working day after the Hari Raya public holiday, found us at the Immigration Department in Sri Hartamas by 8:30 am. However, after waiting in line, I received the same disappointing news: I needed to arrive even earlier on Monday to secure a queue number. The frustration was palpable, not just for us, but for everyone in line. The woman ahead of me lamented that it was her third attempt without success.

Despite our mounting frustration, my sister and I decided to try our luck at another branch in Wangsa Maju, 7.5 km away. Perhaps due to its smaller scale and more remote location, the queue was shorter. This sparked a glimmer of hope that I might finally collect my passport and put an end to this exasperating ordeal.

Despite our best efforts to explain our situation—that I had registered to collect my passport in Penang but couldn't retrieve it, and that the staff at the Penang branch had assured us we could complete the process elsewhere—we were met with a harsh reality check. The staff at the KL branch made it clear that they couldn't accommodate our request.

We were informed that changing the passport collection location after payment wasn't possible; we were stuck collecting it where we had initially selected. Frustration and curse words swirled in my mind, but I had no choice but to call my dad and arrange train tickets to return to Penang for the renewal.

Quickly purchasing the train tickets, I was dismayed to find that they cost almost as much as the passport renewal fees themselves. 💸

After a lengthy train ride on Saturday afternoon, I found myself back in Penang once again. Sunday was a laid-back day spent with my dad, mostly catching up on sleep and endlessly scrolling through my phone since I didn't bring my laptop along for this short trip.

Monday morning saw me rising bright and early at 5:30 am, aiming to be one of the first in line outside the Immigration Department. However, our determination was met with a hint of frustration when we realized that elderly individuals and foreign workers who arrived later were being prioritized over those who arrived earlier. My dad stepped in to advocate for me to the guard, explaining that I had applied online. While we managed to secure a slightly better spot in line, the wait was still considerable.

Upon reaching the counter, I was informed that I needed to retake my picture since my previous attempts had failed. I couldn't help but feel puzzled by the three failed attempts, as the system wouldn't accept the first two. Despite these setbacks, we finally obtained my passport by 9:30 am. With my passport in hand, I boarded the train back to KL later that same day.

This incident really got me thinking about the practicality of limiting passport renewal queue numbers at the Immigration Department, especially considering it was so early in the day. How does it make sense for a government service to close its doors and say, "Sorry, no more queue numbers available," just an hour after opening? And what's worse, it's not just one branch—it seems to be a widespread issue. While it wouldn't be fair to assume all branches operate this way, the effect of availability bias certainly doesn't help the government's image.

To make matters worse, the inconsistent answers from staff only added to the confusion. How is it that under a standardized training system, one staff member tells me I can renew my passport at another branch while another vehemently disagrees? It's a clear case of misinformation within government services.

And let's not even get started on the online application portal—it's far from user-friendly. Basic functions like changing the collection location or re-uploading a picture are sorely lacking. Sure, maybe I could have re-uploaded the picture, but the instructions provided for using the Online Application Portal were far from helpful. But the real kicker? The inability to change the collection location for the passport. There's really no excuse for that, in my opinion.

What started as a simple errand has spiraled into a costly and time-consuming journey. Here are three key takeaways from my experience with government procedures:

1. Don't rely solely on the advice of one staff member for problem-solving.
2. Prepare for unexpected hurdles through thorough planning and research.
3. Opt for less crowded government branches for quicker and more efficient service.

Stay Tuned

For Future Interesting Encounters