Now that we can finally travel to Malaysia, many Singapore residents are crossing the border to get a much-needed break from the city. Among a list of things to check before travelling is to ensure that your passport isn’t expired.
For Malaysian passport holders, that isn’t much of an issue as they can enter with a special validity extension stamp. However, it may not be as simple as it seems.
A Singapore permanent resident (PR) learned this the hard way on her recent trip to Malaysia. She shared her experience on Facebook after allegedly getting stuck in Johor Bahru (JB) with an expired passport.
Following the incident, she advised fellow Malaysians to renew their passport first or book a renewal appointment in advance before returning to their home country.
In her Facebook post on Friday (8 Apr) the OP explained that she had entered JB on Wednesday (6 Apr) without a glitch despite carrying an expired passport.
This was because she had an official stamp from the Office of the High Commissioner of Malaysia that extends the validity of her passport for two years after its expiry date in 2021. The authorities had rolled this out back then in light of the surge in passport renewals by Malaysians overseas, including in Singapore.
Trouble began when she returned to the JB checkpoint at 12pm, intending to return to Singapore. There, an officer allegedly told her that the stamp only allowed one-way entry to Malaysia. The officer had apparently caught seven similar cases that day.
Surprised, the OP wrote that she wouldn’t have entered Malaysia had she known about the ruling earlier.
Caught unawares, the OP claimed that she found herself stuck in JB past midnight.
She reportedly tried to get a passport renewal appointment but learned that walk-ins were no longer welcome. Appointments were also unavailable till June unless she was willing to travel all the way to Kluang for a slot on 25 Apr.
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Thankfully, the OP had friends and met netizens in Facebook groups who were willing to help her out. She was able to get in touch with a third-party online who could help her renew her passport and get it on the same day.
To avoid sharing the same fate, she advised fellow Malaysian passport holders to book their renewal appointments in advance.
Netizens who were aware of the stamp shared their thoughts in the comments section of a Facebook reshare of her post.
One commenter shared that the stamp is an emergency issuance valid for a single entry to Malaysia. Upon entering Malaysia, the person must renew their passport as soon as possible.
Another netizen shared that he received similar advice to renew his passport after he entered Malaysia with the same stamp last year.
According to yet another concerned netizen, there is an instruction note along with the extension stamp. Recipients are advised to read them to gain clarity about this issue.
Speaking to MS News, the OP explained that the High Commission had not informed her about the one-time entry rule. Whether she had received the instruction note the netizen mentioned above is unclear.
Though the OP did not miss a beat in terms of ensuring that she had all the necessary travel documents, it was unfortunate that she was unaware of the rules that accompanied them.
Nevertheless, we’re glad that she made her way back to Singapore safely. Kudos to her for sharing her experience so others can avoid ending up in a similar situation.
We hope Malaysian passport holders with validity extension stamps will take note of this ruling if they intend to travel to their home country soon.
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Featured image adapted from the Malaysian Immigration Department and Google Maps.
The authorities have investigated and closed the incident with no follow-ups required, MFA said.
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