Passport and visa costs in Malaysia

Travelling overseas can be a pretty exciting affair, especially if you enjoy experiencing different cultures food and environments. But planning for your trip shouldn't be limited to just tickets and accommodation, as you still need to have your most important documents ready to be able to travel to different countries.

But how much are these documents, and what would be the best option to take when you purchase them? We take a look at the cost of passports and visas for Malaysians and give you what you need to know on the costs of travel documents and what to look out for when applying for them.

Passports

Applying or even renewing your passport can be pretty straightforward. You need to have some form of identification, mostly your identification card or for the younger ones their birth certificate, and sometimes you need to bring your own passport pictures, though with the latest technology they may take a picture of and for you during your application process. As you're applying, you have two options on for your passport. The two year validity passport for RM100 or the five year validity passport for RM300.

If you're a frequent traveller, logically the RM300 seems like the best option. Reason being that this means the passport has a longer validity, as passports are not usually accepted when it's reaching the last 6 months. But if you travel constantly where the pages get full quickly with visa stamps, you may want to consider buying the two year validity for RM100 as with the current passports, both the two year and five year validity have 50 pages.

Do take note that just because you opt for the five year validity, it does not mean that it would be cheaper. In fact, it's a lot more expensive to get a five year validity compared to a two year validity. For example, say you want to travel for the next ten years. While you need to renew your passport five times with the two year validity or more, you'd be spending RM500, while the five year validity allows you to renew once, it will cost you RM600.

In the end, consider how much are you willing to spend to renew your passport, and whether you travel enough to either need a longer validity, or more pages on your passport.

Visas

Just because you have your passport ready, that doesn't mean you can go to any country with that alone. While passports are used to identify you, it is also used to take note of the visas you will need to enter the foreign country. Visas are an endorsement on your passport, letting those in the embassy know you are allowed to enter, leave or stay in this foreign country for a specific period of time and what your purposes are. Currently, Malaysian passport holders can travel to 163 countries without a visa, or are given a limited visa upon arrival.

While certain visas allow you to pay for it upon arrival, a majority of them require you to apply and pay for it before you take off. Some of them may even be strict and not give you a tourist visa depending on their conditions. For example, if you wish to apply for a USA tourist visa, you not only have to pay US$160 (RM522) and fill in the form for your application, you will also need to go for an interview where you will be questioned about your intentions. And if they deem you unworthy, let's just hope you didn't book your flight tickets yet as you won't be entering the USA anytime soon. Currently, gaining a tourist visa to the USA is the most expensive (and possibly takes the most gruelling process) for Malaysian passport holders.

Those who give you visa free access (meaning you don't have to pay for anything or go through any hassle for entrance) for Malaysian passport holders are limited to Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago in Africa and Gibraltar in Europe. There are countries who, even though are free, require you to apply for a visa beforehand. This includes Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe in Africa and the Norfolk Island in the Oceania.

You may be surprised to find out that traveling to other Asian countries, such as India which is also a commonwealth country like Malaysia, will require you to pay for a visa. For India, it will cost you RM161.56 for the application fee, with RM1.56 as a service fee where it will take 3 working days for the submission. Going to Nepal? Have about US$25-US$100 (RM81.20-RM324.80) ready upon arrival to get your visa, the amount you need to pay depending on the duration of your stay.

Certain countries like Slovakia, Spain, Germany, etc. requires you to have a Schengen visa. Malaysian citizens do not require a visa when travelling to one of the Schengen countries, but if you're planning a long travel exceeding over three months in the course of a year, you will have to apply for a visa before travelling and should be made in person at the embassy. You will require a number of documents when you do so, which includes travel insurance with a minimum cover of RM150,000 and is valid in all Schengen countries.

Most of these visas give you a limit of up to 15-90 days so do be sure you're there within the stipulated time given. If you plan to stay any longer than the stipulated time, you will have to go to the relevant country immigration centre and apply for a proper visa, and possibly pay a certain amount as well.

Be sure to do your research on the cost of your passport and visa when you plan to travel overseas, especially if you do it frequently. With proper planning and having better knowledge of your travel documents can save yourself not just the heartaches in immigration, but time and money as well.

This was brought you by MICHELLE BROHIER from RinggitPlus.com. RinggitPlus compares credit cards, personal loans and home loans to help Malaysians get more for their money.