Travel/Transit with short validity passport

Mon Gol on 08/03/2017 - 12:58

Hi all,

we hold citizenship of another country but live in Australia as Permanent residents.
our child's passport expires at the end of November this year.
we will need to take her to our country of citizenship to have a new passport issued. There is no our country's embassy in Australia and the nearest one which is in Singapore is not able to assist.
i was planning to take her to change passport closer to the expiry date (mid November) so that it is also close to end of school year (she can finalise her assessments earlier and by the end of school year she would be doing her lessons on line).

there is no direct flight, we will have to transit in Malaysia (this is the quickest and cheapest way to travel).
Malaysian legislation says that passport should have at least 90 days of validity in order to travel (and to get on board).
i have contacted Malaysian airlines and told them that we are going to obtain a supportive document stating that the girl is travelling to her home country to have a new passport issued, and whether this document will help to allow her on board.
their answer was rather surprising - they said it will depend on staff at the airport, whoever will be on duty.
to my words that the rule is the same regardless of staff they advised to contact Australian Immigration department to find out whether there will be any possible problems with them. so i did, and no - even 1 day of validity is enough to leave/enter the country.

i have submitted and enquiry on Malaysian airlines website, to have their official answer (fingers crossed).

just wondering if anyone in this community has been in a similar situation?

to foreseen questions - we can not apply for Australian citizenship yet, we prefer to travel at the end of school year so kids do not miss much of it, as the stay is usually long (takes long to get new passport).

thank you for reading.
awaiting advice.

Travel

Comments

  • Gunther on 08/03/2017 - 13:00

    Why not specify the country of Citizenship?

    • Mon Gol on 08/03/2017 - 13:01
      +1

      Uzbekistan.

  • apple2016 on 08/03/2017 - 13:44

    Malaysian legislation says that passport should have at least 90 days of validity in order to travel (and to get on board).

    where did you find this?
    Usually its only an issue if you are entering Malaysia. It should be fine if you are transiting thru. Its best to check with Malaysian airlines though.

    • Mon Gol on 08/03/2017 - 14:32

      as i said above - i called Malaysian airlines.. also website was about visiting Malaysia

  • Austin 316 on 08/03/2017 - 14:14

    It's not only Malaysia you need to consider. I bet you won't be allowed to fly from Australia itself. Lot of countries have different rules for passport expiry, but if I am correct, the rule in Australia is that your passport should have a validity of 6 months from your return date.

    I know it because one of my friend was sent back from Melbourne Airport (for his holiday to Thailand) as his passport was expiring in 2 months once he will come back.

    • Mon Gol on 08/03/2017 - 14:33

      immigration department confirmed it's ok to leave the country even with 1 day validity if you are travelling to the country of origin to get new passport

      • Austin 316 on 08/03/2017 - 15:51

        Great. Thanks for letting us know.

    • NancyCat on 08/03/2017 - 17:27

      I've flew out of Australia with my Aust passport expiring in less than 3 months without any trouble. (Traveling to Hong Kong, I'm also a HK citizen).

      • Mon Gol on 08/03/2017 - 18:12

        yeah, Australia side is not a problem. it is the transit country..

  • onetwothreefour on 08/03/2017 - 14:47

    When can you apply for Australian citizenship? Would it be worth waiting for that first?

  • MITM on 08/03/2017 - 15:06

    If you leave Australia as permanent residents, you will need a re-entry visa to get back in to Australia - even though you live here permanently. Check with your local immigration office.

    Usually the airline check in desk verifies if your passport has enough validity, before accepting your baggage. Check the airline website for clarification.

    • Mon Gol on 08/03/2017 - 15:17

      yes, that's right, and everything is up to date with this.

      airline is concerned about passport validity which is going to be very short.
      Otherwise - no issues with neither Australia immigration office nor our country's of origin.

      it is just how we can convince Malaysian airlines to let us on board with short validity passport…

  • bobbified on 08/03/2017 - 17:13

    they said it will depend on staff at the airport, whoever will be on duty.

    The reason for this is the person on duty or in charge at the time has to be comfortable enough that you will actually be allowed into the country on arrival. If the airline doesn't perform the due-diligence checks to make sure you have all the correct paperwork and you get refused entry into the country, then they are the ones responsible for flying you back out. (Sometimes there'll also be a fine - although I'm not sure if this is for all countries).

    So most won't take the chance and let you fly unless they know for sure.

    • Mon Gol on 08/03/2017 - 18:00

      right. i hope that if we get support letter from our embassy stating that we are travelling to home country to get a new passport is going be sufficient enough to whoever is in charge of boarding passengers that day…

  • Rdmelbourne on 08/03/2017 - 18:01

    The best option will be to pursue through Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Singapore for a new Child Passport. I am not sure why they are not able to assist. The Uzbekistan embassy in Singapore is responsible for Australia.

    Since you are planning to travel in Nov, there is plenty of time to follow up multiple time with Singapore Office. Once you get the new passport your child can attend the school end of year and avoid early assignment.

    • Mon Gol on 08/03/2017 - 18:06

      Singapore requires 6 months passport validity in order of issuing Singapore visa..

      in addition to this, we need to be registered withing this embassy, but we are not.
      it is a bit complicated, this is something we inherited from Soviet Union.
      Our registration is at our property there in Uzb, therefore, we have to go there to get new passport..

  • coolsteps on 08/03/2017 - 18:31

    had same issue with a child's passport expiring just under 6 months transiting through Dubai. we had to renew it before we left . no one could give us definite answer all depends who you get during check in. wasn't going to risk denial by some idiot in boarding the plane as it would have cost us heaps to re book all the tickets. i'd check with airline rules too as they are strict because they don't want to pay a fine to return you back.

  • wombok2 on 08/03/2017 - 18:53

    If you're not exiting Malaysia airport and your transit is within 24 hours I don't think you will have a problem. Pretty sure 90 day validity is only if you exit the airport.

    Holding foreign passport with less than 6 months validity and going back to your home country is fine. Usually the country you're departing will check with destination's immigration to confirm if they're not sure.

    You can travel to a foreign country with an Australian passport with less than 6 months validity as long as you are a PR/citizen of the foreign country as well.

  • oscargamer on 08/03/2017 - 20:35

    you are not entering Malaysia

    you are in transit

    you will be fine

    • 973728 on 09/03/2017 - 11:50

      This.
      Not having been in the exact circumstance you are my comment isn't 100% reliable, but when I got pulled up for a Malaysian rule, I was quickly let go once I said I was transiting onwards to another country.

      Not their problem? = Not an issue.

      Note. I was having to go from one airport terminal to another (with a different carrier) and KL requires you to exit as if you were completing a flight.

    • truesouth on 10/03/2017 - 03:19

      I transited ok in KL and then Singapore on way to NYC with 4 mth till expiry in passport.
      Had originally being denied boarding with Malaysian Airlines at the gate the previous day when my original schedule had a 1-day stopover in Singapore.
      Eventually, flew next day, just transiting Singapore and was fine.

  • Master Bates on 08/03/2017 - 23:20
    +1

    Make sure you get confirmation in writing from someone in authority at Malaysia Airlines; they are not known for their customer service!

    They wouldn't let a family member of mine fly due to the validity of their passport. Long and painful story, but short version is they lost $1000 in flights.

  • furys12 on 09/03/2017 - 10:33

    their answer was rather surprising - they said it will depend on staff at the airport, whoever will be on duty.

    i wouldn't even risk it after getting that response, chances are most of the staff on the ground will know the 90 day rule but most won't know the "travelling to her home country to have a new passport issued" exception you're basically taking a gamble that someone there will know what they are talking about rather then just spouting the rules they know and given my experience with airports thats a bad gamble.

    just take her early, a couple weeks out of school, if you can't do it one of the 3 other school holidays is fine, and know for next time to plan well ahead

  • TakaHas on 09/03/2017 - 10:47
    -1

    You cannot renew an Australian child passport, but you might be able to apply for a new child passport beforehand to not worry about getting to an Australian Embassy problem.

  • hos on 26/07/2018 - 15:57

    @Mon Gol were you able to fly?

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