Immigration Time

My current passport had expired. But since I was imposed by a traveling and flying ban by Puan Anita, I didn’t bother renewing my passport. In December, me, Anita and the boys were planning to hit Singapore, so it was time to renew. The boys were still at school, and since I seldom had free time, I had to utilise all the free mornings I had. So, today was the day.

I got all my documents ready ahead of time. I even stopped at the Immigration Office a couple of days back to double check on the documents I needed to bring - I can be like that. I was told that all I needed to bring was my old passport, my MyKad and to fill in a simple sheet of paper on my details and the rest would be taken care of on the day at the counter.

RM300 for 5 years ....Heading out happy ...I set off to the Immigration Office at Wangsa Maju, about 15 minutes away from the Gombak House just after 7 this morning. The office opened at 7.30 and there was already a queue when I arrived. I was the 35th customer to be served. The officer checked that my documents are legit and I was told to take a seat and wait for my number. It was around 7.50 am then.

My number was called at around 8.10, handed in the documents, had my photograph taken, thumbprints scanned, documents signed. Got my number back and asked to wait to pay at another counter in the next 15 minutes. I was already with my payment receipt at 8.28 am. The lady behind the cashier told me that my passport would be ready in about an hour’s time. Time for breakfast I thought.

A mamak restaurant at the end of the row sorted that out, and I was back after 20 minutes. I started browsing the net and checked my twitter feed. And just before 9am, my number was up for passport collection!

All was settled within 90 minutes without any fuss! Great stuff, and the staffs were friendly too. Even the security - mainly made up by Rela officers were kind and helpful. They had a separate lines for customers with young children and old folks. They would be served and attended to much faster. But to be honest, it couldn’t have been much faster than this!

I was very happy and impressed. The system was efficient as advertised, and I was glad that I went to a smaller office where the crowd was smaller. Next week it would be Anita’s and the boys’ turn. After being through the process today, I was not worried at all about what they would have to go through.

A few suggestions would be to have a bigger screen for the numbers - the one there had only a couple of lines and there was no numbers on top of each of the individual counters. The PA system was also out of commission on the day, so you had to pay attention to when your number were called. I didn’t have time to see if there were toilet facilities and sure available, as I was sure those may come in handy …..

Great job guys!