Indonesian passports are only valid for five years, but the validity period may soon double as the country sees more and more overseas travelers.
Immigration Director General Ronny Franky Sompie said demand for new passports at immigration offices throughout the country have been high in recent years, resulting in long queues.
“The 10-year passport can be a solution when the service and capability of the Immigration Directorate General and its 135 immigration offices in Indonesia are not yet able to cope with the high demand for passports,” he said, as quoted by Medcom.
“We feel that the 10-year passport program is an immediate necessity.”
Ronny added that Immigration is putting together the systems necessary to implement the 10-year passport program. If there are no significant stumbling blocks, he believes that they can begin issuing 10-year passports by the end of this year.
However, there may be opposition to the plan in the House of Parliament (DPR).
“I don’t agree with 10 years, that’s too long. Over that period of time it’s possible that data on holders might not be up to date, because in 10 years the person could have died,” said Gerindra party lawmaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, as quoted by Sindonews (somehow not making the inference that people can die any time, even within five years).
The US, UK, Canada, China, Australia and many more issue 10-year validity passports to adults. In Southeast Asia, Cambodia, Philippines, Vietnam already issue 10-year passports, while our closest neighbors Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand still issue 5-year passports.
