Passport valid for six months required.

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Arget
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Passport valid for six months required.

Post by Arget »

Just a bit of info on traveling out of Cambodia transiting Kl .
An Australian woman travelled to Cambodia on a passport that had 6 moths validity at time of entry.
She was travelling with Air Asia.
Yesterday she was due to depart PP to Melbourne transiting KL but was refused uplift as her passport was only valid for 5 months.
Yes she was returning to Australia with a 3 hour transit in KL and it would appear that the airline was wrong to refuse uplift but Air Asia differs from most other airlines.
All other airlines sell you a ticket from PP to Australia and overlook any transit as still being a return flight to Australia.
Air Asia on the other hand sell you a ticket from PP to LK then another ticket from KL to MEL, Per or wherever in Australia.

This being the case thy will enforce Malaysia's immigration rule that you must have at least 6 months validity on entry and refuse uplift

I would argue that when booking the ticket you must provide passport expiry date to Air Asia so that if they accept your payment then they are happy to allow uplift from PP.

In theory you could try to pass through immigration instead of remaining in transit at KL and at that point you would be refused entry and the airline that carried you would then have the responsibility to return you from the country that you flew in from.
This would cause a conundrum because as you no longer hold a visa to enter Cambodia and not have a passport with 6 nomth validity then they could not return you to PP.

This would then mean that you would have to remain in transit until it was sorted.

Australia has a long standing policy of facilitating entry by Australian citizens and would approve the uplift of the passenger if they have a valid ticket and the immigration of the country in question allows the person to pass through immigration to board the plane.

All in all it still remains the passport holders responsibility to comply with all immigration, customs and visa requirements of any country they travel too or transit.

Just a recent happening that members can take on board for future reference. =@
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John Bingham
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Re: Passport valid for six months required.

Post by John Bingham »

The six months validity is enforced in many countries and has been for as long as I can remember.
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rasputin
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Re: Passport valid for six months required.

Post by rasputin »

It's an arbitrarily rigid enforcement based on an excessively literal and counterproductive interpretation of "rules." N'est-ce pas?
The whole point of the six month rule is to make sure the traveler doesn't get stranded. The airline turned things on their head and used the rule to prevent the traveler getting home.
That's absurdly small-minded.
explorer
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Re: Passport valid for six months required.

Post by explorer »

If she is traveling on an Australian passport, and returning to Australia, this is madness.

Was she traveling on a passport from another country?

Was she stopped in PP?
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Arget
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Re: Passport valid for six months required.

Post by Arget »

explorer wrote: Fri Dec 14, 2018 6:01 pm If she is traveling on an Australian passport, and returning to Australia, this is madness.

Was she traveling on a passport from another country? no

Was she stopped in PP? yes
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Re: Passport valid for six months required.

Post by explorer »

I think if she had asked to see someone more senior she would have been able to travel. I think the employee misunderstood the rules. They may require six months validity on the passport when beginning a trip, not when returning home.

I think the airline should do whatever it takes to get her home.

She may get some compensation.

Where is she now?

Take this story to a television network, and the airline will suddenly go out of their way to help her.
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Duncan
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Re: Passport valid for six months required.

Post by Duncan »

Arget wrote: Fri Dec 14, 2018 4:47 pm Just a bit of info on traveling out of Cambodia transiting Kl .
An Australian woman travelled to Cambodia on a passport that had 6 moths validity at time of entry.
She was travelling with Air Asia.
Yesterday she was due to depart PP to Melbourne transiting KL but was refused uplift as her passport was only valid for 5 months.
Yes she was returning to Australia with a 3 hour transit in KL and it would appear that the airline was wrong to refuse uplift but Air Asia differs from most other airlines.
All other airlines sell you a ticket from PP to Australia and overlook any transit as still being a return flight to Australia.
Air Asia on the other hand sell you a ticket from PP to LK then another ticket from KL to MEL, Per or wherever in Australia.

This being the case thy will enforce Malaysia's immigration rule that you must have at least 6 months validity on entry and refuse uplift

I would argue that when booking the ticket you must provide passport expiry date to Air Asia so that if they accept your payment then they are happy to allow uplift from PP.

In theory you could try to pass through immigration instead of remaining in transit at KL and at that point you would be refused entry and the airline that carried you would then have the responsibility to return you from the country that you flew in from.
This would cause a conundrum because as you no longer hold a visa to enter Cambodia and not have a passport with 6 nomth validity then they could not return you to PP.

This would then mean that you would have to remain in transit until it was sorted.

Australia has a long standing policy of facilitating entry by Australian citizens and would approve the uplift of the passenger if they have a valid ticket and the immigration of the country in question allows the person to pass through immigration to board the plane.

All in all it still remains the passport holders responsibility to comply with all immigration, customs and visa requirements of any country they travel too or transit.

Just a recent happening that members can take on board for future reference. =@

[/quote]
All other airlines sell you a ticket from PP to Australia and overlook any transit as still being a return flight to Australia.
Air Asia on the other hand sell you a ticket from PP to LK then another ticket from KL to MEL, Per or wherever in Australi
a.


That does not sound right.

I do that trip twice a year and every ticket I have bought has been PP to OZ , via international transit at KL.
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phuketrichard
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Re: Passport valid for six months required.

Post by phuketrichard »

"Air Asia on the other hand sell you a ticket from PP to LK then another ticket from KL to MEL, Per or wherever in Australia."
should read, Air Asia on the other hand will sell you a ticket from PP to LK then another ticket from KL to MEL, Per or wherever in Australia.

U can buy fly thru tickets on Air asia that transits the middle county ,( ie PP- Sydney via Malaysia) or u can buy 2 tickets, as the poster did, which is many times cheaper
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PhnomRon
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Re: Passport valid for six months required.

Post by PhnomRon »

Arget wrote: Fri Dec 14, 2018 4:47 pm

In theory you could try to pass through immigration instead of remaining in transit at KL

That's not "in theory" it is mandatory to pass through immigration in Malaysia and collect your bags and re-check in unless you have bought a "fly through" ticket. If she had two tickets, PNH-KUL and KUL-MEL then the airport staff at PNH would simply be checking her ability to enter Malaysia, nothing more.


Thanks for the post, it is interesting.
explorer
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Re: Passport valid for six months required.

Post by explorer »

If she showed her ticket to Melbourne, they still should have let her travel.
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