580,000 PTPTN Borrowers Blacklisted from Travelling, Here’s How You Check if You Are Too

It’s that time of year again when everyone starts planning their vacation! Woohoo!

But, if you are currently under the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan, you may need to check whether you can travel in the first place before planning a getaway!

Source: fmt

The Immigration Department of Malaysia recently revealed that 586,863 borrowers of the PTPTN loan were blacklisted. Since then, more than 50 percent of them have started negotiating their payments. 

Last year, the blacklist of loan defaulters caught many off guard, causing a number of them to hold up the queues at local airports.

So, if you want to make sure you don’t miss your flight and awesome travel plans, it’s best to check your immigration status first!

Here is one of the ways you can check your status:

1. Go to the Immigration Department of Malaysia’s online portal here
2. Key in your Malaysian Identity Card number 
3. Click “semak“
4. If your result says “tiada halangan” or “no restriction”, you’re not blacklisted.
5. If your result says “please refer to nearest immigration office”, it’s time to sort out your loan.  

Source: malaysian immigration department

You can also;

• Check your status through PTPTN’s official portal
• Call PTPTN’s Careline at 03-2193 3000 or;
• Walk up to any PTPTN/JIM (Malaysian Immigration Department) counter.

If you find out that you’re blacklisted, you will not be allowed to renew your passport or leave the country.

In order to resolve this issue, you can either;

1. Repay your loan and/or any outstanding fees you owe or;
2. You can negotiate with PTPTN and agree on paying a different amount that is approved by PTPTN and restructure the loan. This should be done within 7 days before you plan to leave the country. 

So, go ahead and check your immigration status before making any solid plans. You can thank us later! 🙂

Also read: Besides Grades, Extracurricular Activities May Exempt You from Repaying PTPTN Loans