MyNIISe and MyDigital ID not compulsory to clear immigration, autogate still accepts physical passport

Malaysia’s immigration department has confirmed that MyNIISe is not compulsory for travellers leaving the country and Malaysians can still travel overseas without needing to download an extra app. This means if you’re catching an international flight soon, can still clear immigration as usual with your passport. 

The clarification comes as there was some confusion about the use of MyNIISe and MyDigital ID for international travel. 

MyNIISe is a digital immigration app which can be used to clear immigration while MyDigital ID is a single sign-on platform. 

As reported by BuletinTV3, the Director General of Immigration Department Datuk Zakaria Shaaban clarified that MyNIISe isn’t mandatory and travellers can still use other existing options to clear immigration. 

Besides using QR Code via MyNIISe, physical passports are still accepted at the Autogates (e-Gates) as usual. He also said that MyBorderPass can still be used as well. 

Datuk Zakaria added that the implementation of MyNIISe is currently rolled out at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) and Kompleks Sultan Abdul Bakar (KSAB) as a pilot, before expanding to KLIA Terminal 1 and 2. This means the MyNIISe QR code is currently valid for the land border crossing between Johor and Singapore. 

The department aims to add MyNIISe QR scanners at more border check points as well as adding 635 autogates nationwide. In Sabah and Sarawak, they plan to add MyKad readers as well. 

The confusion arise when the several government social media channels announced that MyDigital ID will be the sole login method for MyNIISe starting 15th January 2026. To make matters worse, several media outlets imply that MyNIISe and MyDigital are required starting tomorrow. 

Unlike MyBorderPass which is currently limited to Malaysian citizens, MyNIISe is open to foreign citizens and it is also used to submit the digital arrival card. For non-Malaysian users, MyNIISe still retains the existing login method. 

From our own checks at KLIA Terminal 1 international departure and arrival areas, the autogates and MyBorderPass lanes are still operational, and there are also manual immigration counters as well. 

Take note that you must still bring your physical passport with you for international travel even if you’re using MyNIISe or MyBorderPass app.

At the moment, the MyNIISe app has gotten poor user rating as many faced difficulty scanning their passport due to NFC issues. The immigration app has received 1.4 stars on Apple AppStore and 1.8 stars on Google PlayStore.