Jakarta. The Directorate General of Immigration under the Ministry of Law and Human Rights will unveil a new passport design and color on August 17. Current passports will remain valid.

"For current passport holders, your passports will still be valid even after the new design is launched," said Arvin Gumilang, Head of the Travel Document Verification Team, on Tuesday.

Arvin added that while the public can choose to replace their old passports with new ones, it is not mandatory. He noted that updating passport designs is common practice and recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Countries need to update passport designs to keep up with technological advancements and to prevent document forgery, he explained. "I am confident that future Indonesian passports will be more sophisticated, although I cannot disclose the details yet," he said.

Currently, Indonesian passports have a light blue or turquoise cover for general passports, a blue cover for official passports, and a black cover for diplomatic passports, all featuring a golden Garuda emblem.

Director General of Immigration Silmy Karim previously announced that more details about the new design would be revealed on August 17 in the capital city of Nusantara (IKN). According to Silmy, the redesign aims to inspire positive change.

Since January 2020, Indonesian passports have granted visa-free access to 85 countries and territories.