Pakistan makes e-passports issuance mandatory and here’s the timeline

KARACHI – The issuance of e-passports will be mandatory by 2027 in a major leap forward for technology and aviation for the citizens of Pakistan.

Director General of Passports, Mustafa Jamal Qazi confirmed that the issuance of e-passports would become mandatory from 2027.

During a recent visit to the Karachi Passport Office on Thursday, Qazi mentioned that the department was almost ready with the preparations to shift from the current machine-readable passports to the new e-passports.

Additionally, the Director-General announced that a new passport system will be put in place within the next six to seven months as part of this change. The move towards e-passports is often motivated by the desire to improve border security, streamline immigration processes, and keep up with global standards in travel document technology.

According to Qazi, 6.5 million passports have been given to Pakistani nationals planning to travel abroad this year.

Furthermore, addressing concerns about the possible issuance of thousands of Pakistani passports to Afghan nationals, Qazi mentioned constituting a high-level task force to investigate the matter thoroughly.

Moreover, to tackle delays in passport issuance, Qazi assured that there won’t be any further delays because the government has secured a sufficient quantity of lamination paper needed to print new passports.

As far as the details are concerned, the Immigration and Passports Authority recently shared the costs for the new e-passports. For a 36-page passport valid for 5 years, it’s about Rs9,000 and an urgent one costs about Rs15,000. The 72-page passport for 10 years costs Rs24,750 normally and about Rs40,500 for urgent processing.

An e-passport is a high-tech passport with a special chip inside. This chip holds important information like your photo and details. It makes travel safer and helps prevent fake passports.