Pakistan Ends Machine-Readable Passports as E-Passports Become the Only Option From October 15

Pakistan’s passport system formally turned a page today. Acting on instructions from the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports, passport offices across the country and Pakistani missions abroad have stopped issuing new machine-readable passports from October 15. From now on, anyone applying for a new passport, or renewing an expired one, will receive an e-passport. October 14 was the last day on which a machine-readable passport could still be applied for.

The question most holders are asking has a clear answer. Nobody has to surrender a valid passport today. Machine-readable passports already in circulation remain fully valid until their printed expiry dates; only when one expires will its holder move to an e-passport.

The difference is inside the booklet. An e-passport carries an embedded electronic chip holding the holder’s personal and biometric data, which compatible immigration systems can read automatically to verify identity. It makes forgery harder and border checks quicker, and it is the standard most of the world has already adopted. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced the decision to go fully electronic back in June.

Pakistan’s missions are switching over in step. The embassy in Tashkent began issuing e-passports on October 15, with appointments bookable by email or phone, and missions in Sweden and Italy have published their new fee schedules — in Italy, a five-year, 36-page e-passport costs €55 for normal processing and €90 for urgent, while the ten-year version is priced at €85 and €135. The embassy in Oman suspended passport services for the day on October 15 for technical reasons, with processing set to resume on October 16.

Fees and procedures vary from mission to mission, so applicants are better off checking their local office’s latest notice before they travel to apply.