The Directorate General of Immigration and Passports has revised the implementation date for the mandatory issuance of electronic passports across Pakistan, setting October 23, 2026, as the new deadline.
Under the revised policy, all passport offices across the country and Pakistani diplomatic missions abroad will issue only e-passports to new applicants from October 23, replacing the existing machine-readable passport (MRP) system.
According to the revised schedule, the issuance and renewal of machine-readable passports will continue until October 22. The transition was previously scheduled to take effect on October 15.
Officials clarified that machine-readable passports issued before October 23 would remain valid until their expiry dates and could continue to be used for international travel.
They said holders of valid MRPs would not be required to replace their passports before expiry under the new policy.
The transition to e-passports is aimed at modernising passport services and improving the security and efficiency of travel documents in line with international standards.
