Pakistan has discontinued the issuance of traditional machine-readable passports (MRPs), with all passport offices across the country and Pakistani diplomatic missions abroad switching exclusively to e-passports from October 23, 2026.
According to the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports, the move marks the end of the 22-year-old machine-readable passport system as the country completes its transition to electronic passports.
However, citizens holding valid machine-readable passports will be allowed to continue using them until their expiry dates.
Once expired, these passports will not be eligible for renewal under the previous system, and holders will be required to obtain e-passports instead.
The directorate said all passport offices in Pakistan and diplomatic missions abroad were now issuing only e-passports, completing the transition to the upgraded passport system.
Pakistan introduced e-passports in March 2022, initially making the facility available to diplomats and residents of Islamabad.
In August 2023, the facility was extended to all Pakistani citizens, who were given the option of obtaining either a machine-readable passport or an e-passport.
Before the introduction of machine-readable passports, Pakistan issued handwritten passports, a practice dating back to the country’s independence in 1947.The decision follows a statement by the interior ministry in the National Assembly last week, when it informed lawmakers that the issuance of machine-readable passports would be discontinued within a month.
Responding to a question raised by MNA Malik Shakir Bashir Awan during the question-and-answer session, the ministry had said that passport offices and Pakistani missions abroad would subsequently issue only e-passports.
