Pakistan to Stop Issuing Machine-Readable Passports From 15 October, Reports Say

Pakistan's passport department will stop issuing new machine-readable passports from 15 October 2026 and issue only e-Passports, according to Samaa News and ProPakistani on 24 September. Applications for the old passport are reported to close on 14 October. Samaa reports that a valid machine-readable passport is not cancelled and stays usable until it expires.

If you hold a green passport with no chip symbol on the cover, you hold a machine-readable passport, or MRP. It has been the standard Pakistani passport since 2004. Reports on 24 September say the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports, known as DGI&P, sent a circular to every passport office telling staff to stop issuing it.

We searched the DGI&P website at dgip.gov.pk on 24 September 2026 for that circular and could not find it. The dates in this article therefore come from the news reports, not from the department's own page. The fees do come from the department, and they are the part that matters most for your wallet.

Pakistan is ending new MRP passports and moving to the e-Passport only

DGI&P will issue only e-Passports from 15 October 2026, Samaa reports. New MRP applications are accepted until 14 October. Passport offices in Pakistan and Pakistani missions abroad have been told to apply the change and to inform applicants about it.

An e-Passport is a passport with a small electronic chip inside. The chip stores your photo, fingerprints and personal details with a digital signature, so border machines can read it without contact. DGI&P's own page says the e-Passport has been available at all its field offices since 16 August 2023.

This is not a sudden decision. On 19 June 2026, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced that the government would phase out the MRP, according to Dawn. That meeting approved the move "in principle", and Dawn noted that no cut-off date was set. The 15 October date is the first cut-off reported.

DGI&P's homepage also carries an announcement dated 1 July 2026 headed "E-Passports Replace Ordinary Passports". We opened the image. It carries only that heading and a line crediting the Prime Minister and the Interior Minister. It gives no date and no rules.

Your current MRP stays valid until its expiry date

No report says existing passports are cancelled. Samaa says MRPs issued before 15 October stay valid until the expiry date printed inside. The change is that an expired MRP will not be renewed as an MRP. The holder applies for an e-Passport instead.

So there is no need to rush to a passport office because of this news alone. A passport with three years left still works for travel and for visa applications for those three years, as long as the country you visit accepts it under its usual rules, such as the six months of validity many countries ask for.

The real effect comes at renewal. From 15 October, a renewal means an e-Passport, and an e-Passport costs roughly double. Renewal of an e-Passport through NADRA centres was reported to start on 7 September, and the passport renewal at NADRA centres covers what those counters can and cannot do.

The e-Passport costs about twice the MRP fee

On DGI&P's fee page, a 36 page, five year e-Passport costs Rs 9,000 on normal processing. The same MRP costs Rs 4,500. Every e-Passport category costs roughly double its MRP equivalent, and no new e-Passport fee has been announced with this change.

We read these figures on the DGI&P ordinary passport page on 24 September 2026. The MRP fee applies from 7 March 2024. The e-Passport page did not show a separate revision date.

For four adults in one household on 36 page, ten year passports, the gap is Rs 27,200: Rs 54,000 for e-Passports against Rs 26,800 for MRPs. Children under 15 get five year validity only, per DGI&P, so a child's passport would sit in the five year rows. The full schedule, including lost passport charges and NADRA's extra counter fee at Executive Passport Offices, is set out with the official passport fee rates.

Fees can be paid by QR code, which DGI&P has pushed since its cashless announcement of 1 July 2026. Paying the passport fee by Raast QR works from any banking app.

The 100 page passport and fast track go with the MRP

Two services exist only on the MRP today. DGI&P lists no 100 page e-Passport, and its fee page says fast track is not available for e-Passport delivery. Unless the department adds them, both options disappear when MRP issuance ends.

Fast track costs Rs 12,500 for a 36 page, five year MRP, and is offered in 47 cities. DGI&P's own page gives two answers on its speed. Its delivery table says 2 working days, while a note on the same page says 4 working days from 3 February 2023. The e-Passport's fastest option is urgent, which DGI&P lists at 5 working days for the MRP and does not list separately for the e-Passport.

Once your application is in, passport tracking works the same way for both types, through SMS from 9988.

Applying for an MRP before 14 October suits three kinds of applicant

Most people do not need to act. Three groups may gain from applying for an MRP before the reported 14 October cut-off: people who want the lowest fee, frequent travellers who need 100 pages, and anyone who needs a passport in days through fast track.

DGI&P's renewal rules help here. Its ordinary passport page says that under the Passport and Visa Manual 2006 there is no bar on renewing a passport before it expires. You get full five or ten year validity and give a short statement of why you want the new one early.

1. Check your expiry date. If your MRP runs out within a year or two, renewing as an MRP now locks in ten more years at the lower fee.
2. Decide if you need 100 pages or fast track. If you do, the MRP is the only booklet that offers them today.
3. Pay the fee first, by QR code. The office asks for the paid receipt or the e-payment confirmation with its PSID number.
4. Visit a Regional Passport Office before 14 October. Take your original CNIC and your current passport with photocopies.
5. Ask at the counter which booklet you are getting. We could not read the circular, so confirm it will be an MRP before you pay.

If you travel a lot and your route has e-gates, the e-Passport may be worth the higher fee anyway. The trade-offs are laid out in MRP versus e-Passport in Pakistan. And if your passport sits in a drawer as ID, the cheaper MRP was always the sensible buy.

Overseas Pakistanis will also get the e-Passport through missions

Reports say DGI&P told Pakistani missions abroad to apply the same change. So an overseas Pakistani renewing after 15 October should expect an e-Passport, whether through an embassy, a consulate or the online renewal service.

DGI&P's page says its online passport renewal service is open to both inland and overseas Pakistanis. Its news list also carries an item dated 6 April 2026 about e-Passport service at Pakistani missions in Saudi Arabia. We could not confirm which other missions already issue the e-Passport, so check with your mission before paying.

There is also talk of passport services on NADRA's Pak Identity app. UrduPoint reported on 21 September that a DGI&P meeting "considered" linking passport services to the app, and Daily Ausaf on 22 September described one-click applications. Neither points to a live service, and DGI&P's site did not announce one when we checked. For NICOP holders, the NICOP and POC process already runs through Pak Identity.

Common questions

Is my machine-readable passport cancelled on 15 October?

No. Samaa reports that MRPs issued before 15 October stay valid until their printed expiry date. Only new issuance ends. When yours expires, you apply for an e-Passport.

What is the last date to apply for an MRP?

14 October 2026, according to Samaa and ProPakistani. We could not find the circular on dgip.gov.pk, so confirm at your passport office before paying.

How much does an e-Passport cost in Pakistan?

Rs 9,000 for 36 pages and five years on normal processing, and Rs 15,000 urgent, per DGI&P's fee page. Ten years costs Rs 13,500 normal. The 72 page booklet costs more.

Can I get a 100 page e-Passport?

No. DGI&P lists only 36 and 72 page e-Passports. The 100 page booklet is an MRP option, at Rs 9,000 for five years and Rs 13,500 for ten on normal processing.

Is fast track available on the e-Passport?

No. DGI&P's fee page says fast track is not available for e-Passport delivery. The fastest e-Passport option is urgent processing.

Can I renew my MRP early to keep it?

DGI&P's rules allow renewal before expiry with a short statement of reasons, and you get full validity. If the reported dates hold, that has to happen by 14 October.

Last checked and sources

Last checked 24 September 2026. We read the DGI&P ordinary passport page on that date for the MRP fees effective from 7 March 2024, the fast track fees effective from 8 May 2024, the e-Passport fees, the absence of a 100 page e-Passport, the note that fast track is not available for e-Passport delivery, the delivery table of 2, 5 and 21 working days and the conflicting 4 working day fast track note, five year validity for children under 15, and the rule that a passport can be renewed before expiry under the Passport and Visa Manual 2006. We read the DGI&P e-Passport page for the chip and the 16 August 2023 field office rollout, and we opened the 1 July 2026 homepage image headed "E-Passports Replace Ordinary Passports", which gives no dates. We searched the DGI&P homepage and news list for the circular and did not find it. The 15 October end of MRP issuance, the 14 October last application date, the rule that expired MRPs will not be renewed as MRPs, and the instructions to missions abroad are reported by Samaa News, ProPakistani and TechJuice on 24 September 2026; Samaa alone states that existing MRPs stay valid until expiry. The 19 June decision is from Dawn and The Nation. The Pak Identity reports are from UrduPoint and Daily Ausaf. The four adult example is our own arithmetic. Nothing here is legal advice.