How to Get the NADRA Vaccination Card for Umrah and Saudi Travel

Umrah pilgrims flying from Karachi now need a NADRA vaccination card: a digital record of your influenza, meningitis and polio doses, linked to your CNIC and downloaded from nims.nadra.gov.pk. You pay and verify on the Pak ID app or at an e-Sahulat shop, get the injections at the airport dispensary, then download the card.

The start date has moved three times. Border Health Services Pakistan (BHS, the federal health ministry's airport health department) first set 14 September 2026, then 10am on 25 September. On 23 September its focal person, Dr Syed Murtaza Shah Bukhari, said that Karachi pilgrims can travel without the vaccination until 10 October. On 24 September news reports said BHS has written to PIA and travel agents with that date. Peshawar starts on 15 October, and its vaccination centre opened on 24 September. All of this is reported, not read on a government page, and we explain why below.

The fee is now under question too. On 24 September it was reported that BHS charges Rs 4,500 for three vaccines. That includes polio drops, which the government gives free, and a flu shot that Saudi Arabia does not require for Umrah. No official clarification had been published when we checked on 25 September.

Karachi now enforces the card from 10 October, and Peshawar from 15 October

The rule started at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi. The latest reported date there is 10 October 2026 for Umrah pilgrims. Peshawar follows on 15 October. No date has been given for Lahore, Islamabad or any other airport, only that the rule will spread.

Here is how the Karachi date moved. The first BHS notice, dated 7 September, said no passenger would travel without "NADRA integrated vaccination proof" after 14 September, according to the wording quoted in news reports. On 14 September a second notice, also reported but not published by BHS, pushed it to 10am on 25 September "in the interest of the public and on the request of our sister agencies".

Then on 23 September, Dr Bukhari announced a further 15 days for Umrah pilgrims, to 10 October. He said the extra time was to improve arrangements. On 24 September it was reported that BHS has sent a letter with the 10 October date to PIA, travel agents and others. The same reports said airlines have been told to check the card before they issue a boarding pass to an Umrah pilgrim. We have not seen that letter ourselves. Treat 10 October as the latest word, not a guarantee.

In Peshawar, unvaccinated Umrah pilgrims can travel until 14 October, BHS focal person Ghulam Murtaza Shah said. From 15 October the card is needed for Umrah pilgrims. Reports differ on who else is covered: a 23 September report also named passengers on Saudi visit visas, while a 24 September report mentions only Umrah pilgrims.

The Peshawar centre is at the Civil Surgeon's Office. News reports on 24 September said it is now working, with 20 vaccination counters for men and women. Two NADRA facilitation counters are being set up inside it, so you should be able to verify and pay in the same building. No report we read gives its opening hours, so go early. Mr Shah advised Peshawar pilgrims to get vaccinated at least 10 days before they fly.

Flying from Lahore or Islamabad next week? You still need the vaccines Saudi Arabia itself asks for. What you do not yet need is the NADRA-linked card at the Pakistani check-in desk.

Umrah pilgrims need influenza, meningitis and polio proof

The BHS notice of 14 September lists influenza, meningitis and polio as mandatory for Umrah pilgrims, work visa holders and people staying more than six months. Children under 12 are reported to need only the influenza shot. Yellow fever is only for travel linked to Africa or South America.

The first notice, of 7 September, named four vaccines: polio, meningitis, yellow fever and influenza. That list caused much of the panic. People flying to Europe and the United States queued in Karachi too, and were then told they did not need it, according to news reports. The 14 September notice names only influenza, meningitis and polio for Saudi travellers.

We also read Saudi Arabia's own health rules for Umrah, published by its Ministry of Health for 1447H (2026). They require a meningitis vaccine (the ACYW type) for every Umrah pilgrim from every country, given at least 10 days before arrival. Pakistan is on Saudi Arabia's polio list, so every traveller from Pakistan needs at least one polio dose, whatever their age. The document recommends that dose at least four weeks before arrival and within the past 12 months.

Influenza is different. The Saudi document only advises the flu shot, and only for Hajj. So the flu requirement for Umrah is Pakistan's own rule, set by BHS, not a Saudi one. Asked about it, BHS official Murtaza Shah said the flu shot was mandatory for Saudi travel but could not point to a Saudi rule that says so. He said the shot protects pilgrims and reduces pressure on Pakistani hospitals. The Saudi rules also ask Umrah pilgrims over 65, pregnant women and people with some long-term illnesses to show Covid vaccination. That part is not covered by the NADRA card.

Polio is the reason Pakistani travellers are checked so closely. The wild virus still circulates here, and the count of polio cases in Pakistan in 2026 keeps the country on every border list.

You get the NADRA card in three steps: pay, get vaccinated, download

NADRA, BHS and the health ministry set out three steps on 12 September. You verify your fingerprints and pay on the Pak ID app or at an e-Sahulat shop. Then you get the injections at the approved dispensary. Then you download the card from the NIMS portal.

1. Verify and pay. Open the Pak ID app and complete biometric verification for each vaccine you need, or go to a NADRA e-Sahulat franchise. The payment slip is your proof. Keep a screenshot and the paper receipt.
2. Go to the approved dispensary. In Karachi that is the Federal Government Civil Dispensary counter near the Old Terminal. Five NADRA counters are reported to be working at the airport dispensary. In Peshawar it is the Civil Surgeon's Office, which reportedly has 20 counters.
3. Show your verification and receipt. Staff give the influenza and meningitis injections and enter them against your CNIC.
4. Wait for the record. The vaccination has to reach NADRA's system before a card can be issued. Do not leave the counter without asking whether the entry is done.
5. Download the card. Go to nims.nadra.gov.pk, choose the button for other vaccines, and fill in the form. Save the PDF on your phone and print a copy.

Payments at an e-Sahulat shop are the same counter system NADRA uses for bills and fees. The e-Sahulat franchise payments work the same way here: you get a receipt with a transaction number, and that number is what the dispensary checks.

Timing matters more than the queue. The health ministry and Dr Bukhari advise getting vaccinated at least 10 days before travel. That matches the Saudi rule that the meningitis shot must be 10 days old on arrival. If you still end up vaccinating at the airport, the original notice says to arrive six hours before your flight.

We opened the NIMS portal on 24 September and the form was working

We opened nims.nadra.gov.pk on 24 September 2026. The certificate form for polio and other vaccines loaded through a reading proxy. The portal's FAQ gives the certificate fee as Rs 100, payable by card or at e-Sahulat. News reports on 24 September said JazzCash and Easypaisa also work. The FAQ we read does not list them. Our direct request got a 403 block.

The form asks for six things: your CNIC or Afghan POR number, whether you hold a CRC card, the CNIC issue date, the vaccine, your mobile number with its network, and a captcha. The vaccine list loads only in a live browser, so we could not see which vaccines it offers today. The page footer still reads copyright 2022, Ministry of Health.

The same FAQ says the vaccine is free from the Government and the certificate can be collected at a NADRA centre. That free-vaccine line dates from the Covid and polio drives. For Umrah, the influenza and meningitis shots are charged, according to every report we read. Where the portal and the reports disagree, expect to pay.

If you already went through the NIMS steps for a Covid vaccine certificate in 2021, the form will look familiar. It is the same portal, the same CNIC fields and the same Rs 100 fee. The difference is that the Umrah vaccines must be entered by an approved dispensary first.

The reported vaccine fee is about Rs 4,500, and the charge is now being questioned

Two reports put the vaccine cost at about Rs 4,500, but they split it differently. One, on 14 September, gave Rs 1,720 for influenza and Rs 2,785 for meningitis through the Pak ID app. That is Rs 4,505 for the two. NADRA facilitation centres add a Rs 150 service charge.

The other, on 24 September, said BHS collects Rs 4,500 for three vaccines: polio drops, meningitis and influenza, with the NADRA-linked certificate. Polio drops are free under Pakistan's Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI, the government's free vaccine programme). Health experts asked the ministry to explain what the Rs 4,500 pays for and its legal basis.

The two totals are almost the same, so they may describe the same payment. We cannot tell which split is right, because we could not find the fee on any government page. When we checked on 25 September, the health ministry homepage still had no notice or clarification. Until one appears, ask for an itemised receipt.

Some pilgrims in Karachi said they were charged Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 at NADRA facilitation centres, according to a 14 September report. That is well above the stated fees. Pay through the Pak ID app where you can, and keep every receipt.

Do not pay early "just in case". A NADRA official at the airport dispensary said in mid September that once the verification fee is paid, the money goes into the government account and is not refunded, even if you never get the vaccine. An elderly traveller said she had paid over Rs 4,000 and then learned the deadline had moved.

For a family of four adults, the reported fees alone come to about Rs 18,600, our own sum. That sits on top of the visa, the ticket and the mandatory Umrah food vouchers added earlier this year.

Without the card you can be stopped at the Karachi airport health desk

After the deadline, the 7 September notice says no other vaccination card will be accepted. A handwritten card or a private hospital card will not do. Airlines were told to warn travel agents, and pilgrims without the NADRA card can be refused at the airport health desk.

The wording implies that other cards still work until the deadline. Nothing we read says so directly. After it, the only fix at the airport is to get vaccinated there, if the dispensary can take you in time. On 23 September passengers were reported to have waited since 8am without their cards, with flights 12 to 15 hours away. The Karachi centre has one room.

Work visa holders face the same desk. If you are going to Saudi Arabia for a job, the emigrant protection stamp and the vaccination card are two separate checks, and you need both before you fly.

Most failures come from the record, not the vaccine

The common problem is a vaccine given but not showing on NIMS. Go back to the dispensary that vaccinated you, with your CNIC and receipt, and ask them to enter it. The only correction form on the portal is for Covid records.

• Portal shows "Access Denied" or a 403. NADRA blocks traffic it thinks is automated. Turn off your VPN or switch from office Wi-Fi to mobile data.
• Vaccine missing from the record. The dispensary enters it, not you. Ask them to check the entry before you leave. We could not confirm a separate correction route for Umrah vaccines.
• Wrong CNIC issue date. Use the date printed on the card, not your date of birth. A renewed card has a new issue date.
• Passport number wrong on the card. The Covid page has a "correction in vaccination record" option. For Umrah vaccines, ask the dispensary first.
• Pak ID verification fails. Use an e-Sahulat shop or NADRA centre instead. One traveller said the Saudabad NADRA office server was down and he went to a mega centre.

Check the card against your passport before you pay for the visa. Your Saudi visa application and the vaccination card should carry the same passport number, because the airline checks both at the same desk.

Common questions

Is the NADRA vaccination card needed for Umrah from Lahore or Islamabad?

Not yet. Only Karachi and Peshawar have dates. BHS has said the rule will spread to more airports, with no date given.

What is the latest deadline in Karachi?

10 October 2026 for Umrah pilgrims, as announced by the BHS focal person on 23 September and reported again on 24 September. Those reports say BHS has sent a letter with this date to PIA and travel agents. It replaced 25 September, which had replaced 14 September.

How much does the NADRA vaccination card cost?

The certificate is Rs 100 on the NIMS portal. The vaccines are reported at about Rs 4,500. Reports differ on what that covers. One split it into Rs 1,720 for influenza and Rs 2,785 for meningitis, plus a Rs 150 service charge. Another said Rs 4,500 covers three vaccines including polio drops.

Do children need the vaccination card for Umrah?

Yes. Under NADRA's reported steps, children under 12 need the influenza vaccine only, and children 12 and older need influenza and meningitis.

Does Saudi Arabia require the flu vaccine for Umrah?

No. Saudi Arabia's Umrah health rules for 1447H only advise the flu shot, and only for Hajj. The flu shot is a BHS condition for leaving Pakistan, and health experts have questioned it. Until BHS drops it, you will still be asked for it at Karachi.

Can I get a refund if my flight is cancelled?

No, according to a NADRA official at the Karachi airport dispensary. Once the verification fee is paid, it is not refunded.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked 25 September 2026, when we looked again at the health ministry homepage at nhsrc.gov.pk and it still had no official notice or fee clarification. On 24 September we opened the NIMS certificate form for other vaccines. A direct request answered 403, and a reading proxy returned the form and its FAQ: the fields listed above, the Rs 100 certificate fee payable by debit or credit card or at an e-Sahulat franchise, and the lines saying the vaccine is free and the certificate is also available at a NADRA centre. The vaccine list loads dynamically and we could not read it. The vaccine rules from the Saudi side come from the Saudi Ministry of Health Umrah health requirements for 1447H (2026), which we read in full. We could not read any BHS notice at source: no notice on the rule appears on the health ministry's homepage at nhsrc.gov.pk, and bhs.gov.pk did not resolve. So the notice wording, every start date, the vaccination centres, the three steps, the child rule, the vaccine fees and the BHS letter to PIA come from news reports published between 12 and 24 September, and from statements by BHS officials quoted in them. We have marked each of those as reported. The dates have changed three times in three weeks, so confirm yours with your airline or travel agent before you fly. Nothing here is medical advice.