Passport Tracking in Pakistan: How to Check Your Application Status

Passport tracking in Pakistan works differently from what most websites tell you. The Directorate General of Immigration and Passports sends status messages from 9988 to the mobile number you gave at the data entry counter, and it does not publish any number you can text a token to. Normal passports are issued after 21 working days, urgent in 5 and fast track in 2, counted from the day processing is complete. If nothing has arrived after that, the helpline and the office you applied at are the two routes that work.

The slip in your pocket has a token number on it, and somewhere on the internet a site is telling you to text that number to 9988. We read every page on dgip.gov.pk that mentions tracking on 17 September 2026, and none of them says that. What they say is more useful, because it explains why so many people text 9988 and hear nothing back.

Pakistan's passport authority is the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports, DGIP for short, under the Ministry of Interior. Its FAQ page answers "How can I track my passport status?" in one line: provide your valid cell number or email at the data entry stage, to receive passport status via email or SMS from 9988. That single sentence is the whole official system, and it is the reason passport tracking Pakistan searches end in frustration for so many applicants.

What does 9988 actually do?

9988 is a sending number, not a lookup service. DGIP uses it to push a message to the mobile number you typed in at the data entry counter when your passport reaches the printing stage and again when it is shipped or delivered. If you gave no number, or a wrong one, nothing arrives and no amount of texting brings it.

DGIP's own notice from 31 May 2021, titled "SMS based Passport Tracking Intimation System", puts it this way: through SMS code 9988, DGI&P informs its clients about different passport processing stages, namely printing and shipment or delivery, on their provided cell number. The word "intimation" is doing the work there. It means notification. You are told; you do not ask.

So the advice repeated across dozens of tracking sites, type your 11 digit token and send it to 9988, has no basis on the authority's pages. We are not saying nobody has ever received a reply. We are saying DGIP does not offer it, and a service the authority does not describe is not one you should plan around. Sending the text costs you an SMS and nothing else, but it also tells you nothing when silence comes back.

The practical rule follows from that. Your one real chance to set up tracking is at the counter, when the data entry clerk asks for your mobile number. Give one that is switched on and registered in Pakistan, and check the spelling of your email address on the screen before you confirm.

What is the token number for?

The token is the reference number DGIP assigns when your application is opened at the counter. It is printed on your receipt and, on newer tokens, carried in a QR code. You need it for every follow-up: the helpline, the office, a complaint and, if you applied abroad, the mission.

DGIP's process page lists eight steps for a walk-in application: arrival at the customer service counter, photograph and token issuance with a QR code, biometrics, data entry, verification against office records, interview and decision by an assistant director, fee payment by QR code, and delivery. The token is created at step two, before your fee is even paid, which is why a token alone does not prove the application is complete.

DGIP's pages do not state how many digits a token has. The Consulate General of Pakistan in Vancouver, on its own tracking page, describes it as an 11 digit number starting with 7035, and every third party site repeats the 11 digit figure. Treat the length as reported. What matters is that you photograph the slip the moment you get it, because a lost token turns a two minute helpline call into a trip to the office with your CNIC.

Three things the token is not: it is not your CNIC number, it is not your old passport number, and it is not the tracking ID you get from the online renewal portal. Those are different identifiers for different systems, and quoting the wrong one to the helpline wastes the call.

How do you check passport status online in Pakistan?

There is no public status lookup page on dgip.gov.pk that we could load. The homepage links to tracking.dgip.gov.pk, and that address did not resolve when we tried it. The online portal at onlinemrp.dgip.gov.pk refused our requests with a 403 error, so we cannot describe its screens, and we will not guess at them.

What DGIP does run is three notification channels and two human ones:

• SMS from 9988 for applicants inside Pakistan who gave a mobile number at data entry.
• Email Rabta Service, launched 17 June 2021, which emails status updates to overseas Pakistanis at the address they provided. Rabta is Urdu for contact.
• The online renewal portal, where DGIP says applicants are kept informed through their registered email address. That route is for renewals only, and the eligibility and exclusions are set out in online passport renewal for inland and overseas Pakistanis.
• The helpline, 051 111 344 777 inside Pakistan or +92 51 111 344 777 from abroad, staffed Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 16:30 PKT.
• The Regional Passport Office where you applied, with your token slip and original CNIC.

Any website that offers a form asking for your token, CNIC and mobile number is not connected to DGIP. Several ranking sites do exactly that, with official looking green branding. They cannot see your file. At best they redirect you; at worst you have handed three identity details to a stranger. The test is simple: DGIP lives on dgip.gov.pk, and nothing else holds passport data.

How long does each passport category take?

DGIP quotes 21 working days for a normal passport, 5 for urgent and 2 for fast track. The wording on its ordinary passport page is precise: those durations apply "after being successfully processed", which means after your interview and approval, not after your appointment.

Working days exclude Saturdays, Sundays and gazetted holidays, so 21 working days is roughly a calendar month, and longer around Eid. The fees above are DGIP's published rates for a 36 page, 5 year booklet, and the full tables for 72 and 100 pages and 10 year validity are in the official passport fee rates. Fast track was expanded to 47 cities on 6 January 2025 and DGIP does not offer it on the e-passport.

Does fast track shorten verification? No. It shortens the queue after approval. An application that goes for extra checks because of a name mismatch or an old record can miss the 2 day figure and still be within the rules.

What do the passport statuses mean?

DGIP names only two stages that it messages: printing, and shipment or delivery. Every longer list of statuses you will find online, with tidy day ranges beside each one, is somebody's reconstruction and not the authority's wording. Our table below uses DGIP's own eight process steps and tells you which ones produce a message.

The long silence between data entry and the printing message is normal. Verification sits with other departments and DGIP sends nothing during it. A printing message means the decision is made and the rest is logistics.

Home delivery exists, but DGIP's notice of 11 June 2021 says it is available for Islamabad and Rawalpindi only, with expansion promised. If you did not choose it, the FAQ says to collect from the Regional Passport Office or foreign mission where you applied, and DGIP will hand the booklet only to the applicant or a blood relative. Leave it sitting there too long and you meet the six month uncollected passport rule.

How do you track a passport from Saudi Arabia or the Gulf?

Applicants abroad get email, not SMS. The Email Rabta Service exists specifically for overseas Pakistanis and sends status updates to the address given at the mission. The 9988 code is described by DGIP as working inside Pakistan, so a Saudi or UAE number should not be expected to receive anything.

The passport itself travels back to the mission you applied through, and that final leg is invisible in any message. Chase a delay with that embassy or consulate first, quoting the token, because the file is theirs. If the mission is not answering, DGIP publishes complaints.passport@interior.gov.pk on its homepage for overseas passport complaints.

One trap we see repeatedly: a family applies for a child abroad and expects a tracking message. Minors have their own document chain built on the B-Form, and the process for them is set out in getting a passport for a child in Pakistan.

What should you do when the passport is late?

Count first, then chase. Most "late" passports are inside the 21 working day window once you count from the interview rather than the appointment, and once you strip out the holidays.

1. Count working days from the day your interview and fee were done. A normal passport is not late until 21 working days have passed.
2. Check the mobile and email you gave at data entry. A printing message from 9988 or a Rabta email means the wait is now delivery.
3. Call 051 111 344 777, Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 16:30, with the token number in front of you.
4. Go to the office you applied at with the token slip and your original CNIC. Another office cannot see your file.
5. Applied abroad? Raise it with the mission, then write to complaints.passport@interior.gov.pk.
6. No answer anywhere? File a complaint on the Pakistan Citizen's Portal, or with the Federal Ombudsman, which DGIP links from its own homepage. The steps for the portal are in filing a complaint on the Pakistan Citizen's Portal.

The common causes of a real hold are dull rather than sinister: a name spelled differently on the CNIC and the old passport, a date of birth that disagrees between documents, or a record flagged during verification. If the mismatch is in your NADRA record, fix that first, because DGIP prints what NADRA holds. The correction route is in applying for or correcting a CNIC.

What changed in September 2026 on passport fee payment?

Fee payment has moved to a QR code at the counter. DGIP's process page now lists "Fee Payment via QR Code" as step seven and says the code can be scanned through any digital payment platform, naming EasyPaisa, JazzCash and online banking. Its homepage carries a notice titled "Cashless Passport Fee Payment".

Beyond that, the detail is reported. ProPakistani reported on 11 September 2026 that DGIP issued an advisory telling applicants to pay only by scanning the designated Raast QR code, and that payments made by IBFT to an IBAN or by PSID through the Passport Fee Asaan app would not be accepted. Business Recorder reported on 12 September 2026 that National Bank of Pakistan had enabled passport fee collection through Raast person-to-merchant QR, payable from participating banks' apps. Raast is the State Bank's instant payment system, so the QR is read by a bank or wallet app rather than by a separate passport app.

We could not find the advisory itself on dgip.gov.pk, and the Directorate's e-passport page still names Passport Fee Asaan as a payment option. That is a conflict between a fresh notice and an old page, and we are recording it rather than picking a side. Ask at the counter before you pay by any method other than the QR code they show you.

None of this changes tracking. Your token is issued before the fee, and the 9988 message depends on the number you gave at data entry, not on how you paid.

Is the e-passport tracked the same way?

Yes. DGIP's e-passport page describes the same Rabta service from 9988 for applicants who provide their contact details, and the same eight step counter process. The e-passport has a chip holding your biometric data, and DGIP has issued it from all field offices since 16 August 2023.

Two differences matter for the wait. Fast track is not offered on the e-passport, so its fastest category is urgent at 5 working days. And the e-passport is printed on separate high speed printers, which DGIP's own news items say have cut waiting times, though it publishes no separate timeline for it. The choice between the two booklets, and why the e-passport costs twice as much, is covered in MRP versus e-passport in Pakistan.

Common questions about passport tracking in Pakistan

How do I track my passport in Pakistan by token number?

Quote the token to the helpline on 051 111 344 777 or at the office you applied at. DGIP publishes no self-service lookup by token; status messages come automatically from 9988 to the mobile you gave at data entry.

Can I send my token number to 9988?

DGIP does not describe 9988 as a number that answers texts. It is the sender of automatic printing and dispatch messages. Texting it costs an SMS and will most likely bring no reply.

How long does a passport take in Pakistan?

DGIP quotes 21 working days for normal, 5 for urgent and 2 for fast track, counted after processing is complete. Holidays and verification checks add to that.

What is the official passport tracking website?

dgip.gov.pk is the only authority. Its tracking subdomain did not load when we tried it on 17 September 2026, and third party sites with tracking forms have no access to passport data.

How do I track a passport applied for at an embassy?

Through the Email Rabta Service, which sends status updates to the email you gave at the mission. Chase delays with that mission, then write to complaints.passport@interior.gov.pk.

Who can collect my passport?

DGIP says the passport is delivered only to the applicant or a blood relative. Home delivery is offered in Islamabad and Rawalpindi according to DGIP's notice.

Does paying by Raast QR change how I track?

No. The token is issued before payment and the 9988 message depends on the mobile number given at data entry, not on the payment method.

How we verified this

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

Last checked 17 September 2026. We read the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports website at dgip.gov.pk: the FAQ page, which states that status is received via email or SMS from 9988 by providing a cell number or email at the data entry stage, and gives 21, 5 and 2 working days for normal, urgent and fast track passports; the notice "SMS based Passport Tracking Intimation System" dated 31 May 2021 and its poster, which describe 9988 as informing applicants of the printing and shipment or delivery stages on their provided cell number; the passport process page listing the eight counter steps and QR code fee payment through EasyPaisa, JazzCash and online banking; the ordinary passport page with the MRP, fast track and e-passport fee tables and the wording that delivery times apply after successful processing; the Email Rabta Service notice of 17 June 2021; the e-passport service page stating issuance at all field offices from 16 August 2023; the online passport renewal page stating that status is sent to the registered email; the fast track update of 6 January 2025 giving 47 cities; the home delivery notice of 11 June 2021 limiting it to Islamabad and Rawalpindi; and the homepage, which gives the helpline 051 111 344 777, the email complaints.passport@interior.gov.pk and a link to the Federal Ombudsman. The tracking.dgip.gov.pk address linked from that homepage did not resolve, and onlinemrp.dgip.gov.pk returned a 403 error to every request, so neither is described. The 11 digit token length and the 7035 prefix are from the Consulate General of Pakistan in Vancouver's tracking page and are not stated on dgip.gov.pk. The advisory that fees are accepted only through the designated Raast QR code, and not by IBFT or PSID through Passport Fee Asaan, is reported by ProPakistani on 11 September 2026 and Daily Ausaf on 12 September 2026; the NBP Raast QR launch is reported by Business Recorder on 12 September 2026; we could not find the advisory on dgip.gov.pk. Status lists with day ranges published by third party sites are not DGIP wording and were not used.