Passport Offices Open Saturdays, and the Six Month Rule

A passport left uncollected for more than six months is disposed of. Passport offices are now opening on Saturdays for two months so people can come and get them.

If you applied, were told it was ready, and never went back, that is the sentence to read twice.

What has been announced

The Saturday opening is the news. The six month rule is the part worth acting on, and it is not new, which is precisely why a backlog of uncollected passports exists at all.

Check whether yours is waiting

Before you travel to an office on a Saturday, find out whether there is anything to collect.

1. Check the status online before going anywhere.
2. Find your original application receipt or token.
3. Note which office you applied at, since that is where it will be.
4. Take your CNIC, and the receipt, on the day.
5. Go early rather than late, because Saturday counters will be busy.

Our guide to tracking your passport in Pakistan covers how to check the status, and our guide to applying for a passport covers the process from the start if it turns out you need to reapply.

Who is most likely to be affected

Three groups, and none of them are careless.

People who applied and then travelled or moved city, and never got back to the office. Families who applied for several passports together and collected only the ones needed immediately. And anyone whose plans changed after applying, so the document stopped being urgent and then stopped being remembered.

Six months passes quickly in all three cases. If any of that describes a passport applied for earlier this year, check now rather than when you next need to travel.

Home delivery exists as well

The Directorate General's own website advertises a home delivery service, described on the site as a passport at your doorstep. We read that on dgip.gov.pk on 5 September 2026.

For anyone who cannot reach an office on a working day, that is worth asking about at the point of application rather than discovering afterwards. The same site also lists 24 hour passport processing at NADRA Mega Centres in Lahore and Karachi, with shift timings on the notice.

If you are overseas

The site carries a specific route for Pakistanis abroad. Passport related complaints can be registered online by email at complaints.passport@interior.gov.pk, which is published on the Directorate General's own homepage.

That matters here because an overseas applicant is exactly the person least able to walk into an office within six months. If a passport was applied for before you travelled, raise it through that channel rather than assuming it will wait.

What happens if it has already gone

We are not able to tell you the exact process for a passport that has been disposed of, because we did not find that set out on the Directorate General's own pages.

What is clear is that the answer will be a fresh application rather than a retrieval, with a fresh fee. Our guide to official passport fees covers the current charges, and it is worth knowing that passport offices moved to cashless payment, so take a card or a mobile wallet rather than cash.

Do not use an agent for this

A collection window with a deadline attached is exactly the situation agents exploit.

Collecting a ready passport requires you and your own documents. Nobody needs to be paid to stand in a queue on your behalf, and handing your receipt and CNIC to a stranger to do it creates a bigger problem than the one you started with.

Common questions

What happens to an uncollected passport?

Reporting states that under government policy, passports uncollected for more than six months are disposed of.

When are the Saturday counters open?

Reported as 8am to 4pm, for two months, at delivery counters across Pakistan.

How do I know if mine is ready?

Check the status online before travelling to an office, and take your original receipt with your CNIC.

Can it be delivered instead?

The Directorate General's site advertises a home delivery service. Ask about it rather than assuming it applies automatically.

I am overseas. What can I do?

The site publishes an email address for passport related complaints from overseas Pakistanis.

Can I pay cash at the office?

Passport offices moved to cashless payment, so take a card or a mobile wallet.

Last checked and sources

Last checked 5 September 2026. The Saturday counter opening, the hours of 8am to 4pm, the two month duration and the disposal of passports uncollected for more than six months are reported rather than read on the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports' own site. We opened dgip.gov.pk on 5 September 2026 and could not find that notice among the items published on its homepage, so we have marked it as reported and it should be confirmed with your own passport office before you rely on a date. What we did read on that site is the home delivery service described as a passport at your doorstep, the 24 hour passport processing facility at NADRA Mega Centres in Lahore and Karachi with shift timings, and the email address complaints.passport@interior.gov.pk published for overseas Pakistanis to register passport related complaints. We did not find the procedure for a passport that has already been disposed of, and no fee figure is quoted on this page. Confirm the current position and any deadline with your passport office directly.