Pakistani passports ( ur, ) are
passports issued by the
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...
to
Pakistani citizens and nationals for the purpose of international travel. They are issued by the
Directorate General of Immigration & Passports (DGIP) of the
Ministry of Interior
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
from regional passport offices and
Pakistani embassies. Since January 2014, Pakistani passports have validity for 5 and 10 years. Under national law, Pakistani passports are explicitly invalid for travel to Israel. However, Pakistanis may travel to Israel after receiving confirmation from the
Israeli Foreign Ministry
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( he, מִשְׂרַד הַחוּץ, translit. ''Misrad HaHutz''; ar, وزارة الخارجية الإسرائيلية) is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's ...
.
Pakistani passports are
machine-readable and
biometric
Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify in ...
. Until 2004, Pakistani passports had the bearers' particulars written by hand, with the passport picture glued to the cover page; since then, passports have identity information printed on both the front and back cover ends, and both of these pages are
laminated
Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance, or other properties from the use of the differing materia ...
to prevent unlawful modification. In 2004, Pakistan began issuing biometric passports which, however, were not compliant with the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
'
ICAO standards because they did not carry the “chip inside” symbol (). Pakistani passports are printed at the DGIP headquarters in the
capital city
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...
of
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...
.
On March 30, 2022, former Prime Minister
Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
launched the e-passport service, which have Twenty-nine latest new security features added. At this stage e-passport facility is available for diplomatic and government officials.
Types
The ''Passport Act, 1974'' and ''Passport and Visa Manual (1974)'' regulate the issuance of Pakistani passports. The
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...
issues three types of passports to its nationals:
*
Diplomatic passport
A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
s — issued by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
to diplomats and other similarly entitled categories. The outer cover colour of this passport type is red.
*
Official passport
A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's Identity (social science), identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A pass ...
s — issued to
senators, members of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
, provincial ministers, judges of the
Supreme Court of Pakistan
The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...
and
high courts, officers serving with the governments when abroad on official assignments, and other government officials. The outer cover colour of this passport type is blue.
*
Ordinary passports — issued to regular
Pakistani citizens
Pakistani nationality law details the conditions by which a person holds Pakistani nationality. The primary law governing nationality regulations is the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951, which came into force on 13 April 1951. With few exceptions ...
, the outer cover colour of this passport type is green.
E-Passport
Pakistan started issuing E Passport in 2022. An E-Passport was announced by Sheikh Ahmad Rasheed - the intieror minister of Pakistan along with being the head of DGIP. Its due date for the public to be able to obtain the new version of the passport was for April 28, 2021, but then it was announced by Sheikh Ahmad Rasheed that it would be delayed to June 2021. It was then again delayed to March 30, 2022.
On March 30, 2022, Prime Minister
Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
launched the e-passport service, which have Twenty-nine latest new security features added. At this stage e-passport facility is available for diplomatic and government officials.
Discontinued types
Pakistan formerly issued a special
Hajj passport
A Hajj passport was a special passport used only for entry into Saudi Arabia for the purpose of performing hajj (Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and adjacent sites). This passport is no longer used, as Saudi Authorities have required ordinary pas ...
to Pakistani nationals making an
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic pilgrimage known as
Hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
to
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
, Saudi Arabia. These are no longer issued, and ordinary Pakistani passports may now be used for this purpose. Prior to independence, a
British Indian Passport
The British Indian passport was a passport, proof of national status and travel document issued to British subjects of the British Raj, British subjects from other parts of the British Empire, and the subjects of the British protected states in ...
was used.
Security features
The key security features of the Pakistani passport are:
* PKI –
public key infrastructure
*
Biometrics
Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify i ...
, namely
facial
A facial is a family of skin care treatments for the face, including steam, exfoliation (physical and chemical), extraction, creams, lotions, facial masks, peels, and massage. They are normally performed in beauty salons, but are also a comm ...
and
fingerprint
A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...
* IPI – invisible personal ID
* 2D
barcode
A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly referred to as linear or o ...
*
Machine-readable zone
A machine-readable passport (MRP) is a machine-readable travel document (MRTD) with the data on the identity page encoded in optical character recognition format. Many countries began to issue machine-readable travel documents in the 1980s.
Mos ...
(MRZ)
* Security substrate and
laminate
*
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...
-feature
microprinting
Microprinting is the production of recognizable patterns or characters in a printed medium at a scale that requires magnification to read with the naked eye. To the unaided eye, the text may appear as a solid line. Attempts to reproduce by meth ...
*
Holograms
Holography is a technique that enables a wavefront to be recorded and later re-constructed. Holography is best known as a method of generating real three-dimensional images, but it also has a wide range of other applications. In principle, it ...
*
Watermark paper
*
Security ink
* 3-colour
intaglio printing
Intaglio ( ; ) is the family of printing and printmaking techniques in which the image is incised into a surface and the incised line or sunken area holds the ink. It is the direct opposite of a relief print where the parts of the matrix that ...
*
Guilloché
Guilloché (; or guilloche) is a decorative technique in which a very precise, intricate and repetitive pattern is mechanically engraved into an underlying material via engine turning, which uses a machine of the same name, also called a r ...
patterns
Physical appearance
![Pakistani passport not valid for Israel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Pakistani_passport_not_valid_for_Israel.jpg)
Ordinary Pakistani passports have a deep green cover with golden-coloured content. The
Emblem of Pakistan
The state emblem of Pakistan was adopted in 1954 and symbolizes Pakistan's ideological foundation, the basis of its economy, its cultural heritage and its guiding principles.
Design
The four components of the emblem are a crescent and star cres ...
is emblazoned in the center of the front cover. The words 'Islamic Republic of Pakistan' (English) are inscribed above the emblem and ' ur, اسلامی جمہوریہ پاکستان', ' ur, پاسپورٹ' and 'Passport' (English) are inscribed below the emblem. The standard passport contains 36 pages, but frequent travellers can apply for a passport containing 72 or 100 pages.
Passport holder identity
* The opening cover end contains the following information:
** Photo of passport holder
** Type 'P'- stands for "Personal", 'D'- stands for "Diplomat", — S'- stands for "Service"
** Country Code
** Passport number
** Surname
** Given name
** Nationality
** Date of birth
** Citizenship number
** Gender
** Place of birth
** Father name
** Date of issue
** Date of expiry
**Issuing authority
** Tracking number
** Booklet number
* First page of regular booklet contains the note from President of Pakistan (mentioned later).
* Second page mentions ANNOTATION on the top and contains the following
** Religion
** Previous passport number (if any)
** Signature of the passport holder
* Third page declares that the passport is valid to travel to all countries of the world except Israel.
Back cover
The information on the inside back cover of a Pakistani passport states in Urdu only (English translation below):
ضوابط ۱- یہ پاسپورٹ حکومت پاکستان کی ملکیت ہے - بیرونی ممالک میں رائج امیگریشن ضوابط کی پابندی ہر حامل پاسپورٹ پر لازم ہوگی جن ممالک میں داخلے کے لئے ویزا حاصل کرنا ضروری ہو وہاں جانے سے پہلے ویزا حاصل کرنا چاہیے ۔ ۳- منسوخ شده یا زائدالمیعاد پاسپورٹ دوسال تک لے پاسپورٹ کے ساتھ رکھنا چاہئے کیونکہ زرمبادلہ کے لئے درخواست دیتے وقت شخص متعلقہ کو اس کی ضرورت پڑے گی ۔ گر پاسپورٹ کم یا ضائع ہو جاۓ تو پولیس اور پاکستان کے پاسپورٹ جاری کرنے والے قریب ترین دفترمیں فورا اطلاع کرنی چاہئے ۔ بیرونی ممالک میں ایسی اطلاع قریب ترین پاکستانی سفارت خانہ یا قونصل خانہ کو دی جائے ۔ ۵ - پاسپورٹ میں تبدیلی یا اضافہ وغیرہ صرف مجاز عہد یدار کرسکتا ہے ۔ قانون کی رو سے ایسے اشخاص موجب سزا قرار دیئے جا سکتے ہیں جو پاسپورٹ میں کسی قسم کی تبدیلی یا ردو بدل کر میں نیز ایسے لوگ بھی سزا کے مستحق ہیں جن کے قبضے میں ناجائز طور پر ایسا پاسپورٹ ہو جو انھیں قانونی طورسے نہ دیا گیا ہو ۔ ملک سے بذریعہ ڈاک یا کسی اور طریقے سے پاسپورٹ کسی دوسرے ملک بھیجنا قانونا جرم ہے ۔ رجسٹریشن بیرونی ممالک میں تین ماہ سے زیادہ قیام کرنے والے پاکستانی شہریوں پر لازم ہے کہ وہ قواعد شہرت پاکستان ۱۹۵۲ ء کے تحت ہر سال اپنا نام قریب ترین پاکستانی سفارت خانہ یا قونصل خانہ میں رجسٹر کرا لیا کریں پتہ کی تبدیلی اور ملک سے روانگی کی اطلاع سفارت خانہ یا قونصل خانہ کو دینی ضروری ہے ۔ نیز یہ کہ اگر بیرون ملک پاکستانی شہری کے کوئی بچہ پیدا ہو تو اس کا نام بھی قریب ترین پاکستانی سفارت خانہ یا قونصل خانہ میں مندرجہ بالا قواعد کے تحت رجسٹر کرائیں تاکہ بوقت ضرورت انھیں سفارت خانہ کی امداد اور مشورہ حاصل ہوسکے ۔
Regulations:
# This passport is owned by the Government of Pakistan.
# Compliance with the existing immigration regulations in foreign countries will be mandatory on every passport holder. One must obtain a visa before entering the countries for which it is necessary to obtain a visa.
# Revoked or overdue passport should be kept with the passport for up to two years as the person concerned will need it while applying for foreign exchange.
# If the passport is lost or wasted, the police and the nearest Pakistani passport issuing office should be notified immediately. Such information should be given to the nearest Pakistani embassy or consulate in foreign countries.
# Only authorized officer can change or add to the passport. According to the law, persons can be punished according to the change or alteration of their passport, as well as those who have a passport in their possession which is not given to them legally.
# It is a criminal offence to send a passport from one country to another by mail or otherwise.
Registration:
Pakistani citizens residing in foreign countries for more than three months are
required to register their name at the nearest Pakistani embassy or consulate every
year under the Pakistan Rules of Reputation 1952. Change of address and
departure from the country information must be given to the embassy or
consulate. Also, if any child of a Pakistani citizen is born abroad, his name should
be registered in the nearest Pakistani embassy or consulate under the above rules so
that he can get the help and advice of the embassy in case of need.
Passport in 1948
301
Shares
The Henley Passport Index (HPI) — an annual global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom of their citizens – placed the Pakistani passport at #102 in its 2019 list of most and least powerful passports of the world list.
HPI has been compiling and issuing this list since 2006 which ranks and lists passports from over a hundred countries according to the number of destinations the citizens of these countries can visit without obtaining a visa.
Pakistan's passport has continuously found itself lingering in the bottom half of the list.
Even though global passport rankings were introduced in 2006, it is believed that if the strength of the country's passport before 2006 was to be explored by using the HPI ranking and scoring model, the Pakistani passport – from 1961 till 1974 – would have been one of the top 30 passports of the world.
Passport ranking by period
Pakistani Passport HPI Rankings 2006 to 2022.
*2006: 79
*2007: 83
*2008: 87
*2009: 89
*2010: 90
*2011: 99
*2012: 100
*2013: 91
*2014: 92
*2015: 103
*2016: 103
*2017: 102
*2018: 103
*2019: 103
*2020: 102
*2021: 102
*2022: 110
Passport note
The passports contain a note from the
President of Pakistan addressing the authorities of all states, identifying the bearer as a citizen of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and requesting and requiring that the bearer be allowed to pass freely without any hindrance and be assisted and protected in any need. The note inside of Pakistani passports states:
Visa requirements
,
Henley Passport Index
The Henley Passport Index ( abbreviation: HPI) is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom enjoyed by the holders of that country's ordinary passport for its citizens. It started in 2006 as Henley & Partners Visa Restricti ...
ranks the Pakistani passport at 109th place, with visa-free or visa on arrival access to 32 nations and territories to Pakistani citizens. ,
The Passport Index
The Passport Index is an interactive online tool by Arton Capital that provides its users with insights about passports, including the ability to compare and rank the world's passports. Rankings are based on the freedom of movement and visa-free t ...
ranks the Pakistani passport 86th, with visa-free or visa on arrival access to 43 nations (based on visa-free or visa on arrival access to nations or territories).
See also
*
Visa requirements for Pakistani citizens
Visa requirements for Pakistani citizens are administrative entry restrictions imposed on citizens of Pakistan by the authorities of other states. As of November 2022, Pakistani citizens had visa-free, visa on arrival, or e-visa access to 32 coun ...
*
Visa policy of Pakistan
Visitors to Pakistan typically must obtain a visa from one of the Pakistani diplomatic missions. Pakistani missions abroad offer various categories of visas, with some travelers eligible for visa on arrival if traveling as part of a group tour, o ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakistani Passport
Passports by country
Foreign relations of Pakistan
Pakistan and the Commonwealth of Nations
Pakistani nationality law