Pakistani Citizens Can Now Apply for Passports from Any City

Pakistani citizens can now apply for passports from any city across the country, irrespective of the residential address mentioned in the Computerized Identity Card (CNIC), under the new rules approved by the ministry.

The development comes after the federal government made a change in passport rules that allows citizens to get passports from any city in the country. According to officials, the notification about the change in passport rules has been sent to the regional passport offices.

Also read: How to Apply for a Pakistani Passport? A Step-by-Step Guide

The Director General (DG) of Immigration and Passports, Mustafa Jamal Qazi, said the new decision of the federal government was made keeping in mind the problems faced by the people, and now all Pakistani citizens can now apply for passports from any city across the country.

An official statement said that passport applications will not be rejected if the residential address on the CNIC is different from the area where people are applying for the travel document.

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Earlier in August 2024, addressing the long delays in issuance of passports, Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar informed the National Assembly that the issue would be resolved by the end of September after the installation of new machinery and software.

Responding to warnings about delays in issuing passports, the federal minister expressed optimism that the introduction of the new system would also help clear the existing backlog of passport applications. He said the new system would be installed soon, which would increase the daily capacity to issue passports from 26,000 to 60,000.

Also read: How to Apply for CNIC in Pakistan? Step by Step Guide