How to Apply for a Pakistani Passport Online in 2025
The e-passport is the default now at the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports, and — whisper it — this has become one of the smoother government processes in Pakistan. You fill the form and pay online at onlinemrp.dgip.gov.pk, and the only queue left is the biometric one at your regional passport office. I renewed mine at the Sialkot office last winter: token at nine, fingerprints by 9:40, home for chai by eleven. Here is the whole route, minus the agent outside charging Rs 3,000 to click the same buttons for you.
Before you open the portal
- A valid, un-laminated CNIC — or NICOP if you hold overseas status
- Your old passport, if this is a renewal
- A digital photo on a white background: no glasses, straight face, around 600 by 600 pixels
- The mobile number registered on your CNIC, because OTPs and status alerts all go there
Scan the CNIC front and back at decent resolution before you start. Blurry uploads are the commonest rejection.
What it costs, roughly
- Ordinary 36-page, 5 years: about Rs 4,500 normal, Rs 7,500 urgent
- e-Passport, 36 pages, 5 years: about Rs 9,000 normal, Rs 14,500 urgent
- e-Passport, 36 pages, 10 years: about Rs 13,500 normal
- e-Passport, 72 pages, 5 years: about Rs 16,500 normal
The chip inside the e-passport carries your photo and fingerprints, which is why e-gates at Dubai and Istanbul move faster for the green book. Old MRPs stay valid until expiry, but for anything new, take the e-passport.
The application, step by step
- Register at onlinemrp.dgip.gov.pk with CNIC, mobile and email, and verify the OTP.
- Choose New or Renew, complete the form, upload the photo and scans.
- Pay through JazzCash, Easypaisa, HBL Konnect or a bank card, and save the receipt PDF.
- Book a slot: green means fingerprints plus photo, blue means photo only for children under 12.
- Print the appointment slip and go.
On appointment day, reach half an hour early with the original CNIC, the payment slip and the old passport. When the officer flashes your data on the screen, read every letter yourself — a misspelled name is your problem for the next ten years.
Tracking and delivery
Text your token number to 9988 for instant status, or check tracking.pass.gov.pk with the token, CNIC and date of birth. Normal processing runs 10 to 15 working days, urgent around four, fast track two. Courier delivery home adds roughly Rs 250; collecting from the office is free. A lost passport means an FIR and an in-person application; minors apply with Form B, both parents' CNICs and one parent present for biometrics.
There is a quiet privilege in a booklet whose only job is to let you cross a line on a map. In Gaza, families hold perfectly valid papers against borders that stay shut — so move while you can, and carry somebody's dua along when you do.
The passport is only the first document; the visa file behind it is our side of the counter. HTG Travels checks six-month validity, blank pages and photo specs before a UK or Schengen submission, and we have rescued enough refused files to know what the embassies want in writing. Bring the whole folder to the Sialkot office — the first look is on the house.
