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Law & Governance Desk | June 2026 | 4 min read |
| ⚡ QUICK TAKEAWAYS |
| • Cashless transactions are now operational at all passport offices across Pakistan from July 1, 2026 — confirmed by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. |
| • Cash payments for passport fees have been abolished; applicants now pay via a QR code-based digital payment system integrated into the Pak-ID platform. |
| • A dedicated passport mobile app is set to launch soon, enabling citizens at home and abroad to apply for passports from their phones. |
| • Passport home delivery via TCS and DHL is being introduced — applicants will no longer need to collect their documents in person. |
| • Pakistan is gradually transitioning to e-passports only; the full digital immigration system reform was initiated on June 19 under PM Shehbaz’s direction. |
Pakistan has abolished cash payments at all passport offices, replacing them with a QR code-based digital payment system effective July 1. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi confirmed the nationwide activation, describing it as part of a broader reform to digitise and modernise the country’s immigration services — with a passport mobile app and home delivery of passports also in the pipeline.
| July 1
Cashless Goes Live all passport offices |
QR Code
Payment Method via Pak-ID platform |
Home
Passport Delivery TCS and DHL engaged |
Reform Timeline
| Date | Milestone |
| June 19, 2026 | Government decides to digitalise passport issuance system; cashless payment system introduced at offices and online portal announced for Pak-ID migration |
| June 23, 2026 | High-level meeting at DGIP HQ chaired by DG Muhammad Ali Randhawa; QR code-based payment from July 1 confirmed; e-passport-only transition announced; passport app and home delivery disclosed |
| July 1, 2026 | Cashless QR-code payment system goes live at all passport offices — cash abolished. Interior Minister Naqvi confirms nationwide activation. |
| Upcoming | Dedicated passport mobile app launch — citizens at home and abroad can apply online; passport home delivery via TCS and DHL |
| Gradual rollout | Complete transition to electronic passports (e-passports) only — timeline to be confirmed |
What Changes for Passport Applicants
The most immediate change is the abolition of cash payment at passport offices. Applicants can no longer bring cash to pay for their passport fees at the counter. Instead, payment goes through a QR code-based system integrated into the Pak-ID platform — scannable via banking apps, mobile wallets, and other digital payment methods. Interior Minister Naqvi highlighted that the reform eliminates the need to stand in long queues for payment processing, which has historically been one of the most time-consuming parts of a passport office visit.
Beyond the payment change, the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DGIP) is preparing additional layers of the reform that will transform the full passport application journey. A dedicated passport mobile app is set to launch, allowing citizens both in Pakistan and overseas to apply for passports from their phones without visiting an office. Completed passports will be deliverable at home via TCS and DHL — removing the need for a second office visit for collection. Together, these changes would make a physical passport office visit optional for many applicants rather than mandatory.
| 🏛️ WHY THIS MATTERS: THREE QUEUES IN ONE VISIT BECOMES ZERO
Passport offices have historically been among the most congestion-prone government service points in Pakistan. The combination of fee payment queues, application submission, biometric capture, and collection created multi-stage bottlenecks that kept citizens waiting for hours. By moving payment to a QR system, separating application (via the upcoming app), and enabling home delivery, the DGIP is restructuring the process to remove each queue individually rather than simply speeding up a congested linear process. |
E-Passport Transition
Alongside the cashless payment reform, the DGIP confirmed that Pakistan will gradually transition to issuing only electronic passports — biometric passports with an embedded chip containing the holder’s personal and biometric data. E-passports are internationally recognised as more secure and fraud-resistant than standard machine-readable passports, and are required for visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to a growing number of countries. Pakistan has been issuing a mix of standard and e-passports; the announced transition to e-passports only will standardise the document issued to all applicants. A timeline for this full transition was not specified but will be gradual rather than immediate.
The reform programme was launched on June 19 on the instructions of PM Shehbaz Sharif, with the cashless payment component treated as the first deliverable in a broader transformation of Pakistan’s immigration and passport services. Interior Minister Naqvi characterised today’s activation as the first of many milestones, signalling that additional phases of the digital immigration reform are still to come.
Disclaimer: This article is based on official statements from Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports. The passport mobile app launch and home delivery service timelines have not been officially confirmed. The full transition to e-passports only will occur on a gradual schedule to be announced separately.
