Citizens can now apply for passports from any Pakistan city: Here’s how

ISLAMABAD: The citizens of Pakistan will now be able to get their passports from any city across the country, as per the new rules approved by the department.

The development comes after the federal government made amendment to the passport rules, allowing the citizens to get their passports from any city in the country regardless of address mentioned on their CNICs. 

Directorate General (DG) of Immigration and Passports Mustafa Jamal Qazi said the new decision by the federal government was made in light of the difficulties faced by the citizens. 

An official statement said the citizens passports applications will not be refused if their residential address on CNIC is different from the area they are applying for the travel document. 

Meanwhile, the ongoing backlog of passport applications in Pakistan is set to improve soon, as 10,000 advanced printing machines have recently arrived at the Passport Offices.

These machines are expected to be operational in just a few days.

The Passport and Immigration Department has been facing severe delays in issuing passports due to a shortage of printing machines.

Currently, the department processes between 20,000 to 22,000 passports daily, while it receives around 40,000 to 50,000 applications each day.