Govt starts issuing e-passport across country

After Islamabad, the issuance of e-passports has kicked off across the country -- a facility that allows citizens to have the travel document prepared from the comfort of their homes.

The Directorate General of Immigration and Passports has released the fee schedule for them. According to the schedule, the fee for a 36-page e-passport – valid for five years -- will be Rs9,000. Similarly, the fee for an urgent e-passport will be Rs15,000.

For a 72-page e-passport, the normal fee will be Rs16,500 and for an urgent one, it will be Rs27,000. The normal fee for a 36-page e-passport -- valid for 10 years -- will be Rs13,500. If a citizen wants this e-passport on an urgent basis, the fee will be Rs22,500.

The normal fee for a 72-page e-passport with a validity for 10 years will be Rs24,750. The fee for an urgent 72-page e-passport - valid for 10 years -- will be Rs40,500. Under the schedule, normal passport fees will remain unchanged. The fees have been implemented from Thursday.

The development comes as a relief to many as the delivery of normal passports across the country is delayed by more than a month because of the extraordinary surge of those seeking the travel document.

According to sources, citizens in the country’s cities, including Karachi, are again waiting for a long time to receive their passports.

A normal passport delivery is carried out in more than a month instead of 10 days.

Similarly, an urgent passport is being delivered in 15 days instead of five.

Passport delivery through fast track is also being carried out in five days instead of two.

The extraordinary delay is causing difficulties for intending Umrah pilgrims as well as those leaving abroad for work and studies.

The reason for the delay in passport delivery is being said to be an extraordinary increase in the number of people seeking the travel document.

The number of passport applications on a daily basis has jacked up to 40,000 instead of its normal range of between 24,000 and 26,000.

To remove the delay in passport delivery, the printing period has been increased to 24 hours without any day off for the staff.