Government Says No Cut to Passport Fees

Pakistan's Interior Ministry told the Senate it has no plan to lower passport charges, despite five years of fee collections totaling Rs. 219.93 billion.

NationPulse Desk

Oct 30, 2026 · 4:25 PM 1 min read

Key takeaways

Pakistan collected Rs. 219.93 billion in passport fees over five fiscal years.

The Interior Ministry said no passport fee reduction is being considered.

Fee collections were Rs. 21.618 billion in FY22, Rs. 34.495 billion in FY23, Rs. 50.906 billion in FY24, Rs. 64.392 billion in FY25, and Rs. 48.52 billion in FY26.

Higher costs of electronic passports are cited as a reason against fee cuts.

The e-passport system is being introduced according to ICAO standards.

Pakistan amassed Rs. 219.93 billion in passport fees over the last five fiscal years, and the Interior Ministry has stated that no proposal to cut passport charges is being considered.

In a written reply to a Senate query by Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood, the ministry detailed fee collections from FY 2021-22 through FY 2025-26.

Collections were Rs. 21.618 billion in FY22, rose to Rs. 34.495 billion in FY23, and reached Rs. 50.906 billion in FY24. They climbed further to Rs. 64.392 billion in FY25 before falling to Rs. 48.52 billion in FY26.

Government Rules Out Passport Fee Reduction

The Interior Ministry told the Senate there is currently no plan to lower passport fees, pointing to higher production and procurement costs of electronic passports versus ordinary ones.

The ministry added that Pakistan is slowly shifting from machine-readable passports to an electronic passport (e-passport) system as part of its passport modernization drive.

The written response noted that the e-passport rollout follows standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).