DUBAI: To facilitate its citizens, Pakistan is going to start issuing e-passports to its citizens living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from July 20, 2026, making passport services more modern and secure for overseas Pakistanis.
According to the Consulate General of Pakistan in Dubai, all passport applications submitted at the Pakistan Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General in Dubai will be issued as e-passports from that date.
The new e-passports meet international standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and include improved security features for safer and smoother international travel.
The embassy said that existing machine-readable passports (MRPs) will remain valid until they expire. Pakistanis whose passports still have more than six months of validity are advised not to renew them yet.
Overseas Pakistanis can also continue applying for passports through the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DGIP) online service. It should be noted that there are approximately 1.5 to 2 million Pakistanis living in the United Arab Emirates, making them the second-largest expatriate community in the country after Indians.
The Pakistani diaspora is heavily integrated into the local economy, ranging from manual labor and skilled trades to entrepreneurship and corporate roles, with the majority residing in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
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