ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has announced new fees for five-year e-passports and 10-year machine-readable passports (MRPs) for Pakistani citizens living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to the latest fee schedule issued by the Pakistani embassy, the fees will be collected in UAE dirhams and vary according to passport validity, page count and processing speed. For five-year e-passports containing 36 pages, applicants will pay AED 145 for normal processing and AED 235 for urgent processing.
The fee for a 72-page e-passport has been set at AED 260 for normal processing and AED 425 for urgent processing.
For 10-year machine-readable passports, the fee for a 36-page document is AED 215 under normal processing and AED 355 under urgent processing. Applicants seeking a 72-page MRP will pay AED 390 for normal processing and AED 635 for urgent processing.
The fee schedule also specifies higher charges for lost passports. Applicants replacing a passport lost for the first time will have to pay twice the standard fee, while those applying for a replacement after losing their passport for a second time will be charged four times the standard fee.
Separately, Pakistan has begun issuing e-passports through its offices across the country and diplomatic missions abroad. The new travel documents incorporate modern security features designed to strengthen document security and improve identity verification in line with international standards.
Existing machine-readable passports will remain valid until their expiry dates. However, according to the announced policy, passports issued or renewed from now on will be e-passports. The new fee schedule provides Pakistani citizens in the UAE details of the charges for different passport categories and processing options, including the additional costs applicable to lost passports.
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