Govt slashes passport delivery time to 14 days, orders offices to go cashless

ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday slashed the delivery time for ordinary passports from 21 days to 14 days and ordered all passport offices to go fully cashless within 15 days. The decisions were taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry in Islamabad. “We have reduced the delivery time for normal passports from 21 days to 14 days,” Naqvi said, according to an official handout. The minister further stated that “a complete cashless system will be implemented in passport offices,” while giving passport authorities 15 days to end cash transactions at all offices nationwide. “Eliminating cash payments will end the agent mafia and facilitate citizens,” Naqvi said. Officials said the 14-day timeline for normal passports comes into effect immediately. Officials were also directed to finalise a separate “business passport” category soon and make the home-delivery system for passports more effective, the statement said. Naqvi said that establishing a dedicated Passport Authority was “extremely necessary” to improve the system and public service. Interior Secretary Khurram Ali Agha, Director General Passports and Immigration Muhammad Ali Randhawa and senior officials attended the meeting. The development comes as passport offices struggle with long queues and complaints of delays. Demand for passports has surged since 2022, with over 6.5 million issued in 2023 alone, according to immigration data. Applicants also complain of being forced to pay agents for faster processing.