The Ministry of Interior has confirmed that the government has no immediate plans to reduce passport fees, citing higher production and procurement costs associated with electronic passports.
In a written response submitted to the Senate against a question by Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood, the ministry also revealed that Pakistan collected Rs. 219.93 billion in passport fees over the past five fiscal years, from FY2021-22 to FY2025-26.
According to the figures shared with the Senate, passport fee collections stood at Rs. 21.618 billion in FY22, Rs. 34.495 billion in FY23, Rs. 50.906 billion in FY24, and Rs. 64.392 billion in FY25. Collections later declined to Rs. 48.52 billion in FY26.
The ministry explained that electronic passports cost more to produce and procure than ordinary machine-readable passports. It added that Pakistan is gradually shifting towards the e-passport system in line with standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to modernize passport issuance.
