The issue of a technical fault in the passport and immigration system has intensified, due to which overseas Pakistanis are facing difficulties in obtaining passports.
According to passport sources, the issuance of e-passports and machine-readable passports for Europe, the Middle East, Turkey, and other countries has been stopped.
Sources say that the technical fault in the passport and immigration system could not be fixed even after one week.
In Saudi Arabia, Europe, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey, notices have been displayed outside Pakistani embassies and consulates stating that the system is down.
Due to a technical fault at the headquarters of passport and immigration in Pakistan, the issuance of passports has been suspended.
Recently, the embassy of Pakistan in Muscat has announced new timings for the passport collection, effective May 1, 2026.
The new schedule is geared towards streamlining services and reducing congestion at the embassy.
The announcement states that it is now possible to collect processed passports between Sunday and Thursday in two time slots: 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM.
When a person comes to receive his or her new documents, he/she must be accompanied by his/her original token and his/her old passport.
The embassy has also pointed out that the two items are essential in order to achieve a successful collection.
Besides the new timings, the embassy has also posted new fee information for different categories of passports.
The 36-page 5-year passport costs 12 Omani Rials in the normal category and 19 Omani Rials in the urgent category.
In the meantime, the cost of a 10-year passport, with 36 pages, begins at 17 Omani Rials.
The embassy has highly encouraged people to secure their passports. The extra charges will apply in case of losses, with the fees doubling on the first occasion and increasing further in the case of repeated losses.
It is recommended that citizens closely follow the required schedules to prevent inconvenience.
Also read: Pakistan embassy in Oman stops passport services temporarily
