Govt issues blue passports to 42 top taxpayers on PM’s directives 

The government has approved blue passports for 42 top taxpayers designated as ambassadors-at-large on the directions of the prime minister, and most of the approved passports have already been issued, Dawn reported, citing Director General of Immigration and Passports (DGIP) Muhammad Ali Randhawa.

DGIP said that another proposal to introduce special-coloured passports for businessmen paying taxes above a certain threshold was under consideration in consultation with the Ministry of Commerce and the Federal Board of Revenue.

The Directorate General of Immigration and Passports is also preparing to launch nationwide home delivery of passports, with discussions with a courier company underway, and the service will be launched after a formal agreement is signed.

Under the proposed system, applicants paying nominal courier charges would receive passports directly at their addresses from Islamabad. The service would later be extended to overseas Pakistanis in a second phase.

Randhawa also announced plans to launch a chatbot for passport applicants. The chatbot would provide guidance on procedures, document requirements and passport application status updates, while also reducing pressure on the department’s call centre, which is being expanded.

He said the DGIP was also seriously considering online submission of passport applications through either a dedicated mobile application similar to Pak-ID or an expanded version of Nadra’s existing app.

He further stated that passport fee payments through National Bank branches would end after June 30. According to him, cashless transactions would be introduced through QR-code-based payments using banking applications to reduce the role of agents in the process.