Pakistan's Embassy in Abu Dhabi and its Consulate in Dubai have announced that all new passport applications from Pakistani nationals in the UAE will now be processed as e-passports instead of the previous Machine Readable Passports (MRPs). The shift took effect on Friday, October 23. Pakistanis who already hold a valid MRP do not need to replace it immediately — those passports remain valid until their original expiry date. The change applies only to new passport applications going forward.
The missions published a fee schedule for the standard e-passport categories: a 36-page, 5-year passport costs Dh145; a 36-page, 10-year passport costs Dh215; a 72-page, 5-year passport costs Dh260; and a 72-page, 10-year passport costs Dh390.
The joint notice stated: "The e-Passport issuance process has started and will continue," confirming the new system is now active for all new applications at both the Abu Dhabi embassy and the Dubai consulate.
The move aligns Pakistan with the broader global shift from machine-readable travel documents to chip-based e-passports, which offer stronger protection against forgery and tampering. Members of the Pakistani community in the UAE applying for a new passport from now on should refer to the updated fee list and expect to receive the new e-passport format rather than the older MRP.