The Directorate General of Immigration and Passports has announced that applicant Pakistani nationals may apply for a passport from any passport office in the country, irrespective of the address mentioned on their CNIC, NICOP, or CRC.  Â
This amendment of Rule 6 of the Passport Rules 2021 is, therefore, meant to make the process at the service point level easier for applicants who may want service outside their jurisdictions of residence.
It was first sent to the Ministry of Interior after being cleared by the Law Division, for moving this amendment. The amended rule, approved by the Federal Cabinet, binds all the authorities issuing passports to entertain applications of citizens from all over the country, eliminating the address-based restriction.
According to the official notification, the facility of applying for passport services in any passport office has been extended to all citizens of Pakistan irrespective of the address mentioned on their CNIC, NICOP, or CRC. The revised rule is thus issued to the zonal heads for implementation at all levels to facilitate access.
In keeping with this new policy, no application for passport services will be rejected on purely address or jurisdiction grounds. This is analogous to the expectation that such streamlining of application procedures will provide greater convenience to the public, especially applicants residing or working in districts other than their permanent residence.Â
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This policy brings quite a lot of convenience to citizens, especially for those who live away from their permanent address or stay in a place where passport offices are scanty. This amendment saves them much in terms of time and money spent on travel to return and apply in their registered city, especially for those whose work or study keeps them quite far away from home.
On the other hand, removing jurisdictional restrictions also streamlines the process in such a way that it could reduce some wait times and workloads for various offices. Applicants would not have to apply in a given region but instead make use of passport offices that have much shorter queues, hence prospects of service being faster.
Thirdly, there is a significant economic and social implication, given the fact that students, businessmen, and employees usually reside in towns other than their native town. It is they who this policy simplifies the logistic hassles for and can distribute demand more equitably across passport offices.
The positive change in the rule means increased access and inclusivity for all citizens of Pakistan to availing passport services, irrespective of geographical barriers. In doing so, the government ensures that no applicant shall be disadvantaged simply because of where he or she is registered.
This facelift may therefore be extended to bring changes to other administrative institutes, setting a standard for the administration to implement more citizen-centric services. This policy supports such a goal by the government in enhancing public service efficiency and citizen convenience.