Pakistan introduces biometric registration for children 10 to 18 years old

Pakistan will collect biometrics from children between the ages of 10 and 18 years old when adding them to the civil registry or updating their information, NADRA and the Passport Department have announced.

Children in Pakistan are added to the country’s civil registry through the Child Registration Certificate (CRC), also known as a “B-form.” The B-form is required for passport applications, and will as of January 1, 2025, includes fingerprint biometrics and a facial photo as “security features,” according to the announcement. The biometric data, added to NADRA’s database, will be used by the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports to verify the identity of the child as part of the passport application process.

The change was made on the instruction of Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, as the first stage in a series of reforms. Authorities say it will help prevent fraud among children’s ID cards and passports, as well as assist in preventing human trafficking. They also say the work to improve service delivery through the Pak ID mobile app is ongoing.

Further steps will include the enrollment of iris, fingerprint and face biometrics with Union Councils.

Pakistan is in the midst of a series of legal, regulatory and policy changes[link to Ghulam’s article] intended to improve service delivery and make the country’s digital ID system more efficient and resilient against security threats.

Harmonizing databases held by NADRA and Union Councils is one of the goals of the latest set of policy updates, and officials say in the announcement that integration between NADRA’s identification system and the Civil Registration Management System held by the local governments.

The introduction of children’s biometrics to the system loosely follows the lead of neighboring India, which began enrolling biometrics of children five years of age and older in 2022.

Article Topics

biometric identifiers  |  biometrics  |  children  |  civil registration  |  data collection  |  digital identity  |  identity verification  |  Pakistan