Pakistan upgrading passport application biometrics, adding home delivery service

Pakistan is planning to upgrade the automated biometric identification system (ABIS) it uses for passport applications as part of an effort to improve the integrity and issuance of the travel documents.

The government has budgeted 530.3 million Pakistani rupees (approximately US$1.9 million) for the upgrades, which are being carried out under the Ministry of Interior under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), Mettis Link News reports. That funding is expected to carry the upgrade to its conclusion and operational launch for the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports. The government has spent Rs 464.7 million ($1.7 million) on the passport biometrics modernization project so far.

The upgrade is intended to improve the biometric authentication system used for passport applications, as well as cybersecurity safeguards and overall passport issuance efficiency.

A request for proposals document shows the contract covers the supply, installation, integration and testing of the biometric system, plus a year of round-the-clock support. The virtualization hypervisor and servers must be from the same OEM and backed by a five-year warranty.

Bids were received by AIS-Net (Pvt) Ltd and Netcom Solutions, both of which were declared technically qualified.

The passport application biometrics upgrade is one of 22 ongoing projects for which the Interior Ministry will receive a budget of Rs 16 billion ($58 million) for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.

Pakistan is also introducing a doorstep delivery service for passports, according to Geo News. Officials said in a meeting earlier this year that deliveries for normal passports had already been reduced from 21 to 14 days. The government is also mandating that all passport offices across Pakistan go cashless, in an attempt to cut unauthorized middlemen out of the application process.

NADRA recently rolled out an upgraded version of its Pak ID mobile app, adding tools to make visa applications faster and less cumbersome.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometric passport  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  Pakistan  |  tender  |  travel documents