Pakistan Eyes Visa-Free Entry in 25 Countries
Visa-free entry arrangements with 25 countries will be finalised within the next six months. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi gave that assurance on Thursday, October 30, 2026, while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior.
“The value of the green passport is currently improving, and its rating will advance further over the next six months,” Mr Naqvi said. The committee is chaired by MNA Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz.
Mr Naqvi said the matter required a collective decision by parliament. He linked that need to visa-exemption negotiations, international commitments and the planned transition to e-passports.
Deals already done, and one close
Visa-free arrangements had already been made with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Mr Naqvi told the committee. A similar deal with Qatar is expected soon.
Those three Gulf states matter most for Pakistani travellers. Saudi Arabia draws workers and pilgrims in large numbers, and the UAE hosts one of the largest Pakistani expatriate communities in the world.
The minister did not name the other countries in the target.
The blue passport problem
A large part of the briefing concerned blue passports. Those passports are issued to officials and parliamentarians, and their numbers have become a sticking point in visa talks.
Mr Naqvi said the total number of blue passports stands at 70,000. Some countries have indicated they could terminate visa-exemption agreements if the number is not reduced to 25,000.
“Visa-free entry cannot be secured for 70,000 blue passports,” he said. He added that most countries first ask about the total number of blue passports issued before considering such agreements.
Mr Naqvi said 22,000 blue passports have been cancelled and a ban imposed on new issuance. He said the whole world is urging Pakistan to cut the number to 25,000 to secure travel concessions.
Blue passports are now being issued to parliamentarians for three years, he said.
State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry said excessive issuance of blue passports was affecting visa-free arrangements. He said it was undermining Pakistan’s efforts to secure greater travel facilitation.
A sharp exchange in the committee
Responding to a question from lawmaker Agha Rafiullah, Mr Chaudhry said the numbers did have an impact on agreements with other countries.
Mr Rafiullah disagreed. He offered to surrender his own passport and demanded that the government identify the legal provisions governing blue passport issuance. “We are representatives of the people. That is not a logical answer,” he remarked.
Committee members asked for a detailed breakdown of the 30,000 passports reduced from the overall number. Mr Chaudhry assured them that the breakdown would be provided.
What visa-free entry means for ordinary passport holders
For most Pakistanis, the green passport is the only travel document that matters. Its standing decides how many borders they can cross without a visa, how long visa applications take, and how much scrutiny they face at airports.
Feature Pakistan has covered the passport debate from several angles this year. The Senate has passed a bill to curb blue passports for officials’ children. Separately, the Senate approved blue passports for former lawmakers with incomplete terms. Those two steps pull in different directions, which is part of why the total number has stayed high.
On the green passport side, Pakistan is moving to a full e-passport system within a month, with machine-readable passports being phased out. A modern e-passport, with a chip and stronger security features, is one of the conditions foreign governments look at when they judge a country’s travel documents.
Oman has already agreed visa-free entry for holders of Pakistani diplomatic and official passports. That deal covers only diplomatic, special, official and service passports.
What happens next
Three things will show whether the plan succeeds. First, parliament must agree on the blue passport cut, from 70,000 down to 25,000. Second, the e-passport transition must proceed on schedule. Third, the government must convert negotiations into signed arrangements within the six-month window.
Until those steps are complete, the 25-country figure remains a target, not a done deal. Travellers should not plan trips on the basis of it yet.
The original report on this briefing was published by ProPakistani.
How many countries are in the visa-free plan?
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said visa-free entry arrangements with 25 countries will be finalised within the next six months.
