Pakistan Resumes Passport Services in UAE After Outage

Pakistan restores UAE passport services, easing backlog from an 8-day disruption impacting overseas Pakistanis.

Publish date: Tuesday، 05 May 2026 Reading time: two min read

Pakistan Resumes Passport Services in UAE After Outage

Pakistan has resumed passport services at its embassies and consulates in the UAE, along with several other countries worldwide, as of Tuesday, May 5. This development brings much-needed relief to thousands of overseas Pakistanis who were affected by an eight-day service disruption.

The restoration follows a major system-wide technical fault at the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DGI & P) headquarters in Islamabad, which led to the suspension of passport services at international missions starting April 29.

Both Pakistan's embassy and consulate in the UAE confirmed the resumption of services in official notifications issued on Tuesday.

“Passport services at the Consulate General of Pakistan and the Embassy have been fully restored. All applicants may visit the consulate and the embassy for passport processing during the specified times,” the Consulate stated in its announcement.

Impact of the Outage

The outage caused widespread disruptions for Pakistani missions across the Gulf region and beyond, including countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait. Thousands of individuals faced challenges in renewing or applying for passports during this period.

In the UAE alone, the consular missions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi typically process between 800 and 1,000 passport applications daily. The suspension of services resulted in significant inconvenience for residents dealing with time-sensitive requirements, such as visa renewals, travel plans, and employment-related documentation.

The disruption was attributed to a technical glitch at DGI & P headquarters, where a team of officials and IT experts worked diligently to address and resolve the issue since late April.

With services now restored, authorities are optimistic that the resumption will alleviate the strain on consular missions, especially for urgent cases involving expiring passports or applications for newborns, which necessitate in-person processing.

Applicants have been advised to visit embassies and consulates only during the designated timings. Furthermore, authorities have anticipated a surge in demand in the coming days as they work to clear backlogs resulting from the outage.