How to pay the passport fee by QR code in Pakistan (2026)

Since 1 July 2026 passport offices in Pakistan do not take cash, bank challans or transfers for the passport fee. You scan a QR code that the office gives you and pay from a phone app. The idea is simple, but people arrive without a working app, scan the code at the wrong moment, or send the money by bank transfer and then find it is not accepted. This page lays out the exact order of the day, which apps DGIP names, what was withdrawn in September 2026, and the separate card payment used for online renewal. The amounts themselves are on the e-passport fee page.

Where the QR code comes from

DGIP’s process page describes the visit step by step. At the photo and token counter you show your original CNIC (or NICOP, smart card, or the child’s CRC/B-Form) with copies; the official captures your photo and details and issues a token with a QR code on it. That slip is your payment code. Check the name and CNIC on it before you leave the counter, because a wrong token has to be cancelled and restarted.

When you pay: after the interview, not before

1. Customer service counter: documents checked, you are sent to the token counter.
2. Photo and token: photo taken, QR token issued.
3. Biometrics: both thumbs and index fingers.
4. Data entry: give a mobile number or email for status alerts; the operator prints a form that you check and sign. After the officer’s “go ahead”, nothing can be changed.
5. ECL/BL verification: the signed form is checked against the Exit Control List and Black List and stamped.
6. Interview: the Assistant Director or Officer In-charge reviews the documents and gives “go ahead”, asks for more documents, or refers the case for verification.
7. Fee payment: only now do you scan the QR code and pay. DGIP’s page says: scan it “with a digital payment platform”, giving EasyPaisa, JazzCash and online banking as examples. After payment the passport goes to production.
8. Delivery: collect on the given date with the original token; only you or a blood relative can collect. Status comes by SMS from 9988 inside Pakistan or by Email Rabta for overseas applicants.

Paying before the interview is the most common mistake. The fee is tied to the application after the officer’s decision; if the case is referred or the token is cancelled, an early payment complicates things. Keep the slip until you reach the payment step.

Which apps can scan it

The QR is a Raast merchant (P2M) code, the State Bank’s instant payment system, so it is paid from any app that supports Raast QR payments: the mobile banking apps of Pakistani banks, and the wallets. DGIP’s own process page names EasyPaisa, JazzCash and online banking as examples. In the app, open the QR or “Scan to pay” option, point the camera at the slip, confirm the amount that appears matches the fee for your passport type, and pay. Keep the app’s confirmation screen or SMS until the passport is delivered.

Before you go: make sure the app is installed and logged in, the balance or daily limit covers the fee (Rs 9,000 to Rs 40,500 depending on the passport), and the phone has data in the office. Many offices are in older buildings with poor signal; a second person’s phone with a working app is a reasonable backup.

What is no longer accepted

On 11 September 2026 DGIP issued an advisory that fees are to be paid only by scanning the designated Raast QR code. Two older routes were withdrawn: IBFT transfers to an IBAN, and PSID payments generated through the Passport Fee Asaan app. Guides written before September still describe those, and DGIP’s own site still carried a Passport Fee Asaan poster for a while, so ignore any instruction to transfer money to an account number or to generate a PSID. If you already paid by one of those methods, take the proof to the passport office; the advisory does not describe a refund route, so the office is the only place that can sort it out.

Online renewal pays by card, not QR

The QR step belongs to the in-person process. If you renew online at onlinemrp.dgip.gov.pk (available when your passport has expired or has under a year left), DGIP’s e-services page says the fee is paid by credit card or debit card as the last step of the application, and that fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. Enable the card for online payments with your bank first, and complete the payment in one sitting; a saved but unpaid application does not go to review.

If the payment fails or shows the wrong amount

• Amount does not match the fee table: do not pay. Go back to the token counter; the token may be for the wrong category (pages, years, urgent).
• App says the QR is invalid or expired: ask the counter to reprint the token; the code is tied to your application.
• Money left your account but the office shows unpaid: show the app’s transaction ID at the payment desk. Raast payments settle instantly, so a delay of more than a few minutes is worth raising on the spot.
• No app at all: a family member’s app can pay the QR; the payment is matched to the token, not to the payer.