Directorate General of Immigration & Passports

Profile narrative

The Directorate General of Immigration & Passports (DGIP) is the Pakistani government authority tasked with the issuance, renewal, and regulation of passports for Pakistani citizens, as well as the administration of immigration and visa services for foreign nationals entering or leaving the country. It oversees the production of machine‑readable and electronic passports that comply with International Civil Aviation Organization standards, maintains the national passport database, and manages the online portal through which applicants can track the status of their applications. The directorate also supervises immigration checkpoints at international airports, land borders, and seaports, ensuring that travel documents are verified and that entry and exit procedures are carried out in accordance with national law and international agreements. In addition to passport services, DGIP handles matters related to nationality, citizenship, and the repatriation of Pakistani nationals abroad, providing a critical link between the state and its diaspora.

The organisation’s headquarters is located in Pakistan, and it operates as a directorate general under the Ministry of Interior, placing it within the federal civil service structure of the Government of Pakistan. Its regulatory role is distinctive in that it holds exclusive authority for passport issuance and immigration control, a function that is not shared with any other civilian agency. This centralisation enables DGIP to enforce uniform standards across all passport production facilities and to coordinate closely with law‑enforcement and intelligence bodies on security‑related travel matters. The directorate’s competencies include the management of large‑scale personal data systems, the implementation of biometric technologies in e‑passports, and the oversight of a nationwide network of immigration offices. The 2019 compromise of its passport application tracking site, which was used to deliver the ScanBox reconnaissance framework, highlighted the directorate’s exposure to cyber threats targeting its public‑facing digital services and underscored the importance of securing the infrastructure that supports its core mission. As a federal directorate, DGIP does not have private owners or shareholders; its funding, staffing, and operational directives are derived from the national budget and the administrative oversight of the Ministry of Interior.

Incidents

1 incident linked to this organisation.