Passport Types in Pakistan

Pakistan has different passport types for citizens, government officials and diplomats. Here’s a simple guide to green, blue and red Pakistani passports, including who can get them and how their travel privileges differ.

Ordinary Passport

This is the passport issued to civilians for international travel. Ordinary passport can be acquired by any Pakistani citizen. It has a green cover, and it can be used for visit, study, or work visa. Pakistan’s ordinary passport has an international ranking of 95, according to Passport Index, with a mobility score of 42. This passport allows visa-free travel, visa-on-arrival, and eTA to different countries. A complete list of these countries can be found here

Blue Passport

This passport is issued by the government of Pakistan to officials. Senators, Ministers, and government officers can avail this passport. This passport does not have diplomatic immunity like red or diplomatic passport. It is issued by the government to officials for international travel and visits related to government, state, and foreign affairs. Blue passport cannot be used for personal travel and a Non-objection Certificate (NOC) is usually required from the government for personal travel using blue passport. Blue passport facilitates its holders in reducing time by reducing immigration and administrative barriers in international travel. It is necessary to mention that regular citizens cannot apply for blue passport.

Red Passport

This passport is issued by the government of Pakistan to its diplomats. It is also called the Diplomatic passport of Pakistan. This passport has a red colour cover. This passport can only be issued to diplomats. Red passport offers benefits in the form of visa exemption or visa-free entry to diplomats. These benefits are not available to ordinary passport holders.

Difference between Red and Blue Passport

Red passport offers diplomatic immunity, free-visa free entry, and visa-exemptions in many countries. This passport offers more freedom and flexibility in international travel for managing foreign and diplomatic affairs. Blue passport does not offer diplomatic immunity. It allows visa-free and visa-exempt entry to countries for short-term visits for managing government-related affairs under official responsibilities. Blue passport is issued to government officers, ministers, senators, and judges of Supreme Court.

Pakistan makes agreement with 16 countries for Visa-free entry for Red and Official Passport

Recently, the Ministry of Interior published a list of 16 countries that are offering visa-free entry to red and blue passport holders. This entry is available to officials and diplomats for official purposes. The list of visa-exemption countries also includes major countries like Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran and Russia. Here is the list of 16 countries that are visa-exempt for short-term travel for blue passport holders.

1. Azerbaijan
2. Argentina
3. Bahrain
4. Bangladesh
5. Egypt
6. Iran
7. Indonesia
8. Kuwait
9. Malaysia
10. Nepal
11. Qatar
12. Russia
13. Saudi Arabia
14. Türkiye
15. Thailand
16. United Arab Emirates