Monday 04 / May / 2026
Muscat: Passport services at the Embassy of Pakistan in Muscat have been suspended since April 29 due to a technical fault at headquarters in Islamabad, leaving hundreds of overseas Pakistanis struggling with travel, visa and residency requirements.
Confirming the disruption, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Oman, Syed Naveed Safdar Bokhari, told the Times of Oman that the issue stems from technical problems at the passport headquarters. “Efforts are being made to resolve the problem at the earliest,” he said.
He added that the embassy processes more than 100 passport applications daily on average, highlighting the scale of the disruption.
In a public notice issued on social media platform X, the Pakistan Embassy in Muscat announced that passport operations at all Pakistani foreign missions, including Oman, will remain suspended until further notice due to technical issues at headquarters.
“The resumption of passport services will be announced on our social media platforms. The inconvenience is deeply regretted,” the statement said.
The disruption has impacted Pakistani embassies and consulates across the Gulf and beyond, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The embassy has advised nationals to avoid visiting consular offices for passport-related services during the outage.
The suspension has created significant inconvenience, with around 100 applicants typically visiting daily for renewals and new applications.
The situation has been particularly challenging for expatriates in the Gulf, who depend on timely passport renewals for employment, visa processing and travel. Families with newborn children are among the hardest hit, as initial passport issuance requires in-person visits and cannot be completed online.
In the interim, authorities have urged applicants to use the online passport system where possible. Those unable to access digital services have been asked to wait for further updates.
There are millions of Pakistanis working in foreign countries, mainly in the GCC, Europe, the US, Australia, Malaysia and others.
The National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) in Oman said that there were 290,816 Pakistani expats in Oman at the end of March 2026.
These expats work primarily in sectors like construction, oil and gas, healthcare, education, and hospitality, filling both skilled technical roles (engineers, IT) and skilled/unskilled labor roles.
