ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Blue passports have been approved for 42 top taxpayers designated as ambassadors at large on the directions of the prime minister, Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DGIP) chief Muhammad Ali Randhawa told Dawn on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Randhawa said most of the approved blue passports had already been issued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnother proposal for special-coloured passports for businessmen paying taxes above a certain threshold is under consideration, with input from the Ministry of Commerce and the Federal Board of Revenue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The DGIP is also set to introduce nationwide home delivery of passports and launch a chatbot to facilitate applicants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cApplicants will soon have the option to get passports delivered to their doorsteps,\u201d Mr Randhawa said, adding that discussions with a courier service company were under way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter an agreement is signed, the facility will be available across the country. Under this initiative, passports of those ready to pay nominal courier charges will be shipped directly to their addresses from Islamabad,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Randhawa said authorities planned to extend the service to overseas Pakistanis in the second phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said a chatbot would also be launched soon to help applicants. \u201cApplicants will be able to get guidelines through it on procedures and document requirements, and check the status of their passports after submission,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that the initiative would also reduce the load on the department\u2019s call centre, \u201cwhich is also being expanded\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Randhawa said a proposal to allow online submission of passport applications was also under \u201cserious\u201d consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said officials were considering either launching a dedicated app similar to the National Database and Registration Authority\u2019s (Nadra) Pak-ID or expanding the scope of Nadra\u2019s app to accept passport applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under the proposed system, applicants would be able to upload old passports and photographs through the app for registration and would be notified by email if additional documents were required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe initiative will allow application submission 24\/7 from anywhere and will address human resource shortages,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Randhawa also said that after June 30, passport fees would no longer be deposited at National Bank branches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCashless transactions will be fully activated to end the role of the agent mafia. Tokens will carry a QR code that applicants can scan to pay through banking apps on their phones,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Blue passports have been approved for 42 top taxpayers designated as ambassadors at large on the directions of the prime minister, Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DGIP) chief Muhammad Ali Randhawa told Dawn on Sunday. Mr Randhawa said most of the approved blue passports had already been issued. \u201cAnother proposal for special-coloured […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n