How to get the Pakistani Machine-Readable Passport (MRP) in Saudi Arabia

All Pakistanis are issued a Machine-Readable Passport (MRP) in Pakistan. Manual passports are not issued there any more (for about a decade now). However, Pakistani embassy in KSA has still been issuing, renewing manual passports to assist those Pakistanis who cannot fulfill requirements for an MRP (NADRA issues) and for newborn children. Similarly, many Pakistani who have arrived in KSA well before a decade on manual passports are still having them.

Manual and MRP side by side

If you are a long term resident of Saudi Arabia, it is inevitable that your passport is going to expire sooner or later that will need to be renewed.Also, if you hold the old manual (hand-written) passport, you may like to replace it with a Machine-Readable Passport (MRP) because Saudi government will not accept manual passports for iqama issuance, renewal and for exit/reentry in years to come. Most countries of the world do not stamp visa on such manual passports so it is best that you get an MRP.

Lastly, if Allah has blessed you with a new child in Saudi Arabia, you need to obtain the passport for him/her in order to obtain the Saudi Residence Permit (Iqama)  as well as to travel out of Kingdom. So go for an MRP for your child rather than a manual one.

In this post, I will be sharing the procedure to obtain the Machine-Readable Passport (MRP) for Pakistani expatriates. However, the general concept will remain same for all nationalities. Presently, Pakistani embassy in Riyadh and consulate in Jeddah are issuing MRPs in Saudi Arabia. Pakistani expatriates in Eastern Province (Dammam, Khobar, Jubail etc) will need to travel to Riyadh to visit the embassy for this task. The embassy camp office in Khobar (visited every 3 weeks usually) does not issue the MRP as of now.

Note: Passports can be renewed well before they are expired. It is best that you get your passport renewed as early as two or three months before its expiry to avoid any hassle if you need to travel urgently.

Requirements for holders of expired (or soon expiring) passports

• A valid CNIC or NICOP

Requirements for a newborn baby

1. Obtain the Birth Certificate for your baby. Check out how to get the birth certificate here.
2. Apply for Pakistani NICOP (National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis).

Applying for the NICOP 

All Pakistani expatriates who have arrived in Saudi Arabia on work visa in last 7 or 8 years, already have a NICOP (National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis). Because it is a requirement to obtain the "Protector of Immigrants" stamp on your passports. However, dependent families of these expatriates have no such requirement. It is purely optional for wives and children of Pakistani expatriates to get a NICOP. 

A sample NICOP

Pakistani embassy/consular sections in Riyadh, Jeddah and Khobar all offer services to get the NICOP. A NICOP is just like the regular ID Card (CNIC) from NADRA but in English. It has same ID number as CNIC. It mentions the Country of Residence as an addition. 

Application fee for NICOP is 60 riyals. Embassy will take about a month to provide the NICOP. Once you get it, you can apply for the MRP at embassy/consular section in Riyadh or Jeddah. Expatriates living in other regions of Saudi Arabia need to visit Riyadh or Jeddah in order to obtain the MRP.

Note: For newborn children, the NADRA's Child Registration Certificate (CRC) can serve as an alternative to NICOP to apply for MRP.

Applying for the Machine-Readable Passport

The procedure of getting MRP is very simple; no application form and photos are required any more. The applicants have to only bring their Computerized National Identity Cards (CNIC/NICOP) along with existing passport and all the data will be entered into the system online and the digital photograph and finger prints are captured. MRP application typically involves following steps Step 1: Deposit fee at counter. Step 2: Present fee receipt and Identity Documents for issuance of token. Step 3: Digital fingerprint capture. Step 4: Digital photo capture (contact lenses and glasses to be avoided). Step 5: Data Entry according to record. Step 6: One to One interview by MRP Officer.

Following documents will be required

CNIC / NICOP / Child Registration Certificate original and photocopy Original passport and photo copy (for holders of existing expiring/manual passports) Original Iqama and Photo Copy Fee for an MRP is 115 riyals (regular processing) and 220 riyals for urgent. You will get your ready MRP in about a month time (regular) or15 days for urgent. Good news is that all MRPs issued after 15th September 2012 will be valid for a period of 10 years! So cheer up. Pakistani Embassy in Riyadh Note: There is a long (really long) queue of MRP applicants outside Pakistani embassy in Riyadh everyday in morning. Therefore try to arrive as early as possible. Families are served first. Important: Don't forget to submit your new MRP to your company's HR (or your Kafeel) for "Transfer of Information" from your old passport to new passport. This is a must for getting Exit/Re-Entry and Iqama renewal.