Guidance

Pakistan: Knowledge Base profile

Updated 23 March 2026

Version 5.0

About: Pakistan

This document contains useful information about Pakistan which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email HM Passport Office’s Guidance team.

If you notice any formatting errors in this document (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the document then you can email the Guidance team.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 5.0
• published for Home Office staff on 9 March 2026

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with a new section about parental responsibility in Pakistan and has been updated in the Nationality section to update the list of countries dual nationality is accepted in Pakistan.

Pakistan: names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Pakistan.

There are strict naming conventions in Pakistan and they vary depending on the customers religion and gender.

If the Pakistan citizen is male, their names consist of a:

• personal name
• religious and/or family name

A male may have 3 names. The names:

• may be in any order
• may have a prefixed caste name
• do not always include the family name or religious name

If the Pakistan citizen is female, their names consist of a:

• personal name
• female honorific title
• family name

The names may:

• appear in any order
• not have an honorific title and instead, they may have 2 personal names
• use a male family name
• use the person’s father’s personal name as a surname and then use their husbands personal name as a surname after marriage

If a family does not use a family name as a surname, they may decide to use one if they move to a western country.

Transliterations of a customer’s name to English may show different spellings of the same name. For example, Mohammad and Muhammad.

Change of name

In Pakistan, women do not always change their name after marriage.

Pakistan citizens cannot change their name more than once or revert back to their previous name. The only exception to this is where a female citizen changes their name to reflect a change made by their husband or father.

Some names may include a title and these are:

• Janab or Jenab which means Mr
• Begum which means Mrs

Pakistan citizens may add religious titles at the beginning of their name. For example:

• Sheikh or Shaikh which is a title for chiefs or the heads of Muslim religious groups
• Imam which is the title for Muslim priests
• Haj, Hajj or Hadj which is a title to confirm someone has completed the pilgrimage to Mecca.
• Mir which is a title that means leader

Pakistan: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Pakistan.

Dual nationality is accepted in Pakistan from 22 countries. These are:

• Australia
• Bahrain
• Belgium
• Canada
• Denmark
• Egypt
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Iceland
• Italy
• Ireland
• Jordan
• Luxemburg
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Syria
• United Kingdom
• United States of America

Pakistan: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in Pakistan.

Legitimacy

Pakistan recognises a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births.

A child will be considered:

• legitimate if they are born to married parents
• illegitimate if they are born to unmarried parents (even if the parents later marry)

Parental responsibility

In Pakistan, fathers are their child’s legal guardian (equivalent of parental responsibility).

A mother can only obtain parental responsibility for her child if it is granted by a court.

Unmarried fathers must legally acknowledge their child to be awarded parental responsibility (guardianship). 

In the absence of a known or acknowledging father, the child’s mother’s closest male relative will hold guardianship, or a court may award it to another named person.

If a mother has custody of her child, this does not give her parental responsibility or any decision-making authority for her child.

Pakistan: adoption

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in Pakistan.

Adoption is not recognised in Pakistan.

Pakistan: surrogacy

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about surrogacy in Pakistan.

Surrogacy is illegal in Pakistan.

Pakistan: gender recognition

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in Pakistan.

Transgender citizens are not recognised in Pakistan.

Pakistan: marriage

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about marriage in Pakistan.

Polygamous marriage is allowed under Pakistan civil law.

Civil marriage is legal in Pakistan for opposite sex couples.

Pakistan: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents in Pakistan.

Birth certificates

Births in Pakistan must be registered with the local authorities within 1 year of the date of birth. Late registrations are allowed.

The Union Council will issue a birth certificate. Birth certificates are issued for children whose parents are foreign nationals if they are legitimately resident in Pakistan.

There is no central register for births.

There are two types of birth certificate in Pakistan, these are:

• hospital birth certificate (issued automatically)
• Union Council Birth Registration (issued upon registration of the child)

If an error is identified on a birth certificate, this can be amended and a corrected birth certificate will be issued. The Union Council will issue the certificate with marginal notes or amendments.

Marriage certificates

There is no central register of marriages. After the marriage takes place, an Islamic official will issue the couple with a Nikah Nama. Couples must register their marriage with the Union Council to legalise the marriage. Registration must take place immediately. The Union Council will then issue a Marriage Registration Certificate (MRC).

HM Passport Office can accept a photocopy of the original Nikah Nama if a customer also sends a Marriage Registration Certificate (MRC).

If a married couple divorce, they must register their divorce with the Union Council for it to be legal and valid.

Death certificates

Pakistan citizens must register a death with the Union Council. The Union Council will then issue them with a death certificate.

There is no time limit to register a death. If the death happens in a hospital, the hospital will issue a hospital death certificate.

Identity documents

The National Database and Registration Authority issue identity cards. There are three types of identity cards. These are:

• Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC)
• National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP)
• Pakistan Origin Card

Identity Cards are mandatory in Pakistan for all persons over the age of 18.

The Pakistan authorities will not issue a Pakistan passport if a citizen:

• does not have a CNIC: or,
• has not completed Family Form-B (if the intended passport holder is a child)