LAHORE: Two separate directives issued this week will change how Pakistanis prepare for travel abroad: international passengers will not be allowed to fly without a NADRA vaccination certificate from September 14, while intending pilgrims under the private Hajj scheme have been barred from paying their Hajj expenses in cash to any individual or operator.
The Airport Health Department announced that from September 14, international travel will not be permitted without a NADRA vaccination certificate.
According to the notification, Umrah pilgrims have been directed to obtain the NADRA vaccine card before departure.
The notification stated that the Federal Government Civil Dispensary is the sole centre for the vaccination of international travellers, and airlines have been asked to ensure verification of Umrah pilgrims’ vaccination certificates.
Passengers who intend to be vaccinated at the airport must reach six hours before their flight, the notification added, with vaccination and online registration to be carried out at international departures.
The tightening comes at a time when Pakistani travellers are already facing disruption, with dozens of flights grounded amid regional tensions and a UK system failure.
Punjab is simultaneously running a doctors’ task force for the anti-polio campaign beginning September 21, and regional outbreak reporting — including the measles emergency in Bangladesh — has sharpened scrutiny of travel-linked immunisation. Meningococcal vaccination has long been a Saudi entry requirement for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, and several destination countries require documented proof of specific immunisations. The shift to a NADRA-issued, digitally verifiable certificate is intended to close the gap that has historically been exploited by forged paper cards sold outside vaccination centres — a problem that has repeatedly caused Pakistani travellers to be offloaded or quarantined on arrival.
Travel agents say the six-hour reporting requirement for airport vaccination is the single most important detail for families to note, since standard airline check-in advice for international flights is three to four hours.
Separately, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has warned Pakistani intending pilgrims who wish to perform Hajj 2027 under the private Hajj scheme not to pay Hajj expenses in cash to any individual or Hajj operator, and to use the official digital platform for payment.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs directed that pilgrims travelling under the private Hajj scheme should also pay their Hajj expenses only through the officially designated Digital Hajj Management System or the Pak Hajj App.
According to the ministry, the purpose of the step is to protect intending pilgrims from possible fraud and to ensure effective monitoring of the affairs of private Hajj operators. Pilgrims have been told not to make payments to any individual outside the prescribed system and procedure, failing which their money may be lost.
Under the Hajj policy, before the Hajj 2027 operation, pilgrims will have to select only those private Hajj operators for their Hajj preparations who are formally licensed.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs has made it clear that pilgrims of the private Hajj scheme must not make payments in cash or by any other unofficial method to any unauthorised person.
It is pertinent to mention that in 2025, nearly 67,000 Pakistani pilgrims could not depart for Hajj for various reasons — an episode that prompted parliamentary scrutiny of the private scheme and the introduction of tighter documentation and payment-tracking requirements.
For Hajj 2027, Pakistan’s Hajj quota has been fixed at 179,210, of which 71,684 pilgrims will be able to perform Hajj under the private Hajj scheme, while the remaining pilgrims will perform the obligation through the government Hajj scheme.
The digital payment mandate effectively creates an audit trail for each pilgrim’s package payment, allowing the ministry to match deposits against confirmed accommodation and transport bookings in Saudi Arabia — the point at which past failures have surfaced, usually too late for a refund.
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