The short answer
Your child was born in the UK, you hold Pakistani citizenship, and you want them to have a Pakistani passport too. Entirely doable, and if your child is under two years old, entirely online. The one thing almost every parent gets wrong is the order of operations:
NADRA first. Your child needs a Pakistani identity document (a citizen number) before DGIP will look at any passport application.
Then the passport. Under-2s apply online under DGIP's "NEW" category; children two and older must attend a consulate in person.
5-year validity only. Children under 15 aren't eligible for the 10-year passport, and you pay only the 5-year fee (DGIP's rule).
The trap to know before anything else: the online application requires both parents' NADRA cards, and they must show your updated marital status. If you married and never updated your NICOPs, that quiet detail derails the baby's passport at the very last step. Check your own cards before you start your child's paperwork.
Step one is never the passport: NADRA registration
Every Pakistani passport is anchored to a citizen number, and a newborn doesn't have one until NADRA registers them. A child of a Pakistani citizen is entitled to Pakistani citizenship by descent, even when born abroad, and the registration is what makes it official. You have two routes:
CRC (Child Registration Certificate, the B-form): the basic registration document. It creates the citizen number and satisfies the passport requirement.
NICOP for the child: a full identity card. It also creates the citizen number, and this is what most of our clients choose: it's a physical card, it serves as ID in its own right, and it gives the child visa-free entry to Pakistan for life rather than just a paper record.
Either document unlocks the passport. If you're deciding between them, the NICOP does everything the CRC does and keeps doing it for the next decade, which is why parents rarely regret it. Start with the child's NICOP application; we handle newborn registrations routinely.
Both routes need your own documents in order: parents' NADRA cards (with, again, that updated marital status), your marriage certificate, and the UK birth certificate. If your own NICOP is expired, renew it before starting the child's chain; an expired parent card blocks everything downstream.
Under 2: the online route, start to finish
DGIP's portal accepts first-time passport applications for babies under two years of age only, under the application type "NEW". It's the same portal as adult renewals (onlinemrp.dgip.gov.pk), and here's what it actually asks of you:
The baby's photograph. Yes, a passport photo of a baby: plain background, face visible, eyes open if you can win that negotiation. The portal's ~20 KB file-size limit applies to the baby's photo too, so compress it without blurring the face.
One parent's fingerprints via the NADRA Pak-ID app. The baby gives no biometrics; a parent verifies instead, on their own phone.
Both parents' NADRA cards, front and back, showing updated marital status.
Proof of the family's valid UK immigration status.
The minor attestation form. Fill in the Attestation Form for Minors. And the detail that saves UK parents a genuine headache: for online applications, the Government Gazetted-officer stamp is not required. Older guidance implies you need to find a Gazetted officer in Britain; you don't. The filled form uploads as-is.
Choose Urgent processing here as everywhere: for a 5-year, 36-page child's passport the overseas fee is Rs.7,000 Normal against Rs.10,000 Urgent (about £8 more, per DGIP's fee schedule). Those figures exclude taxes and courier delivery, which DGIP adds on top depending on the country. Even so, the real-world gap between the queues is measured in months, not days.
One form, and we take the whole chain
NICOP registration, the baby's photo compressed to spec, Pak-ID fingerprints, the attestation form, DGIP follow-ups: we run this exact sequence for families every week. GDPR-compliant throughout, your documents deleted once the application is approved.
Start your child's application2 or older: the consulate route
The online "NEW" category closes at the second birthday. From age two, a first passport means attending a Pakistani mission in person, with the child: London, Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester or Glasgow, whichever is nearest.
The NADRA-first rule doesn't change: the child still needs their CRC or NICOP before the visit, and both parents' documents still need to be in order. What changes is the logistics: mission hours, the queue, and a toddler. We can't stand in the queue for you, but we can make sure the folder you carry in is complete and correct the first time; an incomplete file at a consulate costs you a second visit, not a re-upload.
Where these applications actually go wrong
From the family applications we process, in order of frequency:
Marital status not updated on the parents' cards. The number-one derailer, and it surfaces at the end of the process, not the start. Update both NICOPs before touching the child's paperwork.
An expired parent NICOP. Blocks the child's registration and the passport both. Renew yours first.
The baby photo. Over 20 KB, or compressed into a blur, or taken against a busy background. Bounced photos cost days each round.
Wrong expectations about nationality. A UK-born child of a Pakistani parent can hold both nationalities; Pakistan permits dual nationality with the UK, and registering the child with NADRA doesn't affect their British status.
One more honesty note: children's applications run on the same clock as adults, and that clock is not the one DGIP advertises. DGIP quotes 15 days for Urgent; in the applications we process the passport reaches your door in around 20. The Normal queue, officially "a few weeks," really runs months, which is why we apply Urgent for every child. If you're planning travel around the passport, our full passport guide lays out the real timelines and delivery in detail.
Frequently asked questions
Can my UK-born baby get a Pakistani passport?+
Yes. A child of a Pakistani citizen is entitled to Pakistani citizenship by descent regardless of birthplace. The child must first be registered with NADRA (a CRC/B-form or a NICOP), which creates their citizen number; the passport application follows from that.
Do we have to visit the consulate for a newborn's passport?+
No, not if the child is under two. DGIP's online portal accepts first passports for under-2s under the NEW category. From age two onwards, a first passport requires an in-person visit to the nearest Pakistani mission with the child.
Should I get my child a CRC (B-form) or a NICOP?+
Either one satisfies the passport requirement, because both create the citizen number. Most of our clients choose the NICOP: it's a physical identity card, it grants visa-free entry to Pakistan, and it keeps being useful long after the passport is issued.
How long is a child's Pakistani passport valid?+
Five years. Children under 15 are not eligible for the 10-year passport, and DGIP charges them only the 5-year fee. The overseas Urgent fee for a 5-year, 36-page passport is Rs.10,000 (about £8 more than Normal, and worth it).
Does my baby need to give fingerprints?+
No. For under-2 online applications, one parent verifies with their own fingerprints through the NADRA Pak-ID app on their phone. The baby needs only a photograph, compressed under the portal's roughly 20 KB limit.
Do I need a Gazetted officer to stamp the minor attestation form?+
Not for online applications. The Attestation Form for Minors is mandatory and must be filled in, but it uploads without the Gazetted-officer stamp, whatever older guidance suggests. That removes what would otherwise be a real obstacle for parents in the UK.