ISLAMABAD: Pakistan processed more than 22.65 million international passenger movements in 2025, underscoring the growing volume of cross-border travel and prompting the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to accelerate plans for automated immigration clearance at the country’s airports.
Official data showed that 22,650,199 passenger movements were recorded during the year, comprising 11,097,240 arrivals and 11,552,959 departures. The figures reflect passenger movements rather than the number of individual travellers, as each person entering or leaving Pakistan is counted as a separate movement.
The high volume of international travel comes as the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) expands its digital immigration systems to make border processing faster while maintaining checks against illegal migration, human smuggling and fraudulent travel documents.
According to FIA’s Additional Director General Immigration Nouman Siddiqui, the agency was implementing a comprehensive plan aimed at facilitating genuine travellers while strengthening measures to detect irregular and fraudulent travel.
A key element of the plan is the introduction of automated e-gates, initially on a pilot basis. Eligible passengers whose identity and travel credentials can be verified digitally – including certain work-permit holders – will be able to complete immigration formalities through automated systems rather than relying entirely on manual processing.
The automated system is expected to reduce immigration clearance times by 70 to 80 per cent for eligible passengers. The FIA is also working to improve procedures for handling passenger complaints and identifying operational bottlenecks at immigration counters, with the aim of making the process more efficient and convenient.
The agency plans to expand the use of technology to identify fake passports, fraudulent visas and other forged or suspicious travel documents. Digital verification is expected to allow legitimate passengers to move through immigration more quickly while enabling immigration officials to flag questionable documents at an earlier stage.
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The modernisation programme is also intended to strengthen Pakistan’s efforts against human smuggling and illegal migration, which remain major challenges at international entry and exit points.
According to FIA, the wider reform programme would combine e-gates, digital document verification, streamlined procedures, improved passenger complaint mechanisms and stronger coordination among relevant agencies.
The planned automation comes as Pakistan’s airports face increasing international passenger volumes, with authorities seeking to balance faster processing for genuine travellers with more effective scrutiny of people and documents linked to illegal or fraudulent travel.
