ISLAMABAD: The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has abolished the cancellation fee for the National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) in the event of death, ensuring faster and easier registration of deaths.
The new policy, introduced on the directives of Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, allows family members to cancel a deceased person’s NICOP free of charge after registering the death with the relevant Union Council or Pakistani embassy.
According to NADRA, the process can be completed via the Pak-ID mobile app or by visiting any NADRA centre. The authority has also removed the requirement to submit the deceased’s original NICOP card during the cancellation process.
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Immediate family members, including parents, siblings, spouse, or children, are eligible to request the cancellation.
This change is part of NADRA’s broader efforts to digitize birth and death registration across Pakistan. In partnership with provincial governments, NADRA has launched a digital registration system in hospitals and health centres to make the process more efficient and transparent.
The initiative falls under the National Biometric and Registration Policy Framework, approved by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on January 1, 2025.
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Currently in its trial phase, the system is active in over 50 hospitals nationwide, including major facilities such as PIMS, CDA and Federal Government hospitals in Islamabad; Lady Aitchison Hospital in Lahore; Bolan Medical College and Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Quetta; and several hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Hyderabad, and Matiari.
Once fully operational, hospitals and health centres will automatically notify NADRA of any birth or death, after which the authority will send an SMS and app notification to the concerned family, guiding them through the registration steps.
NADRA says these reforms are designed to make the national registration system more transparent, citizen-friendly, and technologically advanced.