Key Takeaways
- Dozens of countries, including major destinations like UAE and Germany, are missing from Pakistan’s new online attestation service.
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched the Digital Attestation System on October 12, 2026, but users report issues.
- Countries like Algeria, Armenia, and Vietnam are among those not included, despite being recent members of the Hague Apostille Convention.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has faced criticism over its new online attestation service, which launched on October 12, 2026, at its headquarters in Islamabad and liaison offices in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, and Gujrat. The service was designed to allow citizens to apply for general attestation and apostille online, pay the prescribed fee, and receive an e-Certificate without visiting a MoFA office.
However, users have reported significant issues, with many countries, including major destinations such as the UAE, Germany, and Austria, missing from the list of countries applicants can select on the portal.
In a Facebook discussion, a user questioned why these countries were not included, to which others responded that they were unsure and that users might have to visit a MoFA office in person, defeating the purpose of the new system.
The portal currently lists 114 destinations, almost all of which are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention. However, several countries, including Algeria, Armenia, Austria, Germany, Greece, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Senegal, and Vietnam, are missing from the list.
According to the official status table of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), the convention has 130 contracting parties. Germany and Austria, which formally objected to Pakistan’s accession, are notably absent from the general attestation list, despite appearing on the portal’s homepage.
Countries that are not party to the Hague Apostille Convention, such as the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Malaysia, Thailand, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Nigeria, and Kenya, are also missing from the list. Thailand’s membership will only take effect on February 28, 2027.
The ministry had earlier stated that the online service would provide convenience, but the current list is not even in complete alphabetical order, with countries like Bangladesh, Czech Republic, Canada, Finland, Denmark, and Poland added at the end, out of order.
These issues have left users confused and frustrated, with some questioning the effectiveness of the new system. The ministry has not yet addressed these concerns publicly.
