Starting September 25, Haj and Umrah pilgrims, work visa holders, and individuals planning to stay in Saudi Arabia for more than six months must carry a National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra)-linked vaccination certificate when traveling from Karachi's Jinnah International Airport. The Border Health Services-Pakistan extended the deadline for compliance from September 14 to September 25 at 10 AM, requiring proof of polio, meningitis, yellow fever, and influenza vaccinations. Dr Syed Ghulam Murtaza Shah, BHS-P’s International Health Regulation Focal Person, confirmed that workers and long-term residents will also need the Nadra-linked certificate, with plans to implement this requirement at other airports in the future.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-14,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Starting September 25, Haj and Umrah pilgrims, workers, and individuals planning to stay in Saudi Arabia for more than six months will be required to carry a vaccination certificate linked to the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) when traveling from Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport. The Border Health Services-Pakistan (BHS-P) initially set this requirement for Haj and Umrah pilgrims on September 7, but extended the deadline until 10 AM on September 25, 2026 to include all travelers covered by the mandate. Required vaccinations include polio, meningitis, yellow fever, and influenza. This new policy aims to enhance public health measures for those traveling to Saudi Arabia from Karachi.
Written for “Karachi Saudi Travel Requirements” on 2026-09-14,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 9084 · logged 2026-09-14
Haj and Umrah pilgrims, work visa holders and those planning to stay in Saudi Arabia for more than six months will be required to carry a National Database and Registration Authority-linked vaccination certificate from Sept 25 onwards when travelling from Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, an official said.
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official → plan → Airport
The development came as Border Health Services-Pakistan (BHS-P) extended the deadline for the application of the requirement — which initially applied only to Haj and Umrah pilgrims — from Sept 14 to 10am on Sept 25.
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which → come → Sept
The requirement was initially announced by the BHS-P in a notice issued on September 7 and covered pre-departure vaccinations against polio, meningitis, yellow fever and influenza.
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requirement → announce → polio
On Monday, the BHS-P informed the chief operating officer at the Karachi airport of the deadline’s extension in a new notice.
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P → inform → notice
The notice, seen by Dawn, stated: “In the interest of the public and on the request of our sister agencies, the implementation deadline for the vaccination requirement at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi has been extended till Sept 25, 2026 at (sic) 10am.”
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deadline → see → am
It added that “influenza, meningitis and polio vaccines are mandatory for Umrah pilgrims, work visa [holders] and those staying for more than six months in KSA”.
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vaccines → add → KSA
When Dawn contacted BHS-P’s International Health Regulation Focal Person Dr Syed Ghulam Murtaza Shah for further clarity on this, he said that requirement to carry a Nadra-linked vaccination certificate would also apply to workers and those intending to stay in Saudi Arabia for more than six months.
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requirement → contact → months
He added that the initiative would be extended to more airports in the future.
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initiative → add → future
Earlier, in its initial notice, the BHS-P’s said that all airlines were requested to “strictly inform their travel agents that from now on, only proof of vaccination linked to Nadra will be acceptable for travel”.
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proof → say → travel
It further stated that the BHS-P also requested station managers of all airlines to inform travel agents that Umrah pilgrims must obtain a “digital vaccine card linked to Nadra from an authorised vaccination centre” before their departure.
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pilgrims → state → departure
Vaccination and online registration facilities would also be available at the airport in the next few days so passengers must reach six hours before their flight if they require vaccination at the airport, it said, adding that the vaccination fee would be paid through Nadra’s e-Sahulat platform.
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fee → reach → platform
