Flying out of Pakistan soon? Then you need your NIMS vaccine certificate, and a hospital card or a handwritten slip won’t cut it anymore. Airlines are now checking for a NADRA-verified certificate before they hand you a boarding pass.
The good news: you can get it yourself from NADRA’s National Immunization Management System (NIMS) website in about five minutes, for Rs100. Here’s exactly how.
1. Why You Suddenly Need It
In September 2026, health officials announced that outbound passengers must carry a NADRA vaccination certificate. It started at Karachi airport and is being rolled out to Peshawar, Islamabad and Lahore.
- Who: International travellers, starting with Umrah and Hajj pilgrims.
- Which vaccines: Polio, meningitis, influenza and yellow fever, depending on where you’re going.
- What’s not accepted: Private clinic or hospital cards, at least in Karachi.
Start dates have moved more than once in news reports, so check with your airline a few days before you fly.
2. How to Download Your NIMS Vaccine Certificate (Covid)
Keep your CNIC and phone next to you, then:
- Open nims.nadra.gov.pk and click the Covid certificate option.
- Enter your 13-digit CNIC without dashes.
- Enter your CNIC issue date exactly as printed on the front of the card. It’s not your date of birth, and this is where most people go wrong.
- Add your mobile number and pick your network.
- Type the captcha and continue.
- Pay the Rs100 fee.
- Download the PDF. It has a QR code that airport staff can scan.
Vaccinated on your passport? Foreign nationals, and Pakistanis whose dose was recorded against a passport, use the passport form on NIMS instead. Overseas Pakistanis with a NICOP use the CNIC route.
3. Polio, Meningitis and Other Vaccines
For anything other than Covid, use the other vaccines option on the same NIMS site. The steps are the same: CNIC, issue date, mobile number, captcha. Then pick the vaccine from the list.
- The catch: The vaccine has to be recorded in NADRA’s system first. If the centre that vaccinated you didn’t enter it, NIMS won’t find it.
- Umrah and Hajj: Get your meningitis and influenza shots at an authorised centre such as the Federal Government Civil Dispensary, so they’re logged properly.
- Cost: The certificate is Rs100 per download. The vaccines themselves can cost more, and some Karachi agents reportedly charge far above the official rates, so always keep your receipt.
4. Paying the Fee
You can pay by debit or credit card on the site, or at an e-Sahulat franchise. Some guides also mention JazzCash and Easypaisa, but use whatever the payment page actually shows you. Don’t pay anyone on WhatsApp who promises to “get it done fast.”
5. Common Errors and Quick Fixes
- “403 Access Denied”: NADRA’s firewall often blocks VPNs and office Wi-Fi. Switch to mobile data or another browser.
- “Record not found”: Double-check the CNIC issue date. If you renewed your card, try the old details.
- Wrong name or passport number: Use the “Correction in vaccination record” option on NIMS. A human reviews it, so file the moment you book a flight, not the night before.
- Site down: Your record is safe. Any NADRA Registration Centre can print the same certificate for the same fee.
Bottom Line
Getting a NIMS vaccine certificate is easy and cheap. Leaving it to the airport is not. Download it a few days before you travel, save the PDF on your phone, email a copy to yourself and carry a printout. If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, reports say you’ll need to reach the airport at least six hours early to get it done at the health counter. Nobody wants to start a trip like that.
Did NIMS work first time for you, or did it throw an error? Let me know in the comments!
Sources
- NADRA NIMS: Immunization certificate portal
- Pakera: Covid vaccine certificate on NIMS (steps, fees, errors)
- FactFile: How to make a NADRA vaccination certificate online
- Samaa: NADRA vaccination certificate made mandatory for overseas travel
- Geo News: NADRA certificates mandatory for Umrah pilgrims
- Wego: NADRA vaccination certificate 2026, what you need before you fly
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