WHO keeps polio travel rules on Pakistan 3 more months: what flyers need now

The World Health Organization has kept Pakistan under its polio travel rules for another three months, and it has named Karachi as one of the main places where the virus is still spreading. For anyone flying out of Pakistan, the practical rule has not changed: you need a polio dose recorded on a yellow vaccination card before you travel.

What WHO decided

WHO has retained the conditional international travel restrictions on Pakistan for three more months, according to reports on 27 September 2026. The restrictions are the temporary recommendations issued under the International Health Regulations, which Pakistan has been under since 2014 because wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) still circulates here and in Afghanistan.

The review singled out three areas for targeted campaigns:

• Karachi, described as a major stronghold of the virus
• Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
• The Quetta block

It also noted that about 250,000 children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have missed the vaccine because of security problems.

The rule for travellers, in plain terms

WHO's standing recommendation for Pakistan, repeated in the Polio IHR Emergency Committee's March 2026 statement, is:

1. Residents and long-term visitors (in Pakistan for more than four weeks), of all ages, should receive a dose of oral polio vaccine (bOPV) or injectable polio vaccine (IPV) between four weeks and 12 months before international travel.
2. Urgent travel within four weeks: if you have not had a dose in the last four weeks to 12 months, you should get one at least by the time you depart.
3. Proof: the dose is recorded on an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP), the yellow card.

In practice, airlines and FIA immigration counters check the polio certificate for outbound passengers, and Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states and many others expect it. A dose taken more than 12 months ago does not count; a dose taken within the last four weeks counts only if your travel is urgent.

What to do before you fly

• Check the date on your card. If your last recorded dose is older than 12 months, get a new one.
• Plan four weeks ahead if you can. That keeps you inside the normal window rather than the urgent-travel exception.
• Get it recorded on the ICVP. Government vaccination centres, district health offices and the polio counters at major airports issue the certificate. Keep the original with your passport.
• Children count too. The rule covers all ages, so infants and children on the same trip need their own entry.
• Umrah and work visas: Saudi-bound travellers should carry the card with their other papers. NADRA's Pak ID app now verifies Umrah vaccines (see Pak ID app 5.8.0), and if you still need a passport, work out the cost with the passport fee calculator.

Why Karachi matters

WHO's March statement noted that WPV1 kept turning up in Karachi's wastewater even where reported vaccination coverage was high, and that audits found gaps between reported and actual campaign quality. Pakistan reported 31 WPV1 cases in 2025, concentrated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh.

The national campaign that ran from 21 to 27 September targeted 31 million children across 115 districts. Parents in Karachi who missed a team can ask for the vaccine at the nearest government health facility.

What happens next

The restrictions stay in place for three months and will be reviewed again. They are not a travel ban: Pakistanis can travel, but the vaccination rule applies until WHO lifts Pakistan's status. That requires no wild poliovirus cases and no positive environmental samples for a sustained period.