ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will begin collecting the second installment of dues from government Hajj scheme pilgrims at midnight tonight, with applicants required to upload a certified medical fitness certificate before they can make the payment, the religious affairs ministry said.

The payment window for Hajj 2027 will remain open until Oct. 20 through the Pak Hajj mobile application and the government’s digital Hajj portal, part of an increasingly digitized system being used by Pakistan to manage applications and payments for one of the world’s largest national pilgrim contingents.

“Uploading a certified medical fitness certificate has been made mandatory before submitting the second installment,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony said in a statement.

Applicants will become eligible to make the payment only after uploading the certificate through the Pak Hajj App or Digital Hajj Portal, the ministry said.

The ministry warned that pilgrims who failed to deposit the second installment by Oct. 20 would have their Hajj applications automatically canceled, with funds already deposited refunded to their accounts.

It said the option for successful applicants to change their Hajj packages would also close ahead of the second payment phase.

Pakistan has moved much of its Hajj registration and payment process online as part of a broader effort to digitize pilgrimage management.

The government this year approved its first multi-year Hajj policy, covering 2027-2030, aimed at allowing earlier planning and longer-term arrangements for accommodation, transport and other services in Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan receives one of the world’s largest Hajj quotas, with pilgrims traveling to Saudi Arabia each year to perform the pilgrimage in and around the holy city of Makkah.