Do you need a Visa? If you are the citizen of one of the countries with which Pakistan has Visa Abolision Agreement and you hold a Diplomatic Passport or Official/Service Passport, you may not need a visa. To see the List of countries elegible for Visa Free Entry into Pakistan, Click Here In case you need a Visa, keep continue reading the following.
How to apply for Pakistan Tourist/Visit visa?
If you want to go to Pakistan for Tourism or for a visit to see or meet family and friend, you can apply for Tourist/Visit visa category. Citizens of several countries can apply for Tourist/visit visa. Click here to see the list of eligible countries for Tourist/Visit visas.
There are two Types of visa applications:
- Entry visa or new visa application – Apply Now
- Extension (Extension of stay in Pakistan)
Entry Visa or New visa application: if you are out of Pakistan and want to enter into Pakistan and do not have a valid visa, you must apply for Entry Visa. Never apply for extension if you are abroad!
Citizen of Certain countries are elgible to apply for Tourist/visit Visa. Click Here to see the list of elgible countries for Tourist/visit Visa.
Important Note: Some people make mistakes if they had visa, which is either expired or used; they apply for extension of visa which is absolutely wrong.
Always apply for Entry visa from abroad (out of Pakistan).
Extension of Visa: If you have entered into Pakistan on a valid visa and want to extend your duration of stay and you are still in Pakistan then you must apply for extension of stay atleast 15 days before the expiry of your visa online. Apply for Extension Now.
Note: Citizens of certain countries are eligible to apply for visa on Arrival. Click here to see the list of the eligible countries
Visa on Arrival or Visa Inbox is the same category.
Important Note: If a person travelling urgently in emergency then always apply for Entry Visa and not for visa on arrival because visa on arrival is processed in the Ministry of Interior Islamabad Pakistan while entry visa is processed by the concerned Pakistan Diplomatic Mission/Embassy/High Commission/Consulate in the country where the applicant is legaly residing.
Documents Required for Tourist/visit Visa:
Pakistan National or Pakistani Origin
Requirements of Documents for Tourist or Visit Visa for Dual national of Pakistani-Sweden-Finland etc. or Pakistan Origin.
Pakistan Origin (Pakistan origin are those who born in Pakistan or one of their parents or grandparents born in Pakistan). Afghan or Foreign national born in Pakistan to Afghan or foreign nationls parents are not Pakistani origin. Required documents are as follow:-
- Copy of Passport: Clear and colour Copy of first page of Swedish or Finnish or other Foreign Country Passport having applicant Bio-data and picture;
- Photograph: Applicant colour and recent photograph not older than 6 months and does match with passport picture as per specification given on NADRA website. In case you uploaded older picture or the picture does not match with your passport photograph may be rejected. Picture once uploaded on the Photograph Section cannot be changed later on.
- Personbevis/Familybevis/Extract from Population System of Finland: Applicant from Sweden should upload Personbevis preferably in English language (Familybevis for children below the age of 18 years along with NOC ); and applicant from Finland should upload Extract from the Population System of Finland; applicant from other countries should provide either birth certificate in English or check the requirements with the concerned Embassy/High Commission/Consulate of Pakistan where the applicant wants to submit his/her application. Alternately instead of birth certificate, if the applicant has old or expired Pakistani passport or NICOP or POC that can also be uploaded instead of birth certificate. Keep in mind, copy of Pakistani passport first page having picture and bio-data of the applicant should be uploaded even if is is expired.
- Copy of Pakistani Passport or CNIC or NICOP or Birth certificate: Some applicants have dual nationality of Pakistan – Sweden or Finland or other countries with which Pakistan has dual nationality arrangements/agreements. In such case, if the applicant has a valid National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistani (NICOP) and has either Swedish or Finnish or any other Foreign Country valid passport can travel without visa. However, keep in mind that NICOP must be valid and the applicant should be citizen of the country which has dual nationality agreement with Pakistan. (Important Note: NICOP is always in English Language and must have on the backside these Remarks: The Name of the person is entitled visa free entry into Pakistan. It is totally different from the Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) which does not allow visa free entry into Pakistan to its holder. So applicant can only travel with valid NICOP and not with CNIC. Some people get confused to make distinction between NICOP and CNIC. Moreover, if someone has a valid Pakistani passport along with foreign passport, then he/she can travel with valid Pakistani passport without Visa.
Currently, Pakistan has dual nationality arrangements with these Countries.
However, it is the discretion of the Visa /Consular Officer to ask for further documents.
Foreign Nationals
Requirements of Documents for Tourist or Visit Visa for Foreign Nationals:
- Copy of Passport: Clear and colour Copy of first page of Swedish or Finnish or other Foreign Country Passport having applicant Bio-data and picture;
- Photograph: Applicant colour and recent photograph not older than 6 months and does match with passport photograph as per specification given on NADRA website. In case you uploaded older picture or the picture does not match with your passport photograph may be rejected. Picture once uploaded on the Photograph Section cannot be changed later on.
- Personbevis/Familybevis/Extract from Population System of Finland: Applicant from Sweden should upload Personbevis preferably in English (Familybevis for children below the age of 18 years along with NOC); and applicant from Finland should upload Extract from the Population System of Finland; applicant from other countries should provide either birth certificate in English or check with the concerned Embassy/High Commission/Consulate of Pakistan where the applicant wants to submit his/her application.
- Invitation or Sponsorship Letter: An invitation letter from family friends or family member duly signed by the sponsor along with his/her clear and colour copy of Pakistani Identity Card or Passport; Or if someone go just for purely tourism then Hotel Booking plus sponsor letter from the Authorized Tourist Operators in Pakistan. Click Here to see the list of Tourist operators in Pakistan.
- However, it is the discretion of the Visa /Consular Officer to ask for further documents.
Afghan National / Afghan Origin
Requirements of Documents for Tourist or Visit Visa for Afghan National or Afghan Origin:
Afghan origin are those who born in Afghanistan or one of their parents born in Afghanistan irrespective of the passport they have.
- Copy of Passport: Clear and colour Copy of first page of Swedish or Finnish or other Foreign Country Passport having applicant Bio-data and picture;
- Photograph: Applicant colour and recent photograph not older than 6 months and does match with passport picture as per specification given on NADRA website. In case you uploaded older picture or the picture does not match with your passport picture may be rejected. Picture once uploaded on the Photograph Section cannot be changed later on.
- Personbevis/Familybevis/Extract from Population System of Finland: Applicant from Sweden should upload Personbevis preferably in English (Familjbevis for children below the age of 18 years along with NOC); and applicant from Finland should upload Extract from the Population System of Finland; applicant from other countries should provide either birth certificate in English or check with the concerned Embassy/High Commission/Consulate of Pakistan where the applicant wants to submit his/her application. If the applicant has an Afghan Passort, he should also upload clear and colour copy of Swedish/Finnish resident card.
- Invitation or Sponsorship Letter: An invitation letter from family friends or family member duly signed by the sponsor along with his/her clear and colour copy of Pakistani Identity Card or Passport including contact phone number in Pakistan. The invitation letter must be typed on a Stamp Paper not less than Pak Rs. 100 and must be attested by the Notary Public. Click Here to see the specimen of Invitation letter for Afghan National and Afghan Origin. The invitation letter must have date and signature of the sponsor alongwith clear and colour copy of both sides of the sponsor and should not be older than 3 months. If there are more than one applicant, just one invitation for all will be sufficient, Click Here to see the Specimen. No a days, there are E-Stamp instead of Stamp Paper which can also be acceptable. Click Here to see the specimen of E-Stamp.
Or, if someone go just for purely tourism then Hotel Booking plus sponsor letter from the Authorized Tourist Operators in Pakistan. Click Here to see the list of Tourist operators in Pakistan.
Or, If the applicant spouse (wife or husband) is Pakistani, then clear and colour copy of Pakistani spouse ID card or Passport. For instance, if the wife of an Afghan national is Pakistani, then he must upload clear and colour copy of his wife Pakistani CNIC/ID card or Pakistani passport which must have his name as a husband on her Pakistani ID card or Passport. Similarly, if the husband is Pakistani and the wife is Afghan national or origin, then the applicant should provide a duly attested marriage certificate from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan or Family Registration Certificate (FRC) from NADRA. Click here for FRC. If the applicant cannot provide any of the above documents, then he or she should provide a proper invitation letter from the spouse as mentioned in sub para (4) above.
- However, it is the discretion of the Visa /Consular Officer to ask for further documents.
- If any document of the applicant was found fake or forge, it may not only lead to rejection of the visa application but may also lead to blacklisting of the applicant for future visa by government of Pakistan.
- Currently, no visa is issued on Travel Document (Resedokument) and Alien Passport (Framlingspass) as a policy of Government of Pakistan.
- Visa process of Afghan national and Afghan origin take a bit longer time due to administrative process. Thus make sure that you always apply minimum 40 to 60 days before your plan trip or visit to Pakistan.
Do Not Make following Mistakes:
- Never write category of Passport Official or Diplomatic if you are a common person and does not hold Diplomatic or Official/Service or UNLP Passports. Because all common people who are doing private jobs or businesses hold Ordinary Passports. So always Select Ordinary Passport Category. All the United National permanent employees have UNLP.
- Never upload old picture which does not match with your passport photograph or older than 6 months.
- Never upload pictures or copies of passports of other applicants or children even if they are travelling with you, only required documents of the applicant should be uploaded. If you are accompanied by other people of the family or children, each person must apply separately irrespective of the age (each applicant of age 01 month above must apply separately online). However, you can write the names of the family members or children in the application travelling with you.
- Never upload irrelevant documents like driving license etc and documents other than English or Urdu languages.
- Never upload illegible and blurred documents which cannot be read by the Consular / Visa Officer.
- Never provide wrong contact phone number so always check your contact phone number carefully before submitting your application.
- Never select country and place of interview other than the country of your citizenship or legal residency. Most of the Afghan nationals make frequenlty this mistake and they select country of interview as Afghanistan while living in Sweden or Finland or abroad. So always select country of interview only that country where you are currently legally residing. For example you are an Afghan national and living in Sweden, you must select country of Interview Sweden and Stockholm. Keep in mind that whichever country of Interview you select, your application is processed by the Embassy/High Commission/Consulate of that country or City.
Important Note: If you make any of the above mistakes (1 to 7), it cannot be corrected later on. Thus your visa application will either be rejected or canceled. In case you make one of the above mistakes, then always ask by email or by phone the concerned Embassy or NADRA to cancel your visa application. If your visa application is rejected, it will be recorded in your history and may not be favorable for your future visa application.
How to upload documents on Pakistan Online Visa Service (POVS) Portal:
Always upload the required documents under the correct category/Option:
- Upload Passport to the option of Passport. If the validity of your passport has been extended, then upload both first page and the endorsement page of extension under the Passport Category, you can do that twice under the Passport option;
- Photograph under the Photograph
- Relevant documents should be uploaded to the relevant option. When you click on drop down option, you will see different options for different category of visas.
- Rest of the supporting documents should be upload to the option of Other
- Under the option of (Other) you can upload up to maximum of 20 documents. Avoid upload irrelevant documents.
- Do not send supporting documents by email, you must upload all the required and supporting documents to online Visa portal of NADRA with your application.
Currently Visa on Travel Document and Alien Passport is not issued by the Government of Pakistan as a matter of Policy so do not apply if you holds Travel Document/Alien Passport.
Note: Grant of visa is the sole discretion of the Government of Pakistan and can be denied/refused without assigning any reason. Visa cannot be claimed as a right.
To Verify your Visa Grant Notice Click Here
Afghan and Indian nationals should not apply for the Visa on Arrival or Visa Inbox as there is separate procedure for them. If an afghan or Indian origin person have a passport of another third country still there is different procedure for them. For instance, if a person born in Afghanistan and now has Swedish, Finnish, UK or USA passport, the procedure for such person is similar as that of Afghan national.
Afghan origin mean, a person born in Afghanistan or one of his/her parents born in Afghanistan irrespective of the passport he/she holds.
Important Note:
Pakistan Online Visa System (POVS) does not accept Travel Document and Alien Passport as per present policy of the Government of Pakistan. Therefore, never apply for Pakistan online visa if you are holding Travel document or Alien Passport.
If you need Professional Help and Support for online visa application Click Here
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Question 1. I had a single entry visa and visited once to Pakistan and came back to Sweden. My visa is still valid, can I use the same visa again?
Answer 1. No, you need to apply for a new Entry Visa, because Single Entry visa can be used once only and cannot be used again even if it is still valid. When you enter into Pakistan and exit, the single entry visa is expired and cannot re-enter on the same visa even if it is still valid.
However, if you have a Multiple Entry visa and it is still valid then you can travel on the same visa as many times as you can till its validity.
Question 2. My children are also going with me, should apply for them on one online application?
Answer 2. No, You must apply for each person online separately irrespective of the age even if the child is one day old. Moreover, never upload irrlevant documents to online visa portal and the children pictures and passports even if they travel with you. Each person must apply seperately online.
However, for children below the age of 18 years, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) is required to be uploaded. Click Here for Children NOC.
Question 3. I am Swedish Citizen but born in Afghanistan, do I need invitation letter and how long will the visa process take?
Answer 3. If you are Afghan origin (Afghan origin mean if you born in Afghanistan or one of your parents is Afghan national or born in Afghanistan, you are Afghan origin), then you need a proper invitation letter from a family member or friend in Pakistan which should be duly attested by Notary Public and having attached the clear and colour copy of your sponsor Pakistani ID card. Your visa process will take the same time prescribed by the government of Pakistan as that of Afghan national even if you have Swedish or Finnish or UK or USA passport.
Question 4. I applied for visa from 1 July, 2022, but my visa has been issued from 1 May, 2022 for 45 days stay, while I will come back by 14 August, 2022. So by that time, my visa will be expired, how will I come back?
Answer 4. Many people are confused to understand the validity of visa and duration of its stay. No matter if your visa is issued starting from 1st May, 2022 and valid upto 01 August, 2022. The duration of validity mean that you can travel within the validity of the visa, while the duration of stay will start from the date of entry into Pakistan and not from date of issue of your visa. In this example, if you enter into Pakistan on 1st July, 2022 so the duration of your 45 days will start from 1st July, 2022 and can stay 15 August, 2022. So in this case you do not need any extension of visa.
Question 5. I have been granted 30 days stay visa for Pakistan. However, I would like to stay for 60 days, how can extend my visa?
Answer 5. You can apply online for exention of visa atleast 15 days before the expiry of your stay while in Pakistan. The procedure is the same as you did online for your entry visa.
The only distinction is to carefully Select the option of Exention instead of Entry. So just Select Extension while applying online for extension of visa. How to apply for visa, Click Here.
Question 6: How can I apply for online Pakistan Visa?
If you want to see Frequently Asked Questions, Click Here
If you need Professional Help and Support for online visa application Click Here