Pakistan e-Visa (Pakistan Online Visa System)

Under a Government of Pakistan instruction in force since 1 January 2021, all visa applications go through the Pakistan Online Visa System, and since 1 February 2021 Pakistani missions no longer accept paper applications. The system covers entry visas and in-country extensions in every category, Exit Permits for foreigners whose visa has expired, and Electronic Travel Authorizations for the visa-on-arrival categories.

It is open to nationals of 192 countries. Citizens of the six GCC states are not required to apply. The FAQ adds that applicants are expected to apply from their country of nationality and may be invited to an interview at the Pakistani mission in that country.

Payment is built into the application and accepts Visa and Mastercard. The fee calculator on the portal returns the amount for your category, entries and country of application; amounts vary between countries, so check it before you apply. Mountaineering visas carry an additional royalty fee paid in Pakistan after the visa is granted.

The portal describes three stages: choose the right category and read its eligibility and documents; prepare complete scans, a photograph of up to 350 KB and a credit or debit card; then create an account, log in, complete the form, pay and submit. Application guides, a document-upload guide, a payment guide and a mobile application guide are published in the Help section.

You can hold only one application per passport at a time, but one account can file applications for several people. Details of accompanying travellers do not create visas for them. A Pakistani sponsor may need to confirm the application by facial biometric verification in the Pak ID app.

Processing times are set per category, for example 24 working hours for business visas for Business Visa List countries, 7–10 working days for tourist and family visit visas, two weeks for students and four weeks for work visas. When officials send an application back for review, you have seven days to resubmit or it is cancelled, and the processing time starts again from resubmission.

An approved visa produces a Visa Grant Notice. Applications under the visa-on-arrival categories produce an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) instead, which is not a visa: it lets you travel and request the visa at the visa-on-arrival counter of the Federal Investigation Agency. Both documents can be checked with the portal’s online verification tool, and the Digital Disembarkation Card is completed in the Pak ID app after the visa is granted.