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Visa Section |
| Visa Policy |
| ENTRY BUSINESS VISA BY MISSIONS FOR BUSINESSMEN |
To facilitate travel to and staying in Pakistan for foreign businesspersons and investors, business visa policies have been considerably relaxed. Missions abroad are authorized to grant five years validity (Multiple) visa within 24 hours to businessmen of 66 countries of Business Visa List (BVL), with the duration of each stay would be restricted for three months, on production of any of the following documents: |
- Recommendation letter from Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CC&I) of the respective country of the applicant.
- Invitation letter from business organization duly recommended by the concerned Trade Organization/Association, in Pakistan.
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Recommendatory letter by Honorary Investment Counsellors of BOI.
- Recommendatory letter from Pakistani Commercial Attaché posted in Pakistan High Commissions / Embassies / Consulates General abroad.
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| BUSINESS VISA LIST (BVL) |
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| 1 |
Argentina |
11 |
Chile |
21 |
Greece |
31 |
Kuwait |
41 |
New Zealand |
51 |
Singapore |
61 |
Turkmenistan |
| 2 |
Australia |
12 |
China |
22 |
Hungary |
32 |
Latvia |
42 |
Norway |
52 |
Slovakia Republic |
62 |
U.K. |
| 3 |
Austria |
13 |
Cyprus |
23 |
Iceland |
33 |
Lithunia |
43 |
Oman |
53 |
Slovenia |
63 |
U.S.A |
| 4 |
Azerbaijan |
14 |
Czech Republic |
24 |
Indonesia |
34 |
Luxembourg |
44 |
Philippine |
54 |
South Africa |
64 |
U.A.E |
| 5 |
Bahrain |
15 |
Denmark |
25 |
Iran |
35 |
Malaysia |
45 |
Poland |
55 |
South Korea |
65 |
Ukraine |
| 6 |
Belgium |
16 |
Egypt |
26 |
Ireland |
36 |
Malta |
46 |
Portugal |
56 |
Spain |
66 |
Vietnam |
| 7 |
Bosnia |
17 |
Estonia |
27 |
Italy |
37 |
Mauritius |
47 |
Qatar |
57 |
Sweden |
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| 8 |
Brazil |
18 |
Finland |
28 |
Japan |
38 |
Mexico |
48 |
Romania |
58 |
Switzerland |
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| 9 |
Brunei |
19 |
France |
29 |
Jordan |
39 |
Morocco |
49 |
Russia |
59 |
Thailand |
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| 10 |
Canada |
20 |
Germany |
30 |
Kazakhstan |
40 |
Netherlands |
50 |
Saudi Arabia |
60 |
Turkey |
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| ENTRY VISA TO BUSINESSMEN OF REMAINING 123 COUNTRIES |
Missions abroad can grant one month validity and stay (Multiple) entry visa to the businessmen of remaining 123 countries (except countries not recognized by Pakistan) subject to the production of afore-mentioned requisite documents. Such applicants can apply from their own country or place of legal residence to our Ambassador/High Commissioner/Head of Mission. |
| VISA ON ARRIVAL (VOA) TO BUSINESSMEN OF 66 COUNTRIES |
Visa On Arrival for 30 days validity and stay will be given to the businessmen of 66 countries of Business Visa List (BVL) mentioned above on production of any of the documents as for entry business visa by Missions for businessmen (please see above). |
| Click For VISA FEE BEING CHARGED BY FOREIGN MISSIONS IN ISLAMABAD FROM PAKISTANIS |
| ENHANCEMENTS IN THE NEW POLICY |
| Work Visa Procedures |
Work visas will be granted to
foreign technical and managerial personnel for the purpose of
transferring skills and know-how.
A Committee under the Chairmanship of the Secretary
of BOI periodically considers and decides the cases of granting
or extending work visas to foreign personnel. Companies requiring
employment of foreign nationals or extension in their visa should
submit the request on the prescribed application form (Annex-II)
to the Board of Investment (IF Wing) Islamabad. The prescribed
form can be obtained from the offices of the Board of Investment
Islamabad, Karachi and also from the web-site of BOI (www.pakboi.gov.pk).
The entry Work Visas will be issued by BOI directly to Pak-Mission
abroad on the receipt of application alongwith the confirmation
/ guarantee of the credentials of the expatriates by the company.
However the extension / conversion of business visas into Work
visas will be authorized and issued by the Ministry of Interior
on the basis of the decision of the Committee.
The work visa may be issued for a period up to
2 years with multiple entries by Pak Missions Abroad on the recommendation
of BOI or for the life of the applicant's passport, which one
is earlier. Whereas extension in work visa will be endorsed by
the Regional Passport Office of the city where the expatriate
is working after the recommendation of BOI upon authorization
by the Ministry of Interior.
The extension / conversion of business visa into
work visa applications will be processed expeditiously by BOI
within 4 weeks. Extension of three months provisional work visa,
on application, recommended by BOI would be endorsed directly
by Regional Passport Offices (RPOs) instead of Ministry of Interior.
In case of multiple entry visas, the number of entries will not
be restricted.
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| IMPOSITION OF ‘OVERSTAY SURCHARGE' ON FOREIGNERS |
| (a) All Foreign Nationals |
Period of Overstay |
Overstay Surcharge |
up to 2 weeks |
- |
above 2 weeks to 1 month |
US $ 20/- |
above 1 month to 3 months |
US $ 50/- |
above 3 months to 1 year |
US $ 100/- |
| Note: |
- All powers of externment etc. available with MOI will apply in addition to the above surcharge.
- No surcharge shall be payable in case of holders of diplomatic passports.
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| (b) Foreigners of Pak Origin |
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Period of Overstay |
Overstay Surcharge |
Up to one month |
- |
above 1 month to 6 months |
US $ 10/- |
above 6 months to 1 year |
US $ 20/- |
Beyond 1 year |
US $ 40/- per year |
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| Note: |
- All powers of externment etc. available with MOI will apply in addition to the above surcharge.
- No surcharge shall be payable in case of children up to 12 years of age.
- 50% surcharge shall be payable in case of children up to 18 years of age.
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| Rs. 20/- per day shall be charged for any period of overstay. |
| The above schedule of surcharge shall be effective after one month of amnesty from the date of publication of this notice. During amnesty period, visa extension will be allowed on payment of normal visa fee and thereafter all extensions in visa will be subject to payment of surcharge as per above schedule. |
| Conversion of Business Visa |
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Conversion of Business Visa into Work Visa and vice versa has been allowed on payment of conversion fee of $100/. |
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Multiple entry resident visas for up to 3 years will be issued to businesspersons of all countries, except those not recognized by Pakistan, who bring in an amount of US$ 200,000. |
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| Registration of Foreigners with the Police |
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It has been decided to exempt all foreigners who have been issued work visas from registration with the police, except for nationals of countries on the negative list. |
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Even in the case of countries on the negative list (except for Indians and foreigners of Indian origin), foreign nationals in the managerial category who are issued work permits/visas will also be exempted from police registration. |
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| Indian working in World Bank /ABD/IMF/UN Agencies and Multinational Companies |
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Indian passport holders working in World Bank/ADB/IMF/UN Agencies and Multinational Companies would be facilitated visa by the respective Pakistan 's Ambassador after clearing with Link Offices. |
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| Opening of Project / Branch / Liaison Offices |
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For companies that wish to open their branch / liaison or representative offices in Pakistan may apply to BOI for permission on prescribed form. The BOI will process and decide such cases within a period of 6 to 8 weeks. |
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Details on the required documentation, etc. are available at all offices of the BOI. A specimen of the application for permission to establish branch/liaison offices by foreign companies is presented in Annex-XXI. |
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Permission for opening of branch/liaison offices will be granted by the BOI for a period of 3 to 5 years. Further extensions will be granted by the BOI after reviewing and examining the past performance of foreign companies. Requests for renewal or extension will be processed by the BOI within two weeks provided the requests are supported with complete documentation. |
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| Opening of Liaison Offices of Foreign Firms |
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Foreign companies that intend to undertake export activities Pakistan will be registered without families |
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Permission to companies engaged in contractual obligation of contracts will be granted on production of valid documents with circulating to government departments |
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the activities of the foreign airline companies, Pakistani General Sales Agents and Courier Companies do not come under the industrial category and therefore, in order to monitor their operations the government may continue to grant permission for their liaison office in consultation with the concerned agencies |
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Permission for opening a liaison office will be granted by BOI in consultation with the concerned agencies. A specimen of application form for permission for Pakistani firms to work as agent for Foreign Firms is presented in Annex-XX.
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| GRANT OF PAKISTAN CITIZENSHIP TO FOREIGN NATIONALS (INVESTORS) |
| Any person of a country recognised by Pakistan may obtain Pakistani Citizenship by investing a minimum of US$ 0.75 million in tangible assets and $ 0.25 million (or equivalent in major foreign currency) in cash on a non-repatriable basis and by fulfilling the conditions of the Pakistan Citizenship Law. Investment on a non-repatriable basis means that the amount is brought to Pakistan through normal banking channels, converted into rupees, and never remitted back through the free market. |
