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Pakistan visa

Applying for a visa to Pakistan isn’t the pain in the neck it used to be thanks to the arrival of online applications. Still a bit confusing though. Since 2025, the confusion centers mainly on the difference between a Tourist/Visit Visa and a Visa Prior to Arrival, and the possibilities for foreigners wishing to cross from Afghanistan.

The website cannot be used on a mobile device, but there is an app. The website is blocked in India, but accessible through a VPN.

Tourist Visa or Visa Prior to Arrival?

In 2025, it seems you don’t have much of a choice anymore. Most nationalities can only get the visa prior to arrival, which is the online approval to get a visa on arrival once you land or cross the border in Pakistan.

Those who cannot get the visa on/prior to arrival constitute some 60 nationalities – they need to apply online for the tourist/visit visa.

Let’s look at the differences between both visas, tips and tricks as well as your options in case you want something else.

Visa-free

Citizens from Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE can enter visa-free for 90 days, Nepal for 30 days.

Visa on/prior to arrival

Nationals of 120 countries can make use of the visa prior to arrival. The “Visa Prior To Arrival” is not an actual visa yet. It’s an approval for a visa on arrival. You cannot simply turn up at the airport to get a visa on arrival, you need to apply online first for the visa prior to arrival.

The actual visa will be given to you on your arrival, when you show you are approved with the VPA. The VPA used to be called Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).

The application process is fast: approval should be in your inbox within 24 hours after application.

A Pakistan visa on arrival forum thread collects reports and questions on the process.

Price and validity

It’s free. Validity of the VPA is 90 days. The actual visa you get once you arrive gives you 30 or 90 days in the country – not sure atm? It can easily be extended online (see below).

Refusals are rare. You should get it, unless you are Indian, or, you know, an apostate! Just in case, we are tracking refusal reports in this forum thread.

Entry points

You can enter and leave overland, by sea or by air at all the main crossings. The entry/exit points are not specified on the e-visa. Taftan and Wagah are ok, but Torkham is under question. On the website it says: entry / exit is not allowed through Chamman and Torkham land routes for foreigners holding Visa Prior to Arrival, but people have been going through anyway.

Please follow up on the latest news and/or inform us in the Pakistan VPA forum thread or the Torkham border crossing thread.

Tourist / visit visa

If you cannot use the visa on arrival it means you are probably part of the nationalities who need to apply online for the tourist/visit visa.

A lot of good reports have already been posted in the Pakistan e-visa Q&A, and you are welcome to add yours. Here is what we found out so far.

Do you still need hotel bookings or a letter of invitation? Seems like not but you never know.

Price and visa validity

Price: depends on duration, number of entries and the country you are from. Typically around 50$.

Processing time: this varies wildly – see “how long does it take?” chapter below.

Visa validity: we have had reports of 1, 2, 3 and 6 months.

Time allowed inside the country: 30 days is standard, but 60 days is definitely possible. More probably too.

We do not know if your stay in the country needs to fall completely within the visa validity window.

How long does it take?

We have seen people getting it in a matter of hours or a few days, while others waited patiently for 45 days before finally getting it.

We advise you to start the process early enough.

What if I don’t get a reply?

Waited for several weeks, still no reply? You can try

  • the telephone numbers and e-mail addresses listed on the e-visa site
  • asking your local embassy to move things along
  • going to the border to get it sorted on the spot

All 3 tactics have worked in the past, but we cannot recommend one over the other.

Application through an agent

If you’d rather have an agent apply for the Pakistani e-visa for you, we recommend Ivisa for the best service.

Visa extensions and overstaying

We have a forum thread for reports and questions on e-visa extensions and overstays. It should be easy and cheap.

Our old info says overstaying your visa in Pakistan for less than 2 weeks is free. After that, 50$ for 1 month and 200$ for 2 months according to one source. This is by now ancient info and you shouldn’t trust it. Instead, please help us out if you find out something new and post it in our forum thread on Pakistan visa overstays.

Issues

Israel and India travel history

Entry will be refused to travelers with an Israeli passport. Curb your genocide. Other nationalities’ passports containing Israeli stamps or visas are generally not problematic for entry, although the occasional edge case is not unheard of. The same goes for India: it’s ok to have an Indian visa and stamp in your passport.

Police registration

Only travelers from certain countries need to register with the police upon arrival. This list changes occasionally – see Wikipedia for the latest update.

NOC and restricted areas

In the past, a non-objection certificate or NOC was needed to visit popular tourist areas along the Karakorum Highway. This is no longer necessary. Updates are welcome in the NOC forum thread.

The only restricted areas for foreigners are now:

  • Pakistan-China border: 10 miles (not including the border crossing)
  • Pakistan-Afghan Border (Wakhan Corridor): 10 miles
  • Azad Jammu & Kashmir (along Line of Control): 5 miles
  • Gilgit-Baltistan (along Line of Control): 5 miles
  • Siachen Glacier (along Line of Actual Contact): 10 miles

Other visa options

Transit visa

Questions and reports are collected in the transit visa forum thread.

Letter of invitation (LOI)

A LOI is not required under the new Pakistan tourism policy since January 2025. However, in case you still need one, you can get in touch with our man in Pakistan through the form on this page.

Embassy visa and embassy reports

Everything is online these days. But might it still come in handy? Just leaving it here just in case.

Every embassy has its own rules. In the past, you always needed to apply at the Pakistan embassy in your home country or country of residence, unless your country was embassy-less – but you could mail in your passport.

The present? Please let us know in one of the threads below if you decided to go this route.

More Silk Road visas

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