Pakistan

The standard online route for tourism, family visits and short cultural and trekking trips, filed through the official NADRA portal before travel. Documentation: passport scan with at least six months' validity beyond the planned stay, recent passport-style photograph, return or onward ticket, hotel booking or sponsor's address, the visa fee (checked on the portal, as it varies by nationality), and for some nationalities a tour-operator letter. The approval is delivered as a printable e-Visa to be presented at the airport.

Open to citizens of around fifty approved countries — the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, all EU and EEA states, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, the Gulf states and others — at Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Peshawar international airports. Travellers apply online through the NADRA portal before flying, receive the electronic VOA approval, present it together with passport (valid at least six months beyond the planned stay), return ticket and accommodation evidence at immigration on arrival, and pay the fee on arrival. The eligibility list is published by the Pakistani Ministry of Interior and is reviewed periodically.

For business meetings, conferences, contract negotiations and short professional assignments, filed through the NADRA portal with the standard tourist documentation plus a letter of invitation from the Pakistani host company on company letterhead. Multiple-entry options up to one year are available against a stronger documentary base. Pakistan's business-visa profile concentrates around Karachi (textile and chemical industries, port and shipping, banking), Lahore (industrial corridor, IT, pharma), Islamabad–Rawalpindi (telecoms, government contracts, energy) and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure projects.

Pakistan operates dedicated religious-visa categories for Sikh and Hindu pilgrims to the major shrines on its territory — Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur (the burial place of Guru Nanak, accessible directly from India via the Kartarpur Corridor since 2019), Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib (Guru Nanak's birthplace), Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal, the Hinglaj Mata Hindu shrine in Balochistan and the Katas Raj Hindu temple complex. The visa is filed through the Pakistani diplomatic mission of residence with an invitation letter from the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) which manages the shrines. Applications are typically aligned with the major pilgrimage dates (Baisakhi April, Guru Nanak Gurpurab November, Hinglaj Mata Yatra April).

Standard route for skilled-professional employment in Pakistan. The Pakistani employer files the work-visa application with the Board of Investment (BOI), which co-ordinates with the Ministry of Interior; the employee then applies at the Pakistani embassy of residence with passport, qualifications, BOI-approved offer letter, education and experience certificates, police clearance, medical certificate, photographs and the visa fee. Concentrated employer demand in oil and gas, telecoms, power and CPEC infrastructure (Karachi, Lahore, Gwadar, Islamabad–Rawalpindi), in international development NGOs, and in pharmaceutical and IT sectors. Spouses and children may follow on a dependent visa.

For full-time studies at universities and institutions registered with the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan — the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Islamabad, Aga Khan University in Karachi, Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, the University of the Punjab in Lahore, the Karakoram International University in Gilgit and others. The institution issues the admission letter; the student applies at the Pakistani embassy of residence with passport, admission letter, evidence of fee payment, financial means, photographs and the visa fee. Spouses and minor children may follow on a dependent visa.