By: Fahad Khawaja & Misbah Waheed

Visiting Pakistan, Apply for your Tourist visa online in 30 minutes !

Pakistan, the land of Pure, extends along both sides of the historic Indus River, starting from the mountain valleys of the Himalayas down to the Arabian Sea. Bordering with India, China, Afghanistan and Iran, Pakistan is strategically located along the ancient trade routes between Asia and Europe. Pakistan’s territory includes a wide variety of landscapes, from arid deserts, lush green valleys to stark mountain peaks.If you are planning to visit Pakistan, this is the step by step guide to apply for Pakistan Visa online.

Starting last year, Pakistani embassies abroad have stopped issuing the physical visas and everyone needs to apply for visas online using the visa application portal. This is now more important to plan your visa application ahead of time to avoid any delays in your travel.

The Pakistani Government has recently started promoting tourism unlike before. Less visa restrictions, development of major tourist sites and the national emphasis on ‘Sustainable Tourism’ has got Pakistan to the forefront of tourism in 2020. Concorde Traveller’ a French travel magazine ranked Pakistan as the #1 Travel Destination in 2020. For a nation that has been through so much unrest since 2010, this brings about a new image to the ill reputation Pakistan held in global circles.

Pakistan Online Tourist Visa System is now open for the citizens of 175 Countries! Moreover, citizens from 50 Countries are eligible to apply for Visa On Arrival under Tourist Category and the citizens from 95 Countries are eligible to apply for Visa on Arrival under Business Category.

Pakistan’s new Visa policy has created a lot buzz but people may get inquisitive and question might come to mind that what actually an E-Visa is? Let us start explaining the difference between an E-visa and on-arrival Visa. Here is what you need to know.

What is an Electronic Visa or Pakistan E-Visa ?

An E-Visa is an official document issued online by the Immigration of a country that allows a foreigner to enter and travel.

It is an alternative to a paper/passport based visa issued by the embassy. Instead of applying for visa at the embassy, Pakistan has now launched an E-Visa program which enables you to apply for a visa online.

How E-Visa is different ?

E-Visa allows the management of the visa application process to take place entirely in a virtual environment. Everything is done with the help of the Internet: the visa application and supporting documents are submitted online, the payment is made online and the decision on the application is communicated online as well. 

How to get an E-Visa ?

To obtain an eVisa, applicants must submit relevant personal information and pay the required fee by credit card (MasterCard or Visa). The eVisa will be issued after the submitted information has been assessed and found to meet relevant criteria within 10 Business days.

Your application is approved, what next ?

When an eVisa application has been approved, the visa issuance system will send a notice to the applicant for a link to download and print the eVisa. You are required to present this eVisa at the immigration checkpoint for verification upon your arrival.

The Electronic Visa (e-Visa) has emerged as one of the most innovative services implemented in the area of freedom of movement and people-to-people contacts.

Turkey which is one of the most visited and toured country in the world had first adopted the eVisa services for its travelers to give them ease in reaching the country. 
Why? Simply because it saves time that you would otherwise spend on visa application.

So what is Pakistan visa On Arrival ?

On-arrival visa is issued when you travel to a country and a visa is stamped on the airport. Currently, Pakistan on-arrival visa is allowed for 50 nationals of following countries. Please submit your intent to travel at least 48-72 hours before your planned trip to Pakistan to receive an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA). You can travel and customize your trip to Pakistan if you receive a valid ETA in favor of your application.

Pakistan Visa Provision will benefit our country mainly, in three ways:

Firstly, it will promote tourism, ensuring the “Soft Image” of Pakistan, as Pakistan is a beautiful country with great cultural diversity and history, holding its great oldest civilizations within the borders.

Secondly, is to look the religious tourism and pilgrimages, as Pakistan has different holy sites. Like Sikh Religious places in Pakistan that are:

• Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Hasan-Abdal, Rawalpindi.
• Gurdwara Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur
• Samadh of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore.
• Shrine of Guru Aryan Dev in Lahore.

Thirdly, Pakistan’s Strategic and Geographic location has made it destination of choise for many foreigners. It’s four seasons and temperate zone location has blessed it with great tourism opportunities.

The Pakistani visa application includes three major steps.

1. First, is the submission of visa fees, applicant’s information and documents for On arrival, Tourist or Business Visa for Pakistan is required.  
2. Second, is the processing of the application is done by Nadra.
3. The last phase is the issuance of the visa.

This article will guide you through the easy visa process for tourism in Pakistan.

The visa process is simple and straightforward and you can apply for the visa through here using the Pakistan Online Visa System (POVS). Additionally, you can either choose to apply for a single-entry visa or a multiple entry one along with the duration of the visa.

The visa application will only take about 30-40 minutes to complete.

If you need any help in applying for visa, you can visit our trusted visa processing partner, ivisa and apply for your visa using their great service..

Steps to Apply for a Pakistan Tourist Visa !

Pakistan offers on-arrival tourist visas to 50 nationalities. If you are eligible for an on-arrival tourist visa you need to submit an application 48-72hrs before travelling to receive an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA).

Here are the steps to apply for your Pakistan Tourist Visa…

1. Visa Fee Calculation

The E-Visa system allows you to easily calculate the exact fee required to process your visa.

You can easily calculate the Visa processing fee through here.

2. Account Registration

Head on to the Pakistan Online Visa System website and either register a new account or log in with an existing one.

Once you successfully create an account you will then be sent a confirmation email. Click on ‘Continue Registration’ to complete your registration process.

3. Required Documents

The documents needed for a Pakistan Tourist Visa are listed as follows:

• Photograph
• Passport
• Invitation Letter by the sponsor or hotel booking details in case of individual tourist.
• Voyage Planners is a registered Tour operator and can provide you with an Invitation letter, just drop us a line here and we will be in contact.
• Invitation Letter in case of group by the tour operator designated by the department of tourist services.

We also recommend having a valid National ID, the contact details of your host in Pakistan, and a valid Credit Card on hand before starting out the visa application.

For more information on the document guidelines, click here.

4. Starting the Visa Application

Log into your POVS account and start entering your details. Make sure you choose the correct visa type and provide accurate information.

Once you provide all the details you will then be asked to upload the necessary documents from Step 3.

5. Review

After providing all the necessary details and documents you will be asked to review the Visa Application one final time before submitting it. Be very careful in double-checking all of your details.

Once everything checks out, submit the application and make the payment.

6. Payment

In order to complete your visa application, you need to pay the Pakistan visa application fee using a valid Credit Card. Pakistan Visa fees is $25 and can be different for different nationalities.

After successfully making the payment you should get this confirmation message.

Finally, you can now submit your application and a confirmation email will be sent. It will take up to 10 working days for the visa application to be processed. can check the status of your application by logging into the POVS and tracking your Visa Application.

Congratulation, Your Visa Application has been approved and now you are ready to visit Pa犀利士 kistan !

Now that you have received your visa, Next step is to plan your customized tour or start making bookings for your hotels and rental cars.

Voyage Planners is the only registered luxury tour operator and can help you plan your perfect tour. We offer Religious, Adventure and Cultural customized Tours across Pakistan.

• Visa Extension in Pakistan:

Visa extension can be done in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, but Lahore office is the most easiest place to get an extension. When u go in the office, a new visa application form is provided by the office. After completion of the form follow the same steps as done during applying the visa for your visa extension.

The visa extension fee can be submitted in National Bank of Pakistan. The extension process can take two weeks for the process to be done. After the extension, 130 days re-entry visit visa is given.

• Tourist Visa Validity:

The Pakistan tourist visa validity ranges from 3 months from the day you get the visa. This means you can enter Pakistan one day before the visa expires. If a person have a double entry visa, he cannot enter Pakistan a second time if the visa has expired.

• Single or Multiple entry visa to Pakistan :

For tourist single or double entry both are available. Multi-entry visa might have a 6 months validity.

• Pakistan Tourist Visa Duration:

The duration for tourist visa are 30 days,45 days and 90 days. The duration depends on the discretion of the embassy.

We are so glad you are thinking of Visiting Pakistan. At Voyage Planners, we can’t wait to Welcome you to this Beautiful land of ours and hope you have a marvelous joy filled holidays in Pakistan. !

Click here to check out our various travel packages in Pakistan.

Check out our Rent-a-Car services here

If you need any help in applying for visa. Please check our partner website at iVisa and they will be glad to apply for Pakistan visa for you !

Tags: E-Visa Pakistan, Pakistan Visa, Tourism Visa, Travel Visa Pakistan