Opening a new location in Pakistan is an exciting time for your company, but you also need to consider how you'll build a talented team. Do you want to hire locals in...
Read MoreOpening a new location in Pakistan is an exciting time for your company, but you also need to consider how you'll build a talented team. Do you want to hire locals in Pakistan, bring employees with you from your parent company, or hire foreigners to move and work in the country? If you choose to hire any non-Pakistani nationals, you will need to get everyone a Pakistan work permit.
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Opening a new location in Pakistan is an exciting time for your company, but you also need to consider how you’ll build a talented team. Do you want to hire locals in Pakistan, bring employees with you from your parent company, or hire foreigners to move and work in the country? If you choose to hire any non-Pakistani nationals, you will need to get everyone a Pakistan work permit.
Pakistan has a variety of work visa categories, including:
Your foreign employees will all need work visas to live and work in Pakistan legally. They must have a job offer and meet certain requirements to apply for the visa. All work visas are granted for one year and are valid for multiple entries into Pakistan. Your employees can also extend the permit yearly after getting approval.
There are several requirements to get a work visa or permit in Pakistan. Some of the necessary documents include:
Before forwarding the forms to the embassy, the applicant will need to make four identical sets of their application, the first two pages of their passport, and four copies of the letter of guarantee that the applicant is employed with the company. They must fill out all forms in English regardless of their country of origin.
It can take three to four months to obtain a work visa in Pakistan, which means there’s a lengthy application process. The Directorate General of Immigration & Passports Ministry Interior encourages all applicants to contact the Jurisdiction of Consular Services to find the right consulate office in their state.
After submitting the documents listed above, applicants must pay the application fee according to Pakistan’s visa fee schedule through a money order or cashier check. Every nationality has a different visa fee requirement, so it’s important to pay the right fee.
Employees must complete every column on the application during this stage. Pakistan will not accept incomplete application forms with insufficient entries. If there’s not enough space in the columns on the visa form, use extra sheets of paper. Keep in mind that applicants may also need to go to an interview.
After submitting the entire application, the Board of Investment (BOI) will process it. Then, the Visa Committee and Chairman of the BOI will approve the work visa and give their recommendation to the Ministry of Interior. The ministry has final authorization and will use the BOI’s advice to determine their answer. If they approve, the authorization will go to the Regional Passport Offices for finalization and issuance of the visa.
The majority of the Pakistan working visa application process occurs online. If your employee does not possess a valid Pakistan visa, they can apply for a new visa online. People with a valid Pakistan visa that live in the country can also complete visa extensions online — extensions are valid for one year at a time and will require the re-submission of business documents. Longer extensions may be granted by the Ministry of Interior in certain circumstances.
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At this moment, Globalization Partners does not offer support processing work visas or permits in this particular location.
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