Help - Can you get Pakistani and Indian visa outside UK?
 

Am currently in Berlin and am travelling through Eastern Europe and Turkey to Iran and then Pakistan and India. I was under the impression from other websites I've looked at that I could get visas for India and Pakistan from their embassies and consulates elsewhere.

I visited the Pakistani embassy in Berlin today and they said I have to return to UK to get the visa. Obviously I am feeling rather foolish to say the least and am looking at an expensive return flight leaving my partner here in Germany.

I was due to go to Indian embassy on Monday and am now worried they will say the same thing.

I'm sure others have gained visas in Iran for example and wondered if anyone out there could help me?

Thanks

Jo:oops2:

Hi.

Others here have issued Indian visas in Islamabad, and I plan to do the same in 3 months :-)

Not sure about the Pakistani visa, find the telephone number of the embassy/consulate of the country you want to visit and ask in previous countries you'll pass through - beware of delays, them wanting to keep your passport etc.

Good luck

Alexandros

Was coming from the other direction and got told I couldn't get a Pakistan visa in Bangkok and I'd need to get it from UK though I did read someone else managed to get one there. I eventually got it in Kathmandu so I suspect if you can't get it in one place, try elsewhere.

It is possible to obtain a Pakistani visa in Tehran (at least it was for us April of 2009) BUT...

The Pakistani embassy in Tehran requires a letter of introduction from your own embassy in Iran. And this is where most people run into problems. The Canadian embassy will give you the letter of introduction (for a small fee) but many other embassies will not. The best thing to do is call your embassy in Iran and ask if they will do it. If they will then the rest is easy.

By the way, we did try getting the Pakistani visa in Turkey but were flat out refused, letter of introduction or not. Good luck!

We had no problems getting a Pak visa in Tehran, or an Indian one in Islamapindi, in July and September 2007. We had to get a letter of introduction from the UK Embassy in Tehran; this was all straightforward enough. But things can change........

Hope you have now sorted it - I note your post went up 3 weeks ago!

Hi Jo

Would appreciate an update as to how this went, as I am also having problems getting a Pakistani visa (got denied in London and am being asked for flight & hotel bookings in Athens, Greece!)...

I am OK to travel to Turkey and Iran, so if you can get a Pakistani visa there, it would make me slightly more hopeful...

Do let us know!

Thanks

Alexandros

I assume you have friends or family in the UK? Download and fill in the application form, then post it to them. Get them to pay the fee and send the whole package to the embassy, reply paid. If you can get a visa at all this may work.

The way things are going in Pak I suspect that it may well close altogether for overland travel.

Cheers and good luck,
Peter.

update from Jo and Mark
 

Hi folks,

I managed to gain an Indian visa in Istanbul with a letter of recommendation from the British Consulate (£63). It took 5 days but was no problem. I have had email contact with the Pakistani Embassy in Tehran who have said that with a letter of recommendation from the British embassy in Tehran and with a letter explaining why I did not gain the visa in UK (ie because travelling overland would mean it had expired by the time i got there) I should be able to gain a visa.

So, we're entering iran within the next week and will see what happens in Tehran. I'll update after we've been to embassy.

Jo

Hope all goes well
 

I hope all goes well with your visa request in Tehran, I am planning to go the same way in three weeks and want to pick up my pakistan visa in Tehran also.

Good luck


Andy

Hi there, we have just done the same route, we are also from the uk. We got our Pakistan visa in Tehran with no problems. You need to go to the british embassy in Tehran for a letter of introduction first, it costs 50 quid and takes an hour. The visa takes a couple of days but they are closed thurs fri and sat. we tried in turkey and were told to go back to the uk, but don’t believe them. The Indian visa we then got in islamabad. We tried in iran but because the Iranian government had closed all the phone lines to the uk, the Indians couldn’t get the approval they needed from London. In Islamabad you don’t need a letter of introduction, but it will take a week. Suggesting you want to get out of the country to somewhere safer (ie India) seems to speed things up, as does grinning. Good luck with your trip, hope its excellent.
Nicky.