Pakistan visa application quandry...???
 

Off to sort (x3) double entry visa's next week for PK and they have asked for three months worth of bank statement's as proof of I.D. and a guarantee that one can finance said trip. Is this the norm/ has anyone else very recently had the same..??? Also they were doing the hard sell bit regarding using a tour guide to act and take on the responsibility of our presence in the country...??

Any imput much appreciated.

Mez :thumbup1:

Hi Mez,

I'm in the same boat at the moment applying for a Pakistan Visa. I took pretty much all the information to the Bradford office except the sponsor details part. I didn't get approval but they're having a look and coming back next week. The 3 banks statements is absolutely the norm and to be honest compared to some of the information they ask for, one of the easier parts of applying.

Its fairly obvious to say, but its well worth having a covering letter explaining what you're doing so when some desk clerk wonders why you're not fitting in the "booked a flight and hotel for 2 weeks" box its laid out clearly. Do your best with an itinerary. The folks up here suggested they might ask for evidence of a hotel booking, even if you have no intention of staying there, it just gives them a name to put in an important box.

Let us know how you get on

Cheers
Stuart

Perhaps apply away from home ie Nepal or Iran...
 

The other option might be depending on your travel plans to get the visa in another country (I assume you are applying to the Pakistan Embassy in the UK?). The Pakistani Consulate in Kathmandu was by far and large less strict then what you have cited, for instance.

Sorry, for Pak you can now get a visa only in your home country. An acquaintance is stuck in India with his truck because of this.

Maybe he should try in Nepal. Which country is your 'acquaintance' from? Do you have evidence of the visa process change?

EMBASSY OF PAKISTAN IN NEPAL

Visa application form for Embassy in Kathmandu.

http://www.mofa.gov.pk/nepal/documen..._Visa_Form.pdf

This may be the case for some nationals (UK, USA) especially when advised by home consulate but is certainly not the case for the majority. Take the instance when someone (ie. overlander) is travelling for several months or years, he/she doesn't have the opportunity to return home to apply for this visa, the visa application won't be dismissed. The visa will be considered under given circumstances.

I note that the Pakistani embassy in India is often closed or applies a daily quota and refuses service to non Pakistani citizens. This is common and due to political reasons and instabilities between the two countries.

He is Australian and I have passed the link to this topic to him.

I was told the same when I applied in Dubai. They made an exemption for me, but I don't think this will be done any more.

They don't want overlanders any more, because of the perceived risks involved.

Since March 2010, it is no longer possible to get a pakistan visa abroad of your home country. it has happened last year to me, and my travel mate, when we where in tashkent, attempting to apply for it. we've just sort it out getting it at the Sost border post, coming from China. Sost it is the only place, except your home country, where you can get a pak visa; but you have to get into China before...

www.lungastrada.it

Pakistan visa
 

Hi

We are the people "stuck in India" with our truck!

Both Aussie nationals we went first to Ktm but whilst they didn't say no, they said it would take "at least 8 weeks" and we didn't have time. They send us on to Delhi where we were told no way-go home. We got letters from our embassy pleaded etc etc Just "no way -that is now the policy...we can't discuss the policy..." etc

We could go back to Ktm but we wondered has anyone had any luck recently?? We think the "8 weeks" thing was just a nicer way of saying no and don't want the hassle of getting in and out of India for 2 months if they're just messing around. A search of forums hasn't turned up anyone with success getting a Nepal visa in Ktm any time recently. We were told in India and Canberra that Sost was the only border you can get one at (after it opens in May)but that involves the whole "getting into China" nightmare!

Andrew & Ann

I got a visa for a year in 2006. I knew about the "have to apply in your own country" rule and wrote the embassy in Ottawa, explained the situation and the fact I was going to be out of Canada for 6 months before I got to Pak. I got a year's visa within a week. It all depends on who you get at the embassy. Call the Pak embassy in Aus, explain the situation and FedEx your passports with a letter to the Pak embassy in Aus with a return FedEx envelop. Might be worth your while.

http://www.nohorizons.net/Countries/...Visa_small.JPG

Hi
Thanks for your input - we s/w the Pak embassy in Canberra and they said no as u have to be on Australian soil , but I agree it's "who u get" and also we recently met a French family who pulled this off -applying from Bangkok to Paris. We'll keep everything crossed and let u all know how we go.

Cheers
Ann and Andreew
Drivingoz2uk2.com - Driving around the world

Might be worth to try again and have someone FedEx the passports from within Aus to the Pak embassy and back. Not the cheapest option, but you never know... That way you are "on Aus soil...."

I would NOT send my passport directly to the embassy, but to friends or family at home and use them as a relay. If the passport arrives from abroad then you have given the game away.

Hi
We were going to send via Andrew's sister -but plan to send a cover etter pleading our case -as we thought our passports (no exit stamp from India no entry to Oz) would give the game away to any but the most dozy clerk...

The French people we met applied through her family and they asked straight away "why can't they come home and apply?" but thankfully they accepted cost/massive inconvenience as a good enough reason. I guess it depnds who u get?

Also the recent demise of OBL and all the associated travel warnings no doubt won't help!!

Hi Ann & Andrew,

Bureaucrats are all the same, in every country they will only do the min amount of work necessary and refuse anything that seems too hard. If you get someone helpful stick with them but mostly let them know how helpful they have been. Also honesty seems always to work, has the advantage that you don't need to remember what you lied about ie with not being on Australian soil. Just tell them you can't leave India due to financial situation... there are always extenuating cirucmstances.

Personally if in your situation I would request Pakistan Embassy in KTM to do express service and see how much more that costs (if possible of course).

Failing that I would FedEx or DHL passports to Embassy in Canberra. Unless you get prior consent that they will send completed passports to you in your current location OS it may be better to use a family member as an intermediatry to foward on and receive the passports once the Visas have been issued.

Good Luck and please let us all know how you get along.

Cheers,
Pascal

PK visa
 

Dear all, thanks for the initial response here, the simplest of outcomes has taken place. Two of the team members have dipped out at the very last minute leaving me on my own. Do not fancy negotiating PK on my own in light of a certain figure head that has just been dealt with...!! We have a revised plan now that seems to cater all needs. Bit gutted as Iran and PK were the highlights for me.
Stuart when are you intending on travelling that way presuming it's India as your final destination like me...?????
Andrew and Ann, best of luck working it out and stay safe with whats just happened.
Mez

When were you planning on going through Pakistan?

hi Mez,

I was looking at taking it easy in turkey to get the worst of the August heat out the way and head on towards India as soon as possible after then, though if I get a Pakistan and Iranian visa after todays news, I'll be amazed.

Was aiming for a bit of walking in Nepal in November and heading south through India after then. Might well just spend more time in Turkey and see if its possible to fly to somewhere in India if overlanding is too heavily restricted.

Feel free to send me a PM if anything crops up and you think we might be heading the same way at the same time. I'm doing my best to get paperwork in place while still in the UK (mid-June) then just going to have to wing it as best as possible if its not all sorted by then.

Pk
 

about mid Oct it was planned for..... :frown:

Pakistan visas by post
 

Hi

Apparently it is illegal to post your passports from India -no courier company or post office will touch them. In light of this and other recent events we think we'll have to bite the bullet and return to oz and try from there and then return in a few months. Even if due to all recent events we don't get Pak visas if we go back to oz we can miss the worst of the heat berfore entering Iran and work to pay for shipping to Iran which wasn't in the budget at this stage fo the trip! Bugger!

Pakistan visas
 

Hi

Finally a break through! We tried again on the phone to speak to the Pak embassy in Canberra asking that they grant us a visa remotely. The guy kept saying we needed to return but he eventually (to get rid of me!) asked that I set our full case out in a letter /email to the commissioner. He replied after 2 days saying that as a "special case' he would accept our application and grant our visas without us returning to India. Not sure how useful this is as a precedent as a "special case" but a big relief to us! We still have the problem of sending the passports as it's illegal here by post or courier -off to the embassy tomorrow to see if they can send them in their mail. So relieved not to have to ship again!
Ann and Andrew
Drivingoz2uk2.com - Driving around the world

Perserverence pays off, glad to hear that you'll get your visa.

By the way in your post I think you meant, that you won't need to return to Australia and not India, just a typo but we get what you mean and thanks for posting back.

Now that you'll be going to Pakistan, have a look at this:
Pakistani truckers' perilous journey - Risking it all - Al Jazeera English

Might give you an idea of where to go, or not in Pakistan...

Happy and safe travels.

Pakistan visa
 

Hi thanks for that -yep the "return to India" bit was a typo - maybe as we don't seem to be able to leave India as it looks like I might have crowed too soon!
Whilst the Pak embassy in Canberra are happy to do this and give us visas under our "special circumstances" we are still facing the problem of getting the passports to them ...far easier said than done!
It is illegal to post or courier your passports from India (and they check!) as u are by law supposed to always have them on you.

Thought the Oz or Pak embassy here might come to our aid -spent the day there but no go. They won't do so as is illegal -no locked bag service any more ...stopped 2 years ago. Off the record they suggested we give to someone trustworthy who is returing to Oz ....but no likely candidates ...what to do??

Does anyone know of any neighbouring countries policy on this? We met someone who'd couriered passports o/s from Bangkok but then it has been done from India too ..just a big risk. Is there any country/courier service it's offically allowed? If anyone has any ideas on this one we'd be all ears!

Thanks for the link on Pakistan -if we ever get there!!!
Ann & Andrew

Bugger on the shipping .... Can't hide it in a set of "documents" to be sent via FedEx? Some money may help too ...

+1

Failing that if the Pak Embassy in Australia will issue your visas under special circumstances then by logic so should any Pak embassy. I would suggest to get the Pak Embassy in Australia to Contact internally the Pak Embassy in Nepal and get them to agree to issue your visa, then it would be simpler for you to go to Nepal, assuming you're not in southern India...

You could ask the same thing of the Pak embassy in Canberra to send an internal note to Pak Embassy in India (New Delhi) other than that I can't think of any alternative at the moment.

Good luck

Hiya
Thanks for that, all food for thought. We rang Fedex in Sri Lanka and they have no problems with sending passports. Latest plan is a trip there -and spend a pleasant 2 months waiting for the summer to pass and maybe the political heat to settle (hmmm) This plan is being lobbied strongly by Andrew the surfer amongst us! That or Nepal I guess. Be good if the long promised ferry to SL materialises for this ...but I guess that's another topic.....Thanks to all for input Ann

I posted my passport via DHL from Thailand to Germany for the Pakistan visa.

Contact "Maximondo" on the forum. She posted her passport with DHL from India to Australia and back.

Cheers,
Frank

Pakistan visa
 

Thanks Frank will try -was that a while ago?? Seems to be very strict now they searched our parcel (we'd hidden the passports in documents) and made a real fuss when they were found "If you do this without telling there will be a big problem " etc ..guess it's all got harder here. A few people have told us Thailand is a good bet
Ann