Pakistan visa - get it at home!
 

The news is bad: Pakistani consulates and embassies don't want to issue visas for non-residents (Sana'a, Dubai and Abu Dhabi) and have told me to get it at home. Explaining that I travel overland with a vehicle they relented and after much waiting, form-filling, running around and a 3h-trip to Abu Dhabi they finally gave me a visa - for two weeks stay only. I also had to get the dreaded letter of non-objection from my consulate. Most staff were friendly and genuinely wanted to help, but it seems the govt. is going out of its way to make travel to Pakistan difficult.

I had no problem getting 3 month visas back in Germany by post, so my advice is to get a second passport, prepare everything and get your friends or family to post it to the embassy at the appropriate time, then forward it to you.

I'll find out whether this visa is extendable once I get there, in about 4 weeks' time.

Assuming that you got a tourist visa, I would not expect any problems.

Go to any passport office (about 1 week before the visa expires at the earliest). It takes 2-3 three days, but the extension is free and the Pakistani officers were very helpful and generous (in Lahore at least). Should be possible in Quetta as well.

Regards

Lars

I'm from the U.K and went to the Pakistani embassy in London today to try to get a tourist visa and I was very swiftly and definitely dismissed. I was told that due to the deteriorating security situation in Pakistan we now need to give a detailed itinerary and have proof of where we will be staying (booking conformation). I left empty handed. I wasn't expecting this so it came as a bit of a nasty shock. I'm going to try and arrange my first night accommodation and make up an itinerary and go back in a couple of days time. Thought I best warn you all.

I was coming into Pakistan at Amritsar from India and the first question was 'where are you staying in Lahore?'. I was like 'um, well I'll probably just have a look at some hotels and see what takes my fancy'. Nope, they wanted to know exactly where and were surprised I didn't even have a guide book. They got quite shirty about it actually.

So for Quetta, its the Bloomstar Hotel (good secure parking), in Lahore you'll be staying at the Internet Regal, (not plush but friendly and has nice rooftop area) and for Islamabad, its the 'Tourist Campsite', next to Aabpara (sp?) shopping centre and comes with armed guards. If you're doing the KKH, in Gilgit stay at the Madina Guest House, secure and friendly.

Quincy, keep us posted on how you get on, i'll be down there doing the same in about a month !
Do you know if they check up ? Or can it just be blagged by giving then details out of LP or similar, having looked in the travel guides not many hotels have any details other than address and phone ( no fax ) number so I can't see that they are going to post confirmation details !

Cheers
Pete

As of this morning the Pakistan Embassy in Tehran is still issuing tourist visas. We were told to go pick ours up in a couple of hours. But the letter of introduction from your own embassy is required as well as a letter explaining why you did not go get the visa in your own country. As Canadians, our embassy was willing to provide us with the letter of introduction (thank God!). We know this is a problem for many other nationalities but thankfully ours is still issuing it (we had called ahead from Turkey to confirm before we came all the way here).

At the Pakistan embassy we were asked what our route was as well as where we would be sleeping for our first stop. Security did not seem to be a big concern for them.

Pakistan visas
 

'Got mine a week ago in Katmandu, no problem, no questions asked, as did another 6 or 7 people that day.

Kathmandu seems to be notoriously good in this respect, though they still do need a 'letter of no objection' from your embassy, which can be difficult as not all countries have representation there. I'm Irish (which doesn't have an embassy) so wrote my own on suitably convincing (well it must have been ?) self made headed paper.....:innocent:.

Still awaiting my Iran visa though, for which I got asked to provide a letter from my employer today :confused1:. Perhaps they think they're coming with me ....?

Pete

I've decided not to go back to London but to get it on the road. I called the Pak embassy yesterday and they where determined they wanted all the documents (on the phone they stated they also want details of onward travel visas from Iran & India, or flight bookings, though in person this wasn't mentioned).

Its too early to get my Indian visa, and I'm in the process of applying for the Iranian one to be picked up in Turkey (fingers crossed on that one). I imagine you could just lift an itinerary from Lonely Planet, the hotel booking are a bit harder. Fakeable possibly, but the consequence of that being spotted, outweigh in my mind the likelihood of it succeeding. The visa woman was so stern last time I think she would spot my lies a mile off. So far I haven't been refused a visa I just didn't even get to submit my application. I wouldn't want to have to tick yes to the box 'have you been refused a visa' when reapplying in Turkey.

I had a bit of a panic yesterday. But I still have plenty of time before I enter Pak and a visa is still definitely available in Turkey, possibly even easier at the moment as at least then I would have Iranian and Indian visa (hopefully). Booking a hotel for the first night from there wouldn't be such a problem either. Letter of no objection doesn't seem to be a problem for U.K.

There is a bit of tat for tat going on between the Pakistan and U.K visa issuers at the moment due to 11 Pakistanis in the U.K traveling on student visas being arrested on terrorism charges. I think this is making it harder to get a visa for Pakistan in the U.K.

Mcgiggle - They wanted me to get the hotel to fax the confirmation details to them. I think if you were to go in with an email confirmation already printed out this might do, and of course you could send yourself an email. Whether they check in the couple of hours it takes to process the visa, I doubt it but who knows.

We're not off until the middle of August, so we have time on our side at the moment, i'm always up for a challenge but having to worry about it before you leave is a pain in the backside. Having to sort this out when your out there is all part of the fun, but not when at home, with work and all the other stuff that needs sorting.

Pete

Hey Guys I was on the phone to the Pakistan consulate in London today as well. I pushed them and the guy on the phone in the visa deptment said I would have to provide the first nights accomendation confirmation as this is the mimimum requirment, then a list of places and hotels. Still a pain in the arse. How easy is it to get the Pakistan visa in Istanbul/Theran? I would feel beter having it sorted before I left.
On the same lines, has anyone has a Irian visa code issued in the last week or so. I phoned up (Persion voyages) about it today, I applyed has been 10days or so, she said another 2 weeks as the iranians were being funny about the bristsh visa at the moment?

Cheers George

I've applied for the Iranian code but not received it. Only gave the money last week though so no rush yet. I have been looking into going across Stans though, just in case. From what I read on this forum and others the Pakistani visa in Turkey shouldn't be too much of a problem. It requires an extra trip to the British embassy for a letter on non objection but that seems a formality. I'm inclined to agree with mcgiggle that these things are a pain in the arse before you leave but once you get going they become part of the whole thing.

I leave on Saturday!!!!

Let us know how you get on with using Persian Voyages, there on my list to use for Iran, how did it go with paying them ? It seems staightforward looking at their website as they have UK bank account.

Pete

I went with key2persia.com. They seem quite good so far. No U.K bank account though, only a German one. I transfered the money via telephone banking + £8 charge. I wouldn't use iranianvisa.com http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...visa-com-29946

For Pakistani visas look what I just found via Visa information for Pakistan - ProjectVisa.com .... would be very interesting if true. If all else were to fail just turning up at Sust seems it could be a last ditch option. High risk though!