Pakistan will stop issuing manual visas in all its embassies from Monday and has asked non-resident Pakistanis and others interested in travelling to the country to apply online for e-visas.
A senior official at the Pakistani embassy in the US said that this change applies to all Pakistani missions in the world and they will stop issuing manual visas from February 1, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The change will affect millions of Pakistanis living in North America and Europe, particularly in the countries that do not allow dual citizenship.
Even in countries like Australia, Britain, Canada and the US, which allow dual citizenship, people prefer to travel on visas stamped on their current passports. Travelling on passports of their country of origin often invokes suspicion, the report said.
“In compliance with the instructions of the government of Pakistan for complete implementation of the E-visa regime, Embassy of Pakistan and its consulates across the United States will stop the issuance of manual visa from Feb 1, 2021,” said a notification issued by the Pakistani embassy in the US on Thursday.
The “Visa applicants are, therefore, advised to submit their applications online at http://Visa.Nadra.Gov.Pk/,” it said.
Pakistan stopped issuing manual passports several years ago.
Pakistani embassies also no longer receive applications for national identity cards and other similar documents. All these services are now available online.