Pakistan to give tourist visa on arrival to 24 countries, except India and a few more

Visiting Pakistan and exploring its verdant landscapes has long been a dream of many travellers out there. But, now the dream will turn into a reality as the controversial nation has renewed its visa-on-arrival policy for 24 countries, “tourist-friendly countries” or if the “tour is organised through designated tour operators” in Pakistan. The visa shall be given to group tourists.
To announce its landmark decision, Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority tweeted recently, “Tourists welcome to Pakistan.” The Pakistan Tourism and Development Corporation (PTDC) lauded the decision which comes after years of efforts put by the entity to boost tourism in the country.

Speaking to a news website about the change in visa policy, PTDC official Mukhtar Ali, manager of policy and promotion, stated, “This policy was issued with consultation of all stakeholders. It was done in 2007 also but the deteriorating law and order situation impacted the policy which was reversed and a case-to-case visa grant procedure was applied. But the situation has changed now.”
As a part of the visa-on-arrival procedure, on landing in Pakistan, tourist need to meet an immigration official for necessary formalities and present required documents and even sign official papers before being granted the visa.


According to news reports, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) can give a multiple-entry 30-day visa on arrival to tourists of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Japan, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Greece, Denmark, Belgium, Finland, Austria, Iceland, Korea, Portugal, Singapore, Thailand, and Luxemburg. India, Africa, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and many other nations have been excluded from the list. The Middle East, too, has not been added to the list mainly because not many people from this region prefer travelling to Pakistan, though they are welcome to do so.

Reportedly, for 2018, the objective of PTDC is to focus on Pakistanis living abroad and foreign tourists. Meanwhile, visa policy for foreign tourists will be reviewed further to allow access to more and more individuals.

Ali told a news website, “The number of Arab nationals (visiting Pakistan for tourism) is very low. We have focused on tourist-generating countries based on our statistics and the majority come from the West and elsewhere. A large number of them are those that seek mountaineering and adventure tourism.”

Individual tourists can also visit Pakistan and contact a tour operator for exploration trips, safaris and adventure journeys. The tourism operators have welcomed the move and are hoping to do good business after bearing heavy losses post 9/11 effect.