The first gate to a Pakistan trip is not the Karakoram Highway or a mountain pass. It is a web form. And right now, that form is where most first-time travellers go wrong — not because Pakistan is hard to enter, but because almost every visa guide written before 2026 is out of date.
I have watched friends plan entire Hunza itineraries around a visa rule that no longer exists. This guide fixes that. It covers the system as it actually works in late 2026: the online e-visa, what it costs, how long it really takes, what documents you need, and the traps that get applications sent back.
Short Answer
Yes, US and UK citizens need a visa for Pakistan, and you must get it before you travel. Apply online through the official Pakistan Online Visa System at visa.nadra.gov.pk, choosing Tourist/Visit, Individual, less than 3 months. Expect a fee of around $60 for US, UK and Canadian citizens and around $35 for EU citizens (the portal shows your exact fee at checkout), and a decision in 7–10 working days — though real-world waits can stretch to 20 business days, so apply 4–6 weeks before departure. You need a passport valid for at least 6 months, a passport photo, and hotel booking details. The old free, fast-track visa-on-arrival-style system was suspended on 1 January 2026 — do not plan around it.
What Changed in 2026: The Rule Most Old Guides Get Wrong
From August 2024, Pakistan ran a programme called Visa Prior to Arrival (VPA). Citizens of 126 countries — including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and most of Europe — could get a free, multiple-entry visa, usually approved within 24–48 hours. It was, by any standard, one of the easiest visa regimes in Asia.
On 1 January 2026, the VPA quietly disappeared from the portal. No press release, no official explanation, and as of the latest reporting there is no announced timetable for its return. Travellers from those same 126 countries must now apply for the standard paid e-visa instead.
This matters because the internet is still full of pre-2026 guides promising a “free visa in 48 hours.” If a guide tells you Pakistan’s visa is free and instant, check its date. If it is from before January 2026, its core claim is wrong. The rest of this guide is built on the current system.
Do US and UK Citizens Need a Visa for Pakistan?
Yes. There is no visa-free entry for US or UK passport holders, and there is no walk-up visa at the airport for them under the current rules. You apply online, in advance, through the Pakistan Online Visa System (POVS), run by NADRA for the Ministry of Interior. Approval produces a Visa Grant Notice, which is the visa itself — print it and carry it with your passport.
Citizens of around 190 countries can use the portal, though the exact count differs between the portal’s own pages (191 or 192) and the immigration department’s list (190), so the only number that matters is whether your passport country appears on the eligible list when you check. One rule many people miss: the portal is for nationals of listed countries who live in that same country. If you live elsewhere, an interview at a Pakistani mission can be called, or you may need to apply through an embassy instead.
Nationals of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are listed separately as not needing to apply for the visit categories at all.
How to Apply: The Step-by-Step Process
The whole application is online. There is no embassy visit for most applicants. Here is the process, in order:
| Step | What to do | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check eligibility | Confirm your passport country is on the portal’s eligible list at visa.nadra.gov.pk |
| 2 | Prepare your photo | Recent passport-style photo, white background, under 350 KB |
| 3 | Create an account | Register on the portal with your email address |
| 4 | Choose the category | Tourist/Visit, then Individual, less than 3 months |
| 5 | Fill in the form | Personal details, passport details, travel plans, accommodation |
| 6 | Upload documents | Passport page and hotel booking details (see checklist below) |
| 7 | Pay by card | Visa or Mastercard; the portal shows your exact fee at checkout |
| 8 | Submit and watch your email | The decision, or a request for changes, arrives by email |
Two details that catch people out. First, each person needs their own application — listing accompanying family members on your form does not count as their application. Second, if the portal sends your application back for review, the processing clock restarts when you resubmit, and you have 7 days to resubmit before the application is automatically cancelled. Get the documents right the first time; a resubmission can cost you weeks.
Documents You Need
The portal’s core requirement for an individual tourist visa is refreshingly short — a photograph, a passport, and hotel booking details. In practice, have the wider set ready, because additional documents are commonly requested and a thin file is the most common cause of delays:
- Passport — valid for at least 6 months beyond arrival, with blank pages for stamps, and a clear scan of the bio page
- Photograph — recent, passport-style, white background, under 350 KB
- Hotel booking — confirmed accommodation details for your stay; book refundable rooms until the visa is approved
- Travel itinerary — planned dates and destinations (this is where your Hunza, Skardu or trekking plans go)
- Return or onward ticket — evidence you will leave before the visa expires
- Bank statements — typically the last 3 months, showing funds to cover the trip; keep the balance steady and avoid large unexplained deposits just before applying
- Host invitation (only if staying with a host) — a letter from your host, and be aware that invitation letters have been required to be formal affidavits on stamp paper, signed by the host, with a copy of their CNIC and Pakistani passport
Do not book non-refundable flights or hotels before approval. Flexible or refundable bookings are the sensible move until the Visa Grant Notice is in your inbox.
What Does a Pakistan Tourist Visa Cost?
Fees are set by nationality — Pakistan uses reciprocal fee schedules, so what you pay roughly mirrors what your country charges Pakistanis. The portal has a fee calculator that shows your exact figure at checkout; treat every number below as indicative and confirm it there.
| Passport | Indicative single-entry tourist fee | Validity |
|---|---|---|
| US, UK, Canada | ~$60 | 3 months |
| EU (Schengen) citizens | ~$35 | 3 months |
| Australia | ~$60 | 3 months |
| South/Southeast Asian nationals | From ~$20 | 3 months |
| Other nationalities | ~$35–75 (varies) | 3 months |
Some nationalities pay no fee at all — including Afghanistan, China, Japan, Iceland, North Korea, Slovakia, Malaysia, UAE and Saudi Arabia (work visas excepted). They still apply through the portal; the application is simply free.
All fees are non-refundable, including if the application is rejected. And use the official portal only: visa.nadra.gov.pk is the sole legitimate site. Third-party agencies charge inflated fees for doing the same form.
How Long Does It Take?
The portal states 7–10 working days for an individual tourist visa decision. That is the headline figure, and for a clean application it is often accurate.
In practice, expect longer. Real-world waits of up to 20 business days are reported, and any request for additional documents or a resubmission restarts the clock. The practical rule is to apply 4–6 weeks before departure — early enough that a 20-day wait, a document query and a resubmission still leave you with a visa in hand before the flight.
Once granted, the visa is typically valid for entry within 6 months of issue and allows a stay of up to 3 months. Check your Visa Grant Notice carefully when it arrives: the entry window and the permitted stay are printed on it, and they are the numbers that matter at the airport.
Can I Get a Visa on Arrival in Pakistan?
Do not fly to Pakistan expecting to sort out a visa at the airport. The old visa-on-arrival system and the free Visa Prior to Arrival programme were both suspended in January 2026, and there is no walk-up visa for tourists at Pakistani airports today.
The one narrow exception worth knowing about is the “Visa in your Inbox” category: a 50-country ETA-style list on the portal that, on paper, allows eligible travellers to apply with as little as 48–72 hours’ notice. It is not a visa on arrival — you still apply online and wait for approval before flying — and eligibility and processing for it should be confirmed on the official portal before you rely on it. For everyone else, the rule is simple: approved e-visa first, flight second.
What Happens at Immigration?
Land with your Visa Grant Notice printed or saved on your phone, your passport, and your return ticket accessible. Officers may ask where you are staying and how long you plan to be in the country; having the hotel booking and a rough itinerary ready makes the exchange short and painless. Your passport will be stamped with the entry date — check that stamp before you walk away, because it is what your permitted stay is counted from.
One registration nuance: most tourists never have to think about police registration. It applies mainly to stays beyond 30 days in certain circumstances, or to visitors to restricted areas — not to a standard two- or three-week Hunza or Skardu trip on a tourist visa. If your stay stretches past a month, or your itinerary touches a restricted zone, ask your hotel or tour operator about registration rather than guessing.
Why Applications Get Rejected (and How to Avoid It)
Rejections are rarely mysterious. They almost always trace back to one of a handful of fixable problems:
- Photo problems — wrong background, wrong size, or a photo that is not recent. Use a fresh passport-style shot on white, under 350 KB.
- Passport validity — less than 6 months remaining, or a damaged or unclear bio-page scan. Renew first if you are close to the line.
- Weak financial evidence — thin balances or a sudden large deposit just before applying. Keep statements steady for the 3 months before you apply.
- Vague or inconsistent itinerary — dates that do not match your bookings, or a plan that reads as improvised. Book refundable hotels and make the story coherent.
- Wrong category — applying as a business visitor, or as a group, when you are a solo tourist. Choose Tourist/Visit, Individual, less than 3 months.
If you are refused, fix the specific problem and reapply — a rejection is not a ban. But remember the resubmission clock: you have 7 days to resubmit after a review request, and the processing clock restarts, so a corrected second application still needs that 4–6 week buffer.
Extending Your Visa (and What Overstaying Costs)
Tourist visas can be extended from inside Pakistan through the portal or at a passport office, but the extension must be applied for before the current visa expires — ideally with a week to spare. Extensions are not guaranteed, and the decision can take days, so do not plan a trip that depends on one.
Overstaying is the expensive mistake. Surcharges are reported as: no surcharge for overstays of up to 2 weeks; $50 for overstays between 2 weeks and 1 month; and $200 for overstays between 1 and 3 months. Beyond the money, an overstay can complicate every future Pakistan application. If your plans change, extend first and travel second.
A Note for Gilgit-Baltistan Travellers
Your tourist visa covers Hunza, Skardu, Gilgit, Nagar and the other open valleys — foreign visitors to open-zone areas do not need a separate permit. Once you land, the north is open to you on the visa alone: the Karakoram Highway, the Hunza Valley, Skardu town and its lakes, and the Nagar side of Rakaposhi are all accessible without extra paperwork.
The exception is restricted trekking country. Routes like the K2 Base Camp trek cost breakdown explains require permits arranged by a licensed operator, and the same applies to other restricted-zone expeditions. For ordinary valley travel, though, the visa is the only document you need — so plan the trip itself: the best time to visit Hunza Valley and what to pack for northern Pakistan are the two guides to read next.
FAQs
Do US citizens need a visa for Pakistan?
Yes. US citizens must apply for a tourist e-visa in advance through visa.nadra.gov.pk. The indicative fee is around $60, processing takes 7–10 working days (sometimes up to 20 business days), and the visa allows a stay of up to 3 months.
Do UK citizens need a visa for Pakistan?
Yes. UK citizens follow the same process: online application through the official portal, an indicative fee of around $60, and a 7–10 working day decision window. Apply 4–6 weeks before travel to be safe.
How long does a Pakistan e-visa take?
The portal states 7–10 working days for an individual tourist visa. In practice, waits of up to 20 business days are reported, and resubmissions restart the clock — so apply 4–6 weeks ahead and get the documents right the first time.
How much is a Pakistan tourist visa?
It depends on nationality. Indicative single-entry fees are around $60 for US, UK, Canadian and Australian citizens, around $35 for EU citizens, and from around $20 for South and Southeast Asian nationals. The portal’s fee calculator shows your exact fee at checkout.
Can I get a visa on arrival in Pakistan?
Not as a walk-up visa. The free VPA programme and the old visa-on-arrival system were suspended in January 2026. Most travellers must hold an approved e-visa before flying; a narrow 50-country “Visa in your Inbox” ETA category still exists on paper, but confirm it on the official portal before relying on it.
Do I need a special permit for Hunza or Skardu?
No. Foreign visitors to open-zone areas — including Hunza, Skardu, Gilgit and Nagar — need no separate permit beyond their tourist visa. Restricted trekking zones, such as the K2 Base Camp route, do require permits, arranged by a licensed tour operator.
