Before you start

A job offer from a company registered in Pakistan, with the employer's incorporation and tax documents
A Board of Investment recommendation where the employer is a registered foreign-investment enterprise
A passport valid well beyond the intended stay
Or, for anyone of Pakistani descent, the documents proving that descent

Step-by-step

1
Establish first whether you qualify for POC or NICOP
NICOP is for Pakistani citizens abroad and supports a Pakistani passport. POC is for foreign nationals of Pakistani origin — including former citizens and foreign spouses — and gives visa-free entry, indefinite stay, property rights, banking and eligibility for employment, with exemption from police and foreigners' registration reporting. If either applies, the entire visa question disappears. Check it before your employer starts a work visa file.
OnlineWho: YouBefore anything else
2
Have the employer lodge the work visa through the NADRA portal
Applications run through visa.nadra.gov.pk with the employer's sponsor letter, incorporation certificate and tax registration. The entry visa is issued for a short period — DGI&P publishes up to three months — with the substantive stay coming from the extension.
Via employerWho: Your employer6–10 weeks before travel
3
Collect Form-C at immigration on arrival
The FIA's own guidance is that you provide details of your visit to the immigration officer on arrival and receive a copy of Form-C. Keep it. It is the document that underpins registration and it is easier to hold onto than to reconstruct.
In personWho: YouOn arrival
4
Register with the Foreigners Registration branch if your nationality requires it
Under the Registration of Foreigners Rules 1966 the requirement to register with the Foreigners Registration branch of the District Police Officer's Special Branch and obtain a residential permit applies to nationals of India and Somalia, and to anyone immigration authorities direct to do so. Most nationalities are exempt. Ask at the counter rather than assuming either way — the answer is specific to your passport.
In personWho: YouWithin the period stated on arrival, if applicable
5
Start the extension two to three months before expiry
Extensions are applied for online but worked by DGI&P and, in practice, by its regional office. Security clearance attaches to the extension. Two months is comfortable; two weeks is how people end up out of status through nobody's fault.
OnlineWho: You and your employerFrom 2–3 months before expiry
6
Surrender the residential permit on permanent departure, if you hold one
Where a residential permit was issued, the FIA's guidance is to surrender it to the same authority on leaving and obtain a travel permit. This only affects the nationalities required to register, but for those it is not optional.
In personWho: YouBefore departure

Documents you’ll need

Passport with the Pakistani visa
Employer sponsor letter, incorporation certificate and tax registration
Form-C issued at arrival
Residential permit, where one was issued
For POC or NICOP: proof of Pakistani descent — a parent's CNIC, a former Pakistani passport, or a family registration certificate

Things most newcomers don’t know

The POC removes the entire visa problem for anyone of Pakistani descent, and most people never check.

NADRA's own statement of POC rights covers multiple visa-free entry, indefinite stay in Pakistan, exemption from reporting to police or foreigners' registration offices, the right to purchase, own and dispose of movable and immovable property anywhere in Pakistan, the right to open and operate bank accounts, and eligibility for employment. That last point is the one people miss: a POC holder does not need a work visa. Anyone with a Pakistani parent, grandparent, or Pakistani spouse should resolve this question before an employer spends three months on a visa file.

Source: NADRA

NICOP and POC are not two names for the same card.

NICOP is for people who are Pakistani citizens and lets them apply for a Pakistani passport and register as voters. POC is for people of Pakistani origin who are not citizens and does neither. If you renounced Pakistani citizenship in order to naturalise somewhere that forbids dual nationality, NICOP is closed to you and POC is the route. Applying for the wrong one is a wasted cycle of several weeks and a non-refundable fee, and the two are confused constantly.

Source: NADRA

Pakistan has no route from a work visa to permanent residence, and this changes how you plan.

There is no points system, no qualifying period, and nothing that ripens. Ten years on renewed work visas leaves you exactly where one year does. That makes the calculus different from the Gulf or Europe: there is no benefit to staying continuously, no penalty for a gap, and no reason to accept a worse job to preserve a clock. It also means the only durable statuses here are inherited ones.

Source: DGI&P

The Form-C and police registration questions have different answers depending on your passport.

The FIA's guidance is that all arrivals get a Form-C from the immigration officer, but that registration with the police Special Branch and a residential permit applies specifically to nationals of India and Somalia and to anyone immigration directs. Most foreigners are exempt from the police step entirely. Guides written for India — where a C-Form is filed by hotels and landlords with the FRRO — describe a different system, and applying the Indian model to Pakistan produces confident, wrong advice in both directions.

Source: Federal Investigation Agency

Common mistakes to avoid

Running a work visa file when you were eligible for a POC all along.
Applying for NICOP when you have renounced Pakistani citizenship, or POC when you have not.
Treating the visa extension as a formality and starting it in the last fortnight.
Assuming the Indian C-Form and FRRO model applies here — Pakistan's registration duty falls on far fewer nationalities.
Planning field travel to frontier or high-altitude districts without checking whether a Ministry of Interior NOC is required.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.