Before you start

Passport with a valid Pakistani visa, or CNIC/NICOP/POC
Evidence of profession and source of income or funds — employment or accreditation letter, salary slips, statements
A Peshawar address, ideally one already registered on the tenancy form
A National Tax Number for several products and most banks' preference

Step-by-step

1
Settle resident versus non-resident before you go to a branch
Non-residency for this purpose follows the Income Tax Ordinance definition rather than your visa type, and the State Bank's Foreign Exchange Manual establishes non-resident rupee accounts as their own category with their own rules. Which one you open governs the permitted transactions and how freely funds leave the country.
In personWho: YouBefore the branch visit
2
Ask your employer which branch already handles its staff
The UN agencies and INGOs based here bank at particular branches whose staff already know accreditation letters, foreign-currency salary arrangements and the documentation a foreign national actually has. In a city where compliance scrutiny is heavier than average, walking into a branch that has done it before is worth more than any other preparation.
Via employerWho: YouWeek 1
3
If you are of Pakistani origin, look at the Roshan Digital Account first
The State Bank's RDA framework covers non-resident Pakistanis including non-resident Pakistan Origin Card holders, opens entirely remotely in rupees or major foreign currencies, and permits transfers abroad without prior State Bank approval. There is no equivalent facility for foreign nationals with no Pakistani connection.
OnlineWho: You
4
Take an over-complete file rather than a sufficient one
Bring the passport and visa, the employment or accreditation letter, salary evidence, proof of address and your NTN if you have one, plus copies of everything. Peshawar branches apply KYC seriously and ask follow-up questions about source of funds that a Lahore branch might not. Ask for the branch's own checklist in advance — they differ.
In personWho: YouWeek 1–2
5
Register for an NTN on IRIS
Pakistani individuals use their CNIC as their tax number; a foreign national registers separately through the FBR's IRIS portal. Banks ask for it and the filer status that follows changes your withholding on ordinary transactions.
OnlineWho: You
6
File every inward remittance advice from the first transfer
In an exchange-controlled economy the paperwork on money coming in is the evidence supporting money going out. Ask the bank for the advice on each substantial transfer and keep it. It cannot be reconstructed years later, and it is the single most common regret among people leaving Pakistan with savings to move.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with valid visa, or CNIC/NICOP/POC
Employment or accreditation letter and evidence of source of funds
Proof of a Peshawar address
National Tax Number, where required
Inward remittance advices, retained for the duration

Things most newcomers don’t know

Resident versus non-resident is a repatriation decision wearing the costume of a form field.

The State Bank's Foreign Exchange Manual sets out non-resident rupee accounts as a distinct regime, and non-residency follows the Income Tax Ordinance definition rather than your visa. Pakistan's exchange controls are real: moving money out is a permission question, not an automatic right. Opening whichever account type was easiest at the counter is a decision you meet again, on worse terms, when you try to send funds abroad.

Source: State Bank of Pakistan

Compliance scrutiny in a border city is genuinely heavier, and it is not personal.

Peshawar sits an hour from an international crossing with a large informal trade and remittance economy behind it, and Pakistani banks apply correspondingly heavier transaction monitoring and source-of-funds questioning here. Expect to be asked to explain transfers that would pass without comment in Karachi, and expect periodic KYC refresh requests. The way through it is documentation you kept at the time rather than explanation you construct later.

Source: community-reported

The Roshan Digital Account is fully repatriable and explicitly open to POC holders.

The State Bank built RDA for non-resident Pakistanis and included non-resident Pakistan Origin Card holders. Accounts open remotely, hold rupees or major foreign currencies, and permit transfers abroad without prior State Bank approval. That combination — remote opening and unrestricted repatriation — does not exist for ordinary foreign nationals, and it is one more reason to establish POC eligibility before anything else.

Source: State Bank of Pakistan

Utility arrears follow the meter, not the person, and PESCO bills are not small.

Electricity debt in Pakistan attaches to the connection rather than to whoever ran it up, so taking possession of a flat without documented readings can hand you a substantial PESCO arrear you did not create. Photograph every meter on the day you move in, get the outgoing bills settled in writing, and transfer the connection into your name as part of the tenancy rather than as an afterthought. Nobody at the bank or the agency will warn you about this.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Opening whichever account type the branch found easiest, without checking resident status.
Walking into a branch that has never processed a foreign passport when your employer banks two streets away.
Not requesting and filing inward remittance advices from the first transfer.
Overlooking the Roshan Digital Account when you hold or could hold a POC.
Taking possession of a flat without photographed meter readings and inheriting PESCO arrears.

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