Pakistan Tourist Visa 2026: Fees, Rules and How to Apply
Pakistan suspended its free visa on arrival in January 2026. Here is what the tourist e-visa now costs, what documents you need, and how long it really takes.
Short answer: almost every foreign visitor needs a visa before flying to Pakistan. On 1 January 2026 Pakistan suspended the free Visa Prior to Arrival that had covered 126 nationalities, so you now apply and pay for a tourist e-visa online at visa.nadra.gov.pk before you travel.
Budget roughly US$20 to US$60 depending on your passport, and allow 7 to 10 working days for processing. Only eight nationalities enter visa-free.
If you searched for this a year ago, you would have found something very different. Between August 2024 and the end of 2025, Pakistan ran one of the most generous tourist visa schemes in Asia: free, multiple entry, valid for 90 days, and usually approved within 48 hours. Then it quietly stopped.
Most of the guides still ranking for "Pakistan visa" describe that old system. They are wrong, and following them will cost you a flight. Here is what actually applies now, what you will pay, and where the process still catches people out.
What changed on 1 January 2026
The Visa Prior to Arrival, usually shortened to VPA, launched in August 2024 as the centrepiece of Pakistan's push to grow tourism. Citizens of 126 countries could apply online, pay nothing, and receive a multiple-entry visa good for up to 90 days, typically within 24 to 48 hours.
On 1 January 2026 it was suspended. There was no press release. Travellers worked it out when the VPA option simply vanished from the government's visa portal, and the change was confirmed afterwards by immigration and visa-policy trackers.
Every one of those 126 nationalities now applies for the standard paid e-visa through the Pakistan Online Visa System. The visa still exists and is still straightforward. It is no longer free, and it is no longer fast.
How to spot an out-of-date guide: if a page tells you a Pakistan tourist visa is free, arrives in 24 to 48 hours, or is issued on arrival for 126 countries, it was written before January 2026 and has not been updated. Check the fee on the official portal before you believe any figure, including ours.
Do you need a visa for Pakistan?
Almost certainly yes. Travellers fall into three groups.
Nationalities that enter visa-free
Eight nationalities need no visa at all. Nationals of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates receive 90 days, an exemption that took effect on 14 August 2024. Maldivian nationals also get 90 days and Nepali nationals get 30. Maldives and Nepal have never required a visa for Pakistan.
Nationalities that use the e-visa
Everyone else applies online. The Pakistan Online Visa System is open to nationals of roughly 175 to 190 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea and the whole of the EU. This covers the overwhelming majority of people who come to us for a trek or a tour.
Nationalities that cannot use the e-visa
The online system is closed to holders of Indian, Israeli and Taiwanese passports, who must go through a consulate or, in the Indian case, a separate process described below. Armenian nationals were excluded historically; Pakistan established diplomatic relations with Armenia in 2025 and access has changed since, so Armenian passport holders should check the portal directly rather than trust any secondary source, this one included.
What a Pakistan tourist visa costs
Pakistan sets visa fees on a reciprocal basis, so what you pay depends on what your country charges Pakistani nationals. That is why you will see different numbers quoted on different sites, and why nobody can give you a single figure that is true for everyone.
Published figures for a single-entry tourist visa currently run from about US$20 at the low end to around US$60 for American, British and Canadian passports, with most European nationalities landing in between. A single-entry business visa is quoted at about US$100. We are giving you the range rather than a precise number because the sources genuinely disagree, and the only figure that matters is the one the portal shows you at the payment step.
| Visa type | Typical fee | Validity | Entries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tourist e-visa | US$20 to US$60, by nationality | 3 months | Single entry |
| Business e-visa | Around US$100 | 3 months | Single entry |
| Visa-free entry (8 nationalities) | Free | 30 or 90 days | n/a |
Some nationalities still pay nothing for a tourist visa. The fee-exempt list covers Afghanistan, China, Japan, Iceland, North Korea, Slovakia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with work visas excluded from the exemption. Japanese travellers in particular often assume the 2026 change hit them too. It did not.
One thing to plan around: the fee is non-refundable. If your application is refused, the money is gone.
How to apply for the Pakistan e-visa
The whole process happens on one government website, visa.nadra.gov.pk. There is no paper stage, no courier, and no embassy visit for most nationalities.
- Create an account on the Pakistan Online Visa System. Use the official portal. A number of lookalike sites charge a service fee on top of the government fee for filling in the same form.
- Select your visa category. For a holiday, a trek or a mountaineering trip, that is the Tourist category.
- Complete the application form. Enter your name exactly as it appears in the machine-readable strip of your passport, not as you normally write it.
- Upload your documents. The list is below.
- Pay by credit or debit card. American applicants should note the form expects a valid US phone number.
- Wait for processing and watch your email and the portal dashboard.
- Download and print your e-visa. Carry a paper copy. Airline check-in staff and immigration officers both ask for it, and phone batteries fail at the worst moments.
Documents you need
- A passport with at least six months validity beyond your arrival date and two blank pages
- A passport photograph on a white background, taken within the last three months
- A hotel booking or an invitation letter from a host in Pakistan
- A travel itinerary with your dates and destinations
- Three months of bank statements as proof of funds
The invitation letter is where independent travellers lose time. If you are staying with friends or family, the letter needs to be an affidavit on Government of Pakistan stamp paper, signed by your host, with copies of their CNIC and passport attached. If you are travelling with an operator, that requirement disappears: the booking confirmation and invitation letter we issue for our Pakistan tours satisfies the accommodation and itinerary documents in one go, which is the single most common reason our clients' applications go through without a query.
How long the Pakistan e-visa takes
Official guidance is 7 to 10 working days. Some applicants report waits stretching to 20. Against the 24 to 48 hours the old VPA delivered, this is the change that catches people hardest.
Apply at least three to four weeks before you fly. Working days exclude weekends and Pakistani public holidays, and the queue lengthens ahead of the spring blossom season and the summer trekking window. If you are timing a trip around a particular month, our guide to the best time to visit Pakistan is worth reading before you lock in dates.
Avoid booking non-refundable international flights until the visa is in hand. That is standard advice for any visa, and it is worth repeating now that the processing time has grown by a factor of ten.
Is there still a Pakistan visa on arrival?
For practical purposes, no. Visa on arrival for tourists went with the VPA suspension, and this is the single most misreported point on the internet right now.
Narrow exceptions survive. Turkish nationals holding a valid Schengen, UK or US visa can obtain a visa on arrival, and a business visa on arrival remains available to certain approved categories of traveller. Neither applies to an ordinary holiday.
If you arrive in Islamabad without a visa expecting to buy one at the counter, you will be refused entry and put on a return flight. Apply before you fly.
Special cases
Indian nationals
India is the most restricted case by a wide margin. Indian passport holders cannot get a tourist visa for Pakistan at all. The categories open to them are family visit, business, transit and religious pilgrimage, and every application is cleared directly by the Ministry of Interior rather than through the online system.
Holders must register with the police after arrival, may enter and leave only through Wagah, Islamabad, Lahore or Karachi, and are not eligible for extensions. Overstaying carries a penalty of 40 rupees per day.
Israeli passports
Pakistan does not recognise Israel and does not accept Israeli passports. Israeli nationals cannot use the e-visa system.
Dual nationals
Enter and exit Pakistan on the same passport throughout, the one carrying the visa. Switching documents between arrival and departure creates a mismatch in the immigration record that is tedious to unpick at the airport.
The permits your visa does not cover
This is the part visa websites never tell you, and it matters more in Pakistan than in most countries, because the places people come for sit close to sensitive frontiers.
The good news first. The No Objection Certificate that foreigners once needed for Gilgit-Baltistan was dropped years ago for general travel. Hunza, Skardu, Shigar, Deosai National Park and the Karakoram Highway are all open, and your tourist visa alone is enough to visit them. The only paperwork is the routine passport registration at a handful of checkpoints along the Karakoram Highway.
Restricted zones are a different matter. High-altitude routes near the Line of Control, some valleys along the Afghan border, and the Baltoro Glacier system all require an NOC arranged in advance. That includes the approach to K2 Base Camp, Concordia, and the Broad Peak and Gasherbrum base camps. Those treks also need a separate permit from the Alpine Club of Pakistan, and the restricted-area trekking fee runs to US$150 per person per month.
None of that is something you can sort out from a hotel in Skardu the week you arrive. A licensed operator files it for you, weeks ahead, and it is a large part of what you are paying an operator for on a Baltoro trip.
After you land
Keep the printed e-visa with your passport for the whole trip. Hotels record it at check-in, and it is occasionally checked at police posts on the road north.
Extensions are handled online through the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports. Apply before your current visa expires rather than after, and note that Indian nationals are excluded from extensions entirely.
Five mistakes we see every season
- Applying through a copycat website. They charge a markup to submit the same free-to-file government form.
- Name mismatches. The name on the application must match the passport exactly, middle names and all.
- Applying a week before departure. Under the current system that is not enough time.
- Assuming it is still free. The single most expensive assumption on this list.
- Arriving with the visa only on a phone. Print it.
Worth the paperwork
The 2026 change made getting into Pakistan slower and no longer free. It did not make it hard. One online form, one card payment, and a couple of weeks of patience is a low price for the Karakoram, and the country on the other side of the process is still one of the least crowded great mountain destinations on earth.
If safety is the other question on your mind, we wrote a region-by-region look at whether Pakistan is safe to visit, and our complete guide to visiting Pakistan covers the practical side, including money and mobile data. When the visa lands, browse our tours and we will handle the permits, the logistics and the invitation letter for the next one.
Pakistan visa FAQ
Do I need a visa to travel to Pakistan?
Yes, unless you hold a passport from Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates. Every other nationality needs a visa arranged before travel, in most cases an e-visa applied for online at visa.nadra.gov.pk.
Can US citizens travel to Pakistan?
Yes. American citizens can visit Pakistan on a tourist e-visa, applied for online before departure. There is no ban on US citizens travelling to Pakistan. The whole application is completed on the government portal with no embassy visit and no physical documents.
How much does a Pakistan visa cost?
Between about US$20 and US$60 for a single-entry tourist visa, depending on your nationality, because Pakistan sets fees reciprocally. American, British and Canadian passport holders sit at the higher end. Nationals of Afghanistan, China, Japan, Iceland, North Korea, Slovakia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE pay no fee. The portal shows your exact amount before you pay, and the fee is non-refundable.
Can I get a Pakistan visa on arrival?
Not as a tourist. Pakistan suspended its visa on arrival and Visa Prior to Arrival schemes on 1 January 2026. Turkish nationals holding a valid Schengen, UK or US visa remain eligible, and a business visa on arrival exists for certain approved categories, but ordinary holidaymakers must apply and pay online before flying.
How long does the Pakistan e-visa take to process?
Official guidance is 7 to 10 working days, with some applicants reporting up to 20. Apply three to four weeks before you fly, and avoid non-refundable flight bookings until the visa is approved.
How long can I stay in Pakistan on a tourist visa?
The standard tourist e-visa is valid for three months and issued for single entry. Extensions are possible through the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports, applied for online before your current visa expires.
Is the Pakistan visa still free?
No, not for most nationalities. The free Visa Prior to Arrival that covered 126 countries from August 2024 was suspended on 1 January 2026. Those travellers now pay the standard e-visa fee. A small list of nationalities, including China, Japan and Malaysia, remains fee-exempt.
Do I need a permit for Hunza, Skardu or K2 Base Camp?
Hunza, Skardu, Shigar, Deosai National Park and the Karakoram Highway need no permit beyond your visa. Restricted areas do: the Baltoro Glacier routes to K2 Base Camp, Concordia, Broad Peak and the Gasherbrums require a No Objection Certificate, an Alpine Club of Pakistan trekking permit, and a restricted-area fee of US$150 per person per month. A licensed operator arranges these in advance.
Can Indian citizens get a Pakistan tourist visa?
No. Indian passport holders cannot obtain a tourist visa for Pakistan. Family visit, business, transit and religious pilgrimage visas are available, cleared directly by the Ministry of Interior. Holders must register with police on arrival, may only enter through Wagah, Islamabad, Lahore or Karachi, and cannot extend their stay.
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