Federal govt approves amendments in visa policy

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to attract foreign investors and businesses, the caretaker government of Pakistan has approved amendments to the country’s visa policy, under which foreign investors will receive a 6-month business visa within 24 hours, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

According to the details, the federal cabinet has given a green light to the amendments in the visa policy, after which – on the recommendation of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) – a 6-month business visa will be issued immediately.

The federal government has made significant improvements to the visa policy, providing substantial ease in the visa application process for foreign investors and commercial purposes.

The amendments in the visa policy have been approved for 103 countries, and Pakistani missions will now be obligated to issue business visas for 5 years within 24 hours. Meanwhile, a short-term investor visa of one year will also be issued within 24 hours.

Furthermore, on the recommendation of the SIFC, a 3-year investor visa will also be issued within 24 hours, while the Ministry of Interior is mandated to issue 5-year investor visas in just 10 days.