Overstaying foreigners to be ‘fined, blacklisted’ in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has pulled its socks up to fine and blacklist the overstaying foreigners after the expiry of the amnesty scheme on December 31, 2022, ARY News reported on Thursday.         

The amnesty scheme for overstaying foreigners is expiring on December 31, 2022, which was introduced by the Ministry of Interior on July 29 to temporarily permit the stay of illegal expatriates.

The interior ministry wrote a letter to the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) regarding the amnesty scheme for overstaying foreigners to exit Pakistan.

It stated that the cutoff date of the general amnesty scheme for overstaying foreigners to exit Pakistan is December 31, 2022.

The interior ministry further asked the NADRA to revert to the existing policy. It added NADRA should start collecting the overstay charges for exit permits from January 1, 2023, from foreigners for an overstay period of more than one year.

The authority has been directed to accept applications from foreigners for exit permits.

After the expiry of the general amnesty scheme, the overstaying foreigners for more than one year will be named into the ‘blacklist category for further entry into Pakistan with one-time permission to exit the country.’

The directives were issued by the interior ministry’s visa section officer.

The federal government had introduced the amnesty scheme for foreigners, restricting the payment of hefty fines for getting their exit permits.

As per the Foreigners Act 1946, a three-year sentence can be awarded to overstaying foreigners.