Country also waives visa fees for nationals of 126 countries
Pakistan has introduced changes to its entry visa requirements. The announcement was made on the country’s Independence Day in a bid to attract more tourism and foreign investment.
Pakistan government officials announced that Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) residents can now get a visa on arrival. In addition, nationals of 126 countries will no longer need to pay any fees when applying for a visa to enter Pakistan.
The changes make Pakistan's visa application process much simpler. When applying online, travellers can get a hold of their visa within 10 minutes of submitting an online application by answering 30 questions.
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According to local reports Pakistan has seen a significant rise in foreign tourists in recent years and the country has its sights set on Saudi Arabia and the UAE as target markets.
Pakistan is currently among the top five destination countries for passenger traffic at Dubai International (DXB) airport in the UAE. When the airport released its passenger numbers for the first half of 2024, while India remained the top destination country with 6.1 million passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia (3.7 million) and the UK (2.9 million), Pakistan was in fourth place with 2.3 million passengers.
According to the latest statistics, more than 2 million Pakistanis currently live in the UAE, making up 16.72% of the total population.