Before you start

A job offer from a company or organisation registered in Pakistan, with its registration documents
For international organisations, the relevant host-country agreement or ministry accreditation instead
A passport valid well beyond the intended stay
Or, for anyone of Pakistani descent, the documents proving it

Step-by-step

1
Establish POC and NICOP eligibility before anything else
POC is for foreign nationals of Pakistani origin — former citizens, descendants, foreign spouses — and gives visa-free entry, indefinite stay, exemption from foreigners' registration, property and banking rights and eligibility for employment. NICOP is for people who are still Pakistani citizens. Either ends the visa question. Resolve it before your employer starts.
OnlineWho: YouBefore anything else
2
Check whether your employer is a special case
United Nations agencies, other international organisations and diplomatic missions run accreditation processes with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rather than ordinary work visas, with different documents and different privileges. Islamabad has more such employers than the rest of Pakistan combined. Ask your HR contact which track you are on before assuming the standard route.
Via employerWho: Your employer
3
Have the employer lodge the work visa on NADRA's portal
Applications go through visa.nadra.gov.pk with the sponsor letter, incorporation certificate and tax registration. DGI&P publishes the entry visa at up to three months, with the substantive stay coming from the extension.
Via employerWho: Your employer6–10 weeks before travel
4
Keep the Form-C from arrival
The FIA's guidance is that you give the immigration officer details of your visit on arrival and receive a copy of Form-C. Keep it filed — it underpins any subsequent registration and is easier to hold than to replace.
In personWho: YouOn arrival
5
Start the extension two to three months out
Extensions are lodged online but processed by DGI&P, with the security clearance attached to this stage rather than only to first issue. Being in Islamabad means the office deciding your file is in the same city, which occasionally shortens things and never lengthens them.
OnlineWho: You and your employerFrom 2–3 months before expiry
6
Sort NOC requirements before field travel
A Ministry of Interior No Objection Certificate remains required for designated restricted and prohibited areas — chiefly frontier districts and specified high-altitude zones. The Ministry is here, which makes the application straightforward, but it is not instant. Development-sector staff whose work involves travel to KP or Balochistan should treat this as a standing item rather than a per-trip scramble.
In personWho: You and your employer

Documents you’ll need

Passport with the Pakistani visa
Employer sponsor letter, registration certificate and tax registration
Form-C from arrival
For international organisation staff: accreditation documents from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
For POC or NICOP: a parent's CNIC, a former Pakistani passport, or a family registration certificate

Things most newcomers don’t know

If you work for a UN agency or an international organisation, you are probably not on the ordinary visa track.

Islamabad hosts the great majority of Pakistan's multilateral and bilateral presence, and staff of accredited international organisations are handled through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rather than as ordinary work-visa holders. The documents, the privileges and the renewal process all differ, and so do the tax consequences. Reading a general Pakistani work-visa guide and applying it to an accredited post produces confident, irrelevant advice. Ask your organisation's administrative office which regime you are actually in.

Source: community-reported; Ministry of Foreign Affairs practice

The POC removes the entire visa question, and the development sector is full of people who qualify.

NADRA's stated POC rights include multiple visa-free entry, indefinite stay, exemption from reporting to police or foreigners' registration offices, the right to purchase and hold property anywhere in Pakistan, bank accounts and eligibility for employment. A POC holder does not need a work visa. Islamabad's international workforce contains a very large number of second-generation Pakistanis on British, Canadian, American and Gulf passports for whom this applies and who have never checked.

Source: NADRA

NICOP and POC are not interchangeable, and the difference is citizenship.

NICOP is for Pakistani citizens abroad and supports a Pakistani passport and voter registration. POC is for foreign nationals of Pakistani origin and does neither. If you renounced Pakistani citizenship to naturalise somewhere that forbids dual nationality, NICOP is closed to you and POC is the route back in. People use the two names interchangeably, apply for the wrong one, and lose several weeks and a non-refundable fee.

Source: NADRA

Restricted-area NOCs are a standing planning item for anyone doing field work.

Ministry of Interior No Objection Certificates are still required for designated restricted and prohibited areas of Pakistan, principally frontier districts and specified high-altitude zones. For a development professional or a journalist based in Islamabad, travel to those areas is not incidental — it is the job. Treat the NOC as a recurring administrative process with lead time, held by your organisation, rather than as something to arrange the week before a mission.

Source: Ministry of Interior

Common mistakes to avoid

Following the ordinary work-visa process when your post is accredited through the Foreign Ministry.
Opening a work visa file when a POC application would have ended the problem.
Confusing NICOP and POC and applying for the one your citizenship excludes.
Leaving the extension until the last fortnight when a security clearance sits on it.
Planning field travel to restricted districts without a NOC already in hand.

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