Before you start

Legal residence in Pakistan
Your existing licence, and an International Driving Permit if you intend to drive on arrival
A learner permit before a full Sindh licence — the standard route for anyone licensed here
A local address and, in practice, an identity document the provincial system accepts

Step-by-step

1
Use an International Driving Permit for the first months
An IDP issued in your home country alongside your national licence is the accepted document for driving in Pakistan as a visitor. It is not a Pakistani licence and does not become one — treat it as a bridge while you decide whether you want to drive here at all.
OnlineWho: YouBefore arrival
2
Decide honestly whether you want to drive in Karachi
Traffic here is dense, lane discipline is nominal, and motorcycles move through gaps that do not exist. Many long-term foreign residents never drive and do not feel deprived. Try a month of ride-hailing before buying a car — it is cheap and it removes the parking, security and maintenance problem entirely.
Mobile appWho: YouMonth 1
3
Check with Sindh Police what identity document a foreigner may use
The Driving Licence Sindh system, like Punjab's DLIMS and the Islamabad Traffic Police portal, is designed around the CNIC. What a foreign national presents instead — passport and visa, or a POC or NICOP — is a question for the licensing branch rather than one to assume from an online guide. Ask before turning up with the wrong file.
In personWho: You
4
Take the learner permit route if you are getting a Sindh licence
Pakistani provinces issue a learner permit first, valid for a limited period, before the full licence test. This is the path for anyone licensed here regardless of experience elsewhere. Fees are small — the learner permit is a few hundred rupees per category.
In personWho: You
5
Consider hiring a driver rather than driving
A full-time driver on a monthly salary is an ordinary arrangement in Karachi, not an extravagance, and many employers include one in an expatriate package. It solves parking, navigation, the security question and the fact that you will not know which streets to avoid at which hours.
In personWho: You
6
Understand that a Sindh licence is a Sindh licence
Provincial licensing means the issuing authority, the portal and the renewal process all change if you move to Lahore or Islamabad. It is valid nationally for driving, but the administration follows the province that issued it.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

National licence from your home country
International Driving Permit, for the visitor period
Passport with valid visa, or POC/NICOP
Proof of Karachi address
Medical certificate, required in some categories

Things most newcomers don’t know

Licensing is provincial, and the three cities in this app run three separate systems.

Sindh issues through the Driving Licence Sindh system, Punjab through DLIMS, and Islamabad through the ICT Traffic Police. They have different portals, different fee schedules and different counters. A licence issued in one is valid for driving nationwide, but if you move between cities the administration of renewals follows the issuing province. People assume a national system and then cannot find their own record.

Source: Provincial licensing authorities

The online licensing systems assume you have a CNIC, which foreigners do not.

Pakistan's provincial licensing portals are built around the computerised national identity card. That is fine for citizens and for POC and NICOP holders, and awkward for a foreign national on a work visa, whose route is usually an in-person application rather than the online one. This is not a legal bar — it is a systems design assumption — but it means the published online process may simply not apply to you, and the licensing branch is the only reliable source on what does.

Source: community-reported

Employing a driver is normal here and it is not primarily about status.

In a city where navigation is genuinely hard, parking is contested, and knowing which routes to avoid at which hours is local knowledge you do not have, a driver is a practical solution rather than an indulgence. Monthly salaries are modest by expatriate standards and the arrangement is completely ordinary in Karachi's professional middle class. Many employers build it into the package; ask whether yours does.

Source: community-reported

An International Driving Permit is for visiting, not for living.

An IDP is recognised alongside your national licence and is the right document for the first months. It does not convert into a Pakistani licence and it is not a residency-grade document. If you settle here and intend to drive long term, the provincial licence is the correct end state, and starting that conversation early is easier than doing it after a traffic stop.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming a national licensing system when Sindh, Punjab and ICT each run their own.
Following an online DLIMS guide written for Punjab while living in Karachi.
Buying a car in month one before testing whether you actually want to drive here.
Relying on an IDP indefinitely rather than resolving the licence question.
Not asking the employer whether a driver is included before negotiating salary.

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