Before you start

A job offer from a company registered in Pakistan, with its incorporation and tax documents
A Board of Investment recommendation where the employer is a registered foreign-investment enterprise
A passport valid well beyond the intended stay
Or, for anyone of Pakistani descent, documentary proof of that descent

Step-by-step

1
Test your POC and NICOP eligibility before an employer opens a file
POC is for foreign nationals of Pakistani origin — former citizens, descendants, foreign spouses — and NADRA states it carries visa-free entry, indefinite stay, exemption from foreigners' registration reporting, property and banking rights and eligibility for employment. NICOP is for people who are still Pakistani citizens. Either ends the visa question outright.
OnlineWho: YouBefore anything else
2
Have the employer lodge the work visa through NADRA's portal
Applications run 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 in-country extension.
Via employerWho: Your employer6–10 weeks before travel
3
Keep the Form-C issued at 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. File it — it underpins any subsequent registration step and is much easier to keep than to reconstruct. Multan International has limited long-haul service, so most arrivals route through Lahore, Islamabad or Karachi.
In personWho: YouOn arrival
4
Use the Multan passport offices for what they actually cover
DGI&P lists Regional Passport Offices in Multan — the main one in New Multan Colony near Madni Chowk, plus offices at Jalalpur-Pirwala and Qadirpur Rawan and an Executive Passport Office on Abdali Road. For passport and document business that is a genuine convenience. It does not follow that every immigration matter can be settled here.
In personWho: You
5
Check whether your nationality has to register with the police
Under the Registration of Foreigners Rules 1966 the police registration and residential permit requirement applies to nationals of India and Somalia and to anyone immigration directs. Most nationalities are exempt. Confirm at the counter rather than assuming. Punjab has no equivalent of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's law requiring your landlord to register every tenant with the police.
In personWho: You
6
Start the extension two to three months before expiry
Extensions are lodged online but processed by DGI&P, and the security clearance sits here rather than only on the first grant. Two months is comfortable; two weeks is how people end up out of status through nobody's fault.
OnlineWho: You and your employerFrom 2–3 months before expiry

Documents you’ll need

Passport with the Pakistani visa
Employer sponsor letter, incorporation certificate and tax registration
Form-C from arrival
Board of Investment recommendation, where applicable
For POC or NICOP: a parent's CNIC, a former Pakistani passport, or a family registration certificate

Things most newcomers don’t know

Multan is an administrative capital that is not a provincial capital, and the distinction decides which errands travel.

Punjab established a separate South Punjab civil secretariat in 2020 covering the Multan, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan divisions, with an Additional Chief Secretary seated in Multan and a protected share of the development budget; departments still publish separate South Punjab order streams. That is real devolution of provincial administration. It is not, however, capital status: the Ministry of Interior's published policy on one-year business-visa extensions names Islamabad and the provincial capitals, which for Punjab means Lahore. Establish which category your matter falls into before driving anywhere — and note that the secretariat's remit has been contested and adjusted repeatedly since 2020, so a two-year-old answer may not hold.

Source: Punjab Health and Population Department (South Punjab order stream); Ministry of Interior policy, as published

DGI&P has four listed offices in Multan, which is more than most cities of its size.

The department's own office list gives a Regional Passport Office at New Multan Colony near Madni Chowk, further offices at Jalalpur-Pirwala and Qadirpur Rawan, and an Executive Passport Office on Abdali Road. For anyone dealing with passport renewals, document attestation or family paperwork, having the counter in the city rather than two hours away is a genuine saving. The list is published and phone numbers are given — check it rather than turning up at the first address a search engine offers.

Source: Directorate General of Immigration & Passports

The POC removes the entire visa problem for a large share of people arriving in south Punjab.

South Punjab has one of the highest rates of labour migration to the Gulf in Pakistan, and substantial older migration to Britain. NADRA's stated POC rights — indefinite stay, exemption from police and foreigners' registration reporting, property purchase anywhere in Pakistan, bank accounts and eligibility for employment — make the work visa question moot for anyone with a Pakistani parent, grandparent or spouse. Employers routinely open visa files for people who never needed one.

Source: NADRA

There is no ladder, which changes the logic of staying.

Pakistan has no points system, no qualifying residence period and nothing that converts into permanent residence. Ten years of renewed work visas leaves you exactly where one year does. That removes the usual incentive to stay continuously or to tolerate a poor job in order to protect a clock. The only durable statuses here are inherited ones.

Source: DGI&P

Common mistakes to avoid

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.
Assuming the South Punjab secretariat can settle a matter reserved to a provincial capital.
Leaving the extension to the last fortnight when a security clearance sits on it.
Assuming a foreigner registration duty that mostly does not apply — or assuming it never does.

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