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- Quick facts
- Do Pakistani citizens need a visa for the UK?
- Types of UK visas available for Pakistanis
- UK visa requirements for Pakistani citizens
- How to apply for a UK visa from Pakistan
- UK visa fees for Pakistanis 2026
- UK visa processing time in Pakistan
- Where to apply in Pakistan
- UK visa rejection reasons & how to avoid them
- What to do if your UK visa is refused
- Visa validity, duration of stay & extension rules
- Travelling to the UK: entry rules for Pakistanis
- Is a UK visa easy to get for Pakistanis?
- Frequently asked questions
01 Quick facts
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| ETA Eligible? | No — the Electronic Travel Authorisation is only for visa-exempt nationals. Pakistanis cannot use it. |
| Fee (6-month visit) | £135 from 8 April 2026 · approx. PKR 48,000 |
| Long-term visit | £506 (2 yrs) · £903 (5 yrs) · £1,128 (10 yrs) |
| Processing (visit) | About 3 weeks (15 working days) after biometrics |
| Bank statement | Typically 6 months; minimum 28 days for some routes |
| Health surcharge | Not payable on visits of 6 months or less. £1,035/yr adult, £776/yr student for longer stays. |
| Max stay per visit | 180 days, regardless of visa length |
| Where to apply | Online at GOV.UK, then biometrics at a VFS Global centre (Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Mirpur) |
| Visa format | eVisa (digital). Physical vignette stickers are being phased out through 2026. |
| TB test | Mandatory for stays over 6 months |
02 Do Pakistani citizens need a visa for the UK?
Yes. Pakistan is on the UK's visa-national list: every Pakistani passport holder needs a visa before travelling, for any purpose and any length of stay. There is no visa-free option and no visa-on-arrival.
Why you cannot use the ETA
The UK's £20 Electronic Travel Authorisation does not apply to Pakistan — it is only for visa-exempt nationals such as Gulf states, the USA and EU members. Any agent offering to get you a UK ETA on a Pakistani passport is either mistaken or defrauding you.
Transit through the UK
Even changing planes at Heathrow usually requires a visa. Staying airside without passing border control may qualify for a Direct Airside Transit Visa (DATV); collecting baggage, changing terminals or passing immigration needs a Visitor in Transit visa. Never assume a short layover is exempt.
The eVisa transition
The UK has moved to a digital system. Most applicants now receive an eVisa — an online record linked to your passport — rather than a sticker. Vignettes for visitor visas began being phased out in early 2026. After approval, create a UKVI account at gov.uk/evisa and link your current passport. If you later renew your passport, update the account before you travel: this is the most common cause of boarding refusals in 2026.
03 Types of UK visas available for Pakistanis
The UK visa system offers routes for almost every purpose. Below are the categories Pakistani applicants use most, with 2026 fees.
Visit / tourist visa
Covers tourism, visiting family, business meetings, private medical treatment and short courses. Stays of up to 6 months per visit.
Long-term visit visas (2/5/10 years) do not let you stay longer — each visit is still capped at 180 days. They save you reapplying, but attract more scrutiny: you must show a credible travel pattern and strong reasons to return.
Business visa
There is no separate 'business visa' for most activities — business visitors use the same Standard Visitor visa. Permitted: meetings, conferences, negotiating contracts, site visits, trade fairs. You cannot do paid work for a UK company. Include a UK company invitation letter, your Pakistani company documents, and evidence of who is funding the trip.
Work visa / work permit
The main route is the Skilled Worker visa: you need a job offer from a UK employer holding a sponsor licence, a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), a salary at or above the required level, and an English language test.
Other routes: Global Talent, Health and Care Worker (IHS-exempt), Temporary Work, and the Graduate visa for UK degree holders.
Student visa
For degree, college and language courses. You need an unconditional offer from a licensed UK institution, which generates a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).
A three-year degree therefore costs roughly £558 plus about £2,328 in IHS before tuition. The 28-day rule is strict — the balance must not dip below the required amount on any day in that window.
Family / spouse visa
For spouses, fiancé(e)s, children and other relatives of British citizens or settled persons.
The £29,000 threshold applies to applications made on or after 11 April 2024 and does not rise if you bring children. If your first partner-route application predates that and you are applying with the same partner, the older £18,600 threshold still applies at extension and settlement.
If income falls short, savings bridge the gap: £16,000 + (2.5 × the shortfall). On savings alone that means £88,500, held for six unbroken months. A balance that dips below the figure even briefly does not qualify.
Transit visa
Pakistanis need a transit visa even to change flights. Two types: DATV (£39) if you remain airside, and Visitor in Transit (£78) if you pass immigration, collect luggage or change terminals. Check the rules before booking.
You cannot get a Skilled Worker visa without a Certificate of Sponsorship issued by a licensed UK employer. No agent can "arrange" one for a fee.
Verify any employer against the Home Office register of licensed sponsors before paying anyone a single rupee. If the company is not on that list, the job offer cannot produce a visa. Legitimate employers do not ask candidates to pay for a CoS.
Other routes — medical, religious workers, marriage
Private medical treatment: use the Standard Visitor visa for treatment up to 6 months; beyond that, the Medical visa (£234). You need a letter from a UK-registered doctor confirming your condition, treatment plan, estimated cost, and evidence you can pay.
Religious workers: imams and religious workers use the Minister of Religion (T2) or Religious Worker (T5) route — both require sponsorship from the UK institution.
Marriage visitor: planning to marry in the UK but not settle there? You need the Marriage Visitor visa (£135) — you cannot marry on a normal visit visa. If you intend to live in the UK after marrying, you need the Fiancé(e) visa, which leads to settlement.
04 UK visa requirements for Pakistani citizens
Documents vary by route, but almost every UK application from Pakistan needs this core evidence.
Core documents
- Valid Pakistani passport, valid for the whole of your stay, with at least one blank page
- Completed online application form on GOV.UK
- Bank statements — normally 6 months, on bank letterhead, stamped and signed
- Proof of employment or business: employment letter with salary and approved leave, or business registration (NTN certificate, SECP registration, partnership deed) for the self-employed
- FBR tax returns (Taxpayer Certificate) — strongly recommended for visit and family visas to show your ties to Pakistan
- Proof of accommodation in the UK: hotel bookings, or an invitation letter and host's address
- Travel itinerary — do not book non-refundable flights before you have the visa
- Invitation or sponsorship documents from the UK, if someone is hosting you: invitation letter, their passport or eVisa share code, proof of their status, and their address
- Property documents: registry, allotment letter, or Fard, showing assets in Pakistan
- TB test certificate from an IOM-approved centre — mandatory for any stay over 6 months, valid for 6 months
- Cover letter explaining your trip, who is paying, and your ties to Pakistan
- Certified English translations of any Urdu documents
The bank statement — what officers actually look for
This is where most Pakistani applications fail, and it is rarely about the total. Officers are assessing whether the money is genuinely yours and genuinely available.
- Show a stable balance built over time, not a large sum that appeared last week
- Any large credit must be explainable — property sale, gratuity, bonus, inheritance — and you should include the supporting document
- Borrowed money parked in your account to inflate the balance is the most common cause of refusal, and officers are experienced at spotting it
- Your salary credits should match the figure on your employment letter
- For visit visas there is no fixed minimum, but the balance must credibly cover your stated trip. Roughly PKR 8–10 lakh, stable over six months, reads well for a typical two-week visit
- If a sponsor is funding your trip, submit their statements plus a sponsorship letter explaining the relationship
Ties to Pakistan
For visit visas the central question is: will this person go home? Everything anchoring you to Pakistan helps — a job with approved leave, a business, property, a spouse and children remaining behind, ongoing studies. A young single applicant with no property, no fixed job, and no travel history faces the hardest path, not from bias but because there is little evidence of return.
05 How to apply for a UK visa from Pakistan
Choose the right visa type
Apply under the wrong category and a refusal follows, with no refund. Be honest about purpose: attending a sister's wedding is a visit; a course is a student visa; a job is a work visa. Never apply as a visitor if you intend to stay — deception can bring a 10-year ban.
Complete the online application
Apply at gov.uk. Every applicant needs their own form and fee, including children. Answer the travel history and previous refusal questions completely — the Home Office holds your full record, and an omission looks like deception even when it was an honest mistake.
Pay the fee
Card payment online only — never at the visa centre, never through an agent's account. Pay the IHS at the same time if your visa exceeds 6 months. Fees are non-refundable if refused.
Book biometrics at VFS Global
Book at a VFS Global centre. Bring your printed confirmation, passport and supporting documents. You give fingerprints and a photograph.
Submit documents and wait
Upload documents online or have them scanned at the centre. Keep your originals. You will be emailed when a decision is made.
Collect your passport and set up your eVisa
Collect your passport or receive it by courier. Create your UKVI account at gov.uk/evisa, link your passport, and test the View and Prove service by generating a share code before you fly.
06
06 UK visa fees for Pakistanis 2026
07 UK visa processing time in Pakistan
| Visa Type | Standard Processing Time |
|---|---|
| Visit / Tourist | ~3 weeks |
| Student | ~3 weeks |
| Skilled Worker | ~3 weeks |
| Spouse / Partner | 12–24 weeks |
| Marriage Visitor | ~3 weeks |
| Transit | ~3 weeks |
| Priority service | ~5 working days |
| Super Priority | Next working day |
Processing is counted from the date of biometrics, not the date you pay. These are targets, not guarantees.
Applications from Pakistan are sometimes referred for extra verification, which pauses the clock — routine, and not a sign of refusal. Summer and the weeks around Eid are busiest; add two to three weeks then. Apply six to eight weeks ahead and never book non-refundable flights before your passport is back.
08 Where to apply in Pakistan
VFS Global visa application centres
VFS Global is where you actually go — a commercial partner that collects biometrics and documents. VFS staff do not decide your application and have no influence over the outcome. Centres: Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Mirpur.
Book only through the official VFS website after paying on GOV.UK. Appointments are free; you pay only for optional extras like premium lounge, courier, or scanning.
British High Commission and Deputy High Commission
The British High Commission is in Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad; the Deputy High Commission is in Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi. Neither accepts walk-in applications or in-person visa enquiries. Everything goes through GOV.UK and VFS, and decisions are made at centralised UKVI centres, not at the Islamabad post.
✕ NOBODY CAN INFLUENCE A DECISION
Any agent claiming to have "contacts" at the British High Commission or VFS who can guarantee a visa is lying. Decisions are made by Entry Clearance Officers against published rules, and no third party can affect them.
If you use a consultant, use one registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA, formerly OISC). Everything they do, you can do yourself for free.
09 UK visa rejection reasons & how to avoid them
VFS Global visa application centres
VFS Global is where you actually go — a commercial partner that collects biometrics and documents. VFS staff do not decide your application and have no influence over the outcome. Centres: Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Mirpur.
Book only through the official VFS website after paying on GOV.UK. Appointments are free; you pay only for optional extras like premium lounge, courier, or scanning.
British High Commission and Deputy High Commission
The British High Commission is in Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad; the Deputy High Commission is in Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi. Neither accepts walk-in applications or in-person visa enquiries. Everything goes through GOV.UK and VFS, and decisions are made at centralised UKVI centres, not at the Islamabad post.
✕ NOBODY CAN INFLUENCE A DECISION
Any agent claiming to have "contacts" at the British High Commission or VFS who can guarantee a visa is lying. Decisions are made by Entry Clearance Officers against published rules, and no third party can affect them.
If you use a consultant, use one registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA, formerly OISC). Everything they do, you can do yourself for free.
10 What to do if your UK visa is refused
Refusal is not the end — but reapplying with the same file almost always fails again.
Read the refusal notice carefully
It cites the exact grounds under specific paragraphs of the Immigration Rules. That letter is your instruction manual — it tells you precisely what the officer was not satisfied about.
Understand your options
- Reapply — available immediately, with no waiting period. Only worth doing once you have fixed the specific ground cited, with new evidence. A stronger file, not the same file resubmitted.
- Administrative Review (£80) — only for a caseworker error, such as evidence you submitted being overlooked. Apply within 28 days. If the review finds an error, the £80 is refunded. It cannot consider new evidence.
- Appeal — available only for human rights-based refusals, mainly family and settlement routes. Visit visa refusals carry no right of appeal.
Address the refusal in your new application
Include a covering letter acknowledging the refusal and explaining what has changed. Ignoring it looks evasive; addressing it head-on shows good faith.
11 Visa validity, duration of stay & extension rules
- Standard Visitor: valid 6 months; you may stay up to 180 days
- Long-term visit (2/5/10 years): multiple entries over the validity period, but each visit is still capped at 180 days
- Student: length of the course plus a short wrap-up period
- Skilled Worker: up to 5 years before extension
- Spouse: 33 months initially, then a 30-month extension, then settlement (ILR) after 5 years
You generally cannot extend or switch from a visit visa inside the UK — return to Pakistan and apply again. One rule catches out long-term visit holders: do not treat it as residence. If your travel history shows repeated long stays with short gaps, the Home Office can cancel the visa on the ground that you are effectively living in the UK.
12 Travelling to the UK: entry rules for Pakistanis
- Carry printouts: your eVisa share code, hotel or host address, return ticket, and proof of funds
- Update your UKVI account with your current passport before you fly. If your eVisa is linked to an old passport number, the airline system may refuse to board you.
- Be ready to answer basic questions about your trip confidently and consistently with what you told the visa officer
- Cash over £10,000 (or equivalent) must be declared. Undeclared cash can be seized.
- No routine vaccination requirements apply, but a TB certificate is needed for stays over 6 months
- Working on a visit visa — even one day — is illegal and leads to removal and future bans
◆ IMPORTANT FOR BRITISH-PAKISTANI DUAL NATIONALS
From 25 February 2026, British citizens with dual nationality travelling to the UK on a non-British passport need either a valid British or Irish passport, or a Certificate of Entitlement to the right of abode.
Without one you may be refused boarding. If you hold both passports, travel to the UK on your British passport.
13 Is a UK visa easy to get for Pakistanis?
Honestly: the UK is one of the tougher visas for Pakistani passport holders, but far from impossible.
Refusal rates run well above the global average, mainly because of weak financial evidence and poor file preparation — not any blanket policy against Pakistanis.
Your chances are strong with stable verifiable income, a clean six-month statement, genuine ties, a consistent honest application, and prior travel history. They are weakest for young single applicants with no property, unstable income, and no travel record. If that is you, build a history in easier destinations first — the UAE, Türkiye, Malaysia, Azerbaijan.
The biggest lever is preparation. Most refusals are not close calls; they are files that failed to show something the officer needed to see. Nothing here requires an agent — everything an agent does, you can do yourself, for free.
14 Frequently asked questions
How much is the UK visa fee from Pakistan?
How much bank statement is required for a UK visa?
How long does a UK visa take in Pakistan?
Do I need an agent to apply for a UK visa?
Can I get a UK ETA on a Pakistani passport?
Can I work on a UK visit visa?
Can I extend my UK visit visa while in the UK?
What is a CAS and how do I get one?
Can I take my family with me?
I was refused before. Can I reapply immediately?
Is a TB test required for all UK visas?
Will I still get a visa sticker in my passport?
What if I renew my passport after getting my visa?
How much income does my UK sponsor need for a spouse visa?
◆ VERIFY BEFORE YOU APPLY
All fees and rules on this page were verified against official sources in July 2026. UK immigration rules change frequently and fees typically rise each April. Always confirm the current position at gov.uk and visa-fees.homeoffice.gov.uk before you apply.This guide is general information, not immigration advice. For advice on your circumstances, consult an adviser registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA).