Pakistan Visa Rant - What a nightmare
I need to get this off my chest because holy shit, trying to get documentation for Pakistan is easily one of the most frustrating boss fights of my life.
The Mission: I live in the US. I’m a US citizen by birth, my wife is Pakistani with a green card, and we are bringing our US-born daughter to Pakistan for the first time. Meri ammi ki birthday hai soon, surprise dena hai mainay. The Weapon of Choice: A Family Visit Visa (because waiting for a NICOP takes too long and we only have a month).
So, I log onto visit.nadra.gov. Let the games begin.
First of all, there’s a massive button at the top that screams APPLY NOW. You click it... and it refreshes the exact same page. The actual link is buried in a sub-section a mile down. Ajeeb bandar ne beth k UI/UX designing ki hai is ki. A middle schooler vibe-coding in 2026 could build a better interface. This thing looks like it was optimized for Windows 98. Ajeeb.
Account created. I get to the "Personal Information" section for my 13 month old daughter.
- Question 1: Marital Status. Why TF is this form not dynamic based on DOB? She’s 13 months old! Single and ready to mingle at daycare, I guess?
- Question 2: Place of Birth. I try to put the hospital address because ghar ka address to dal chuka hun may so naturally this is looking for something else right? RIGHT? Error: Characters not allowed. Literally every address in the Continental US has a zip code, but no numbers allowed here! Do they tell you this? No. You just have to guess. This field is mandatory, so you basically have to pray to Allah, send a dua to Asim Munir, and wait for a kala dala to pull up to your house with an instruction manual.
At the top of the page, there is a clear disclaimer: "Mandatory information will be marked with a red asterisk (*)."
Fast forward to the Family Information section: The asterisks are only on Full Name, Nationality, and Relationship. So, logically, you assume the rest is optional, right? Wrong. Logic is for educated people, hum jahiloon k liyay nai hai. If you try to skip the "optional" fields, the system hits you with an error saying everything is mandatory. You only find this out by hitting continue and getting yelled at by the UI.
Finances and Employment: There is no "Baap ka paisa" option. As forward as this country is about employment, I'm sorry to report that my 13-month-old has not yet found a job. Economy bohot kharab hai. She also doesn’t have a Pakistani bank account. I had to select "Supported by family member." (I know this is standard for visas everywhere, but I’m petty right now and it messes with the flow of my rant).
We get to Visit Information. Stay details, address, province, district done. Then comes a blank field: Citizen Number.
- No asterisk.
- No context.
- What is it?
I had to Google it to find out it means CNIC. Why the heck doesn't it just say CNIC? And whose CNIC?! My infant daughter doesn't have one. Mine? The house I'm going to? Mere abbu ka? Why is it required but not marked required?! If you get it wrong, it doesn't even highlight the error. You just bang your head against a wall 10 times until the kala dala returns. I ended up just throwing my Dad's number in there and hoping for the best.
I finally land on the "Friend/Relative Information" section. I am applying for a Family Visit Visa to see my parents.
- Do you have relatives in Pakistan? Yes.
- Relationship to you? I click the drop-down to select Grandparents.
Grandparents are not an option.
Guardian hai, cousin hai, friend hai... BC grandparents nai hai. My daughter is 13 months old. Anti-social hai thori language barrier ki waja se, abhi sirf mama baba bolna aya hai. She doesn't have any friends in Pakistan! So, the only way to get through this form is to select "Cousin." Her cousins are all between 0-10 years old. Oh, and you know what’s mandatory for the cousin? A phone number. I am now providing a phone number for a literal child.
The Aftermath: God knows how they’re going to interpret this application because half of it is full of info that doesn't apply, and the other half is so badly presented I’m just praying I guessed right.
Ladies and gentlemen of Pakistan: we have some of the best developers, designers, and techies on the planet. This was the worst visa experience I've ever had. Fixing this basic shit would instantly increase our tourism numbers (only half kidding).
I really hope I get this visa. It would mean the world to my mom to have her granddaughter there for her birthday. Abhi hai aik mahina, Allah khair karay. I've paid my non-refundable $60 tribute and submitted this absolute bakwaas form. Dekhtay hain kia hota hai.
If you've read this far, thank you for coming to my rant. Jatay huay 5 rupee ki donation kar dain foreign office ko, ta ke ye ghareeb log aik UI/UX designer hire kar lain.