r/Overseas_Pakistani

I (24F) moved to Canada from Pakistan a couple of months ago with my family, and I’m really struggling with the adjustment. I don’t just miss Pakistan - i miss my life in Lahore. I had my own apartment, a great group of friends, a social life, financial freedom and the ability to go wherever I wanted. I could make spontaneous plans, Uber everywhere, dress up, go out etc and cheap labour helped me manage my household very easily. I had finally built a life that i had worked towards all my life and I was genuinely happy. Now, even though I’m grateful to have family here and I know Canada offers opportunities, I feel like I’ve lost so much of my independence. I’m starting over with my career, finances, social life and sense of belonging. I’m making new friends, which is going better than expected, but building new connections takes time, and it doesn’t replace the comfort of having your people around you. I feel guilty sometimes because I know I’m privileged to have this opportunity, but I also feel like people underestimate how hard it is to leave behind a life you actually loved, rather than one you wanted to escape. Realistically, I’ll be here for several years, and I want to make it work, but I miss my old life so much that it’s hard to feel excited about building a new one.
For those who immigrated to Canada or moved abroad in their twenties, especially from Pakistan:

1. How long did it take to feel at home?
2. How did you cope with missing your old life, friends and independence?
3. Did you eventually build a life you loved just as much?
4. How did you stop comparing your life abroad to the one you left behind?

I’d really appreciate hearing from people who’ve experienced this, especially those who were genuinely happy back home. I could use some honest advice and reassurance that this gets easier.

Hey everyone,

I'm getting a 15-inch MacBook Air M5 from the USA through someone who's travelling to Islamabad soon. $1,350

I wanted to ask people who have recently travelled from the USA to Pakistan, especially through Islamabad International Airport, what the current customs situation is for bringing a laptop as passenger baggage.

A few questions:

Is one new MacBook for personal use generally allowed in passenger baggage, or could customs duty/taxes apply?

Does it make any difference if the laptop is brought in its original sealed box versus opened?

Should the traveller carry the purchase receipt or any other documents?

Has anyone recently arrived at Islamabad Airport with a new laptop? What was your actual experience?

If any duty or declaration is required, what's the proper procedure for handling it?

I'm not trying to import multiple devices or bring anything for resale. It's just one laptop for my university work, video editing and AI development.

I'd appreciate advice based on recent experiences and, ideally, the current official rules rather than old information.

Thanks!

Hi,

I hope you’re all well…
I am due to fly to Pakistan on 28th October but have now realised my ID cards expired.
I have last night (10/10/2026) applied for a Pakistani family visit visa.
Has anyone applied for one recently? Any idea how long they will take?
Any other options?

Thank you

Male Looking for Pakistani male friends in Germany. Dm if interested.

[supprimé]

I needed to withdraw some cash abroad due to an emergency, so I called Bank Al Habib beforehand to confirm whether my debit card could be used at international ATMs, since I don’t see any option for this in the app.

They told me it cannot be used internationally because my account is classified as NRP. Well, I’m an overseas Pakistani but this is what I don’t understand, if I live overseas, why would being an overseas Pakistani prevent me from using my Pakistani debit card abroad?

They told me to contact my branch, which I did and still waiting for their reply. But if this is simply a bank policy for NRP accounts, I’m not sure what the branch can actually do.

Has anyone faced this, and is there actually a way around it?

Hi everyone,

I’m a Pakistani passport holder living in the UK, and my passport has around 4 months left before it expires.

I’m travelling with Saudia and will only be transiting through Riyadh to change planes, without leaving the airport or entering Saudi Arabia.

I’m planning to renew my Pakistani passport once I’m in Pakistan.

Has anyone travelled through Riyadh in a similar situation with less than 6 months remaining on their Pakistani passport? Did you have any issues with Saudia at check-in or during the transit?

Also, after renewing my passport in Pakistan, would I need to update my new passport details on my flights ticket or getting evisa with new passport?
Thanks

I’m planning to apply to the UK for the September 2027 intake and would appreciate advice from current students or anyone with experience studying there. I have about 10 months to prepare, plan to take IELTS, and expect to obtain my driving licence during this period. I’m considering a Computer Science degree.

1. What should I focus on during these 10 months?
2. Is it realistic to balance studying with a part-time job to help cover living expenses and some tuition fees?
3. Which skills would improve my chances of finding part-time work?
4. Should I learn any CS-related technical skills before starting my degree?
5. What else should I do to prepare?

I’d especially value honest advice from current international students in the UK. Thank you!

I'm in matric 10th, and my school doesn't have ECA, faculties so it's a pretty bad school and my dad is a business man who is in debt, so I don't have 10pkr on me right now, but still I have a lot of talent I can do calculus, I spend a lot of my time self studying I want to move abroad what's the right option for me and the right path.

Hello everyone, I have a small business that I'm trying to build and for that we're trying to raise capital. Now to clear one thing, reaching out to investors outside of Pakistan isn't to raise funds from people that are out of reach but its simple math. Fixed income funds in US offer 4-5%, Dubai, Oman and other GCC states are also in the similar range of 4-6% whereas Pakistan low risk funds offer 10% base currently as 10Y yields have touched 12.5%. Yes devaluation is a risk but PKR needs to be devalued against the USD by at least 8-12% for it to damage your returns.

We're a small company currently financing consumer electronics at (smartphones, laptops) smaller ticket options due to lack of capital hence we're raising capital and offering 14.5 - 16.5% fixed annual return. We wanted to move towards financing essential services which have a higher ticket in healthcare sector and focus on low risk products (consumer electronics are slightly higher risk) such as furniture, home appliances and mobility. The maximum tenure that we currently offer is 12 months hence our risk to rates and default is comparatively low than longer tenures. We do have other services that we offer to businesses which includes financial management, bookkeeping, advisory etc. and we're providing those services outside Pakistan as well so we do have a decent monthly income but it's not enough to build a capital base, a liquidity reserve base and cover expenses hence we're reaching out to investors.

We have also developed a portal for clients which allows you to track your amount 24/7 (except on Saturday & Sundays) so there's no informal communication about where it is. If anyone would like to discuss further we can keep an online meeting or have any of our references speak to you in person in either UK, Canada or Dubai. Looking forward to this because you could benefit from higher spread at lower risk.

If so, what country are you in and have you met and do you know other Baloch Pakistanis where you live?

I was thinking about whether Pakistan's higher education system is actually as poor as it is criticized? If Pakistan is lacking in terms of education then in which areas?

Is it mainly related to

• Quality of professors
• Curriculum and course depth
• Diversity of programs
• Infrastructure/labs
• Research opportunities and funding
• Or something else?

I'm not talking about low tier institutes because situation there is extremely dire.

I will appreciate comments from people who have studied STEM both in Pakistan and abroad, since they can provide a direct comparison.

Thanks!

I am genuinely curious how the Pakistani govt is able to maintain USD to PKR exchange rate at 277 for more than 3 years now when the inflation in Pakistan in PKR is around 10% but the inflation in the US in USD is less than 3%?

How long can this stable exchange rate be sustained?

Thinking about filing tax return but scared of any notices? Here's a breakdown of filing Income tax return

Benefits

1. Sale purchase property @ 1/10th tax of nonfiler

2. Half rate on vehicle registry tax

3. No bank transaction issue

4. If you need to get any of these transactions done after deadline you will have to pay 25k penalty

FAQs

5. How much tax do I have to pay? No you don't need to pay any taxes if you file return you have already paid taxes in the country you live in, though you will have to pay tax on any income earned in Pak (rent, interest, business)

6. Will I get any Audit notices? No since you haven't earned anything in Pak you don't need to worry about Audit

7. I send money to my Account in Pak and family withdraws from ATM, why is tax deducted on ATM transaction? If Nonfiler withdraws more tha 50k from ATM (in 1 day) then tax deducted from Bank Account

8. Do I need to declare income earned in US/UK/Gulf? No

If you’re a green card holder with Pakistani passport, can you get Egypt visa on arrival? I looked at the Egyptian embassy website but it doesn’t specify clearly. It actually makes it look like Pakistan passport can get visa on arrival even without gc. Just looking to see if anyone has any first hand experience with a similar situation.