This is the most consistently out of date subject in Pakistan travel writing. A great
deal of what is published online, including articles still ranking well, describes rules
that stopped applying years ago. If you read one thing about permits, make it something with
a date on it.
The short answer
The blanket No Objection Certificate requirement for foreign tourists
was abolished in 2019, as part of a wider visa liberalisation aimed at
encouraging tourism. For the great majority of visitors, to the great majority of places
they want to see, no permit is required at all.
That includes Islamabad, Lahore,
Karachi,
Hunza,
Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan
generally, Azad Kashmir and
Chitral, along with the heritage sites at
Taxila and
Mohenjo-daro. If your trip is
valleys, cities and history, you almost certainly need nothing.
What is still restricted
The remaining restrictions are narrow and specific rather than general:
- Prohibited and restricted zones inside cantonments. Cantonments are
open to movement, but marked zones within them are not. These are signposted. - Areas close to the Line of Control in Azad Kashmir. Valleys are open;
the immediate frontier is not. - Some valleys along the Afghan frontier, where access varies with the
security situation. - Certain high-altitude trekking and mountaineering routes, particularly
those approaching frontier zones or requiring a peak fee.
Restricted areas carry visible signboards. The practical rule is to treat a signboard or
a checkpoint instruction as final, and never to argue your way past one.
How to apply if you do need one
Where an NOC is still required, it is not something you arrange yourself on arrival.
Applications are made through a Pakistani tour or trekking operator licensed with the
Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation, which submits on your behalf.
Allow 7 to 14 working days for processing, and start the process around
three weeks before you intend to travel. Delays are routine rather than
exceptional, and an NOC that arrives after your flight is worth nothing. Expect to supply
passport details, a precise itinerary and dates, and for trekking, the route and the
operator’s own licensing details.
Trekking and mountaineering
Serious high-altitude travel is a separate category from ordinary tourism. Peak fees,
liaison officer requirements and route permissions apply to expeditions, and the rules
differ by peak and by region. If your plan involves the high routes covered in our
guide to trekking areas, work
through a licensed operator from the start rather than trying to establish the position
yourself.
Why you should verify anyway
Two reasons. First, this is exactly the area where the rules move: access to frontier
districts changes with the security situation, sometimes at short notice, and a valley open
last season may not be open this one. Second, the online record is unusually unreliable
here, because the 2019 change left years of older articles describing a system that no
longer exists.
So treat any article on this subject, including this one, as a starting point rather than
an authority. Confirm the current position with a PTDC-licensed operator before you book
anything non-refundable, and do it early enough that a permit is still possible if the
answer turns out to be yes.
What changed in 2019, and why it still causes confusion
Before 2019, foreign nationals needed a No Objection Certificate for a long list of
districts, including places that are now entirely routine to visit. The requirement was
removed as part of a visa liberalisation package intended to open the country to tourism,
alongside the introduction of electronic visas and visa on arrival for a number of
nationalities.
The confusion persists for a simple reason. A decade of blog posts, forum threads and
guidebook editions describing the old system is still online, still ranking, and mostly
undated. Advice written in good faith in 2016 now reads as current, and it sends visitors
chasing paperwork they do not need or, worse, deciding the country is too much trouble.
Visas, which are a separate question
An NOC is not a visa, and having one has never removed the need for the other. Pakistan
operates an electronic visa system covering most nationalities, with a tourist category that
is straightforward for ordinary trips. Some nationalities are eligible for visa on arrival
under specific conditions, and requirements differ if you are travelling for work or
journalism rather than tourism. Check the current position with your nearest Pakistani
mission, since visa policy has changed repeatedly in recent years and continues to.
What to do at checkpoints
You will pass police and army checkpoints, particularly in the north and on the approaches
to frontier districts. This is routine and not a sign of trouble. You may be asked for your
passport and for details of where you are going and staying, and in some districts your
details are recorded in a register.
Carry a paper photocopy of your passport and visa page as well as the originals, and a
few spare passport photographs, which are still occasionally requested. Be patient and
polite; the process is usually quick. If you are told an area is closed, that decision is
final and not a negotiation.
Common questions
Do foreign tourists still need an NOC for Pakistan?
For ordinary tourism, no. The blanket requirement was abolished in 2019 and the cities, the northern valleys, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir and Chitral are open without one. Permits survive only for restricted zones, frontier areas and certain high-altitude routes.
Do you need a permit for Hunza or Skardu?
No. Both are open to foreign visitors without a permit, and they are among the most visited destinations in the country.
How long does an NOC take to get?
Where one is required, allow 7 to 14 working days for processing and apply around three weeks before travel. Applications are submitted through a Pakistani operator licensed with the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation rather than by you directly.
Can you visit Azad Kashmir as a foreigner?
Yes. Azad Kashmir including the Neelum valley is open to foreign visitors. The restrictions apply to the immediate area of the Line of Control, not to the region generally, and local advice on the day is the thing to follow.
What happens if you enter a restricted area by accident?
Restricted zones are signposted and usually protected by a checkpoint, so accidental entry is unlikely. If you are turned back, accept it. Attempting to proceed is taken seriously and is the fastest way to turn a good trip into a bad one.
Last thoughts on permits and NOCs in Pakistan
The headline is genuinely good news, and it is the part most visitors get wrong: for
ordinary travel around Pakistan, the permit question no longer applies. Save the effort for
the two cases where it does, which are frontier areas and high-altitude routes, and check
those specifically rather than assuming the whole country still works the way it did before
2019. The rest of the practical detail is in our
guide to planning a trip to Pakistan, and
how to get around covers the transport side.
