Police Clearance Certificate in Pakistan: How to Get One for Immigration

Who needs one, and for which countries

Immigration authorities generally require a police certificate from every country where you have lived for six months or more since turning 18, including Pakistan itself and any country you worked in. This catches many applicants out: a Pakistani national who spent three years in the UAE normally needs a UAE certificate as well as a Pakistani one, and the overseas certificate often takes longer to obtain. Start both at the same time.

Applying from inside Pakistan

The process is provincial. Punjab and Islamabad applicants use the Punjab Police online portal and then attend a Khidmat Markaz for biometric verification. Sindh applicants use the Sindh Police Record Verification System, which issues a tracking number so the application status can be checked online. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa runs the certificate as a notified service through KP Police. In Balochistan and AJK, and wherever an online route is unavailable, the application is made through the district police office of your domicile, usually endorsed by the Superintendent of Police and verified through your local police station.

Documents to bring

A copy of your computerised national identity card (CNIC), front and back; copies of the biodata pages of your passport; recent passport-size photographs; the completed application form for your province; and the fee receipt or challan. Applicants applying for an overseas purpose should bring the passport copy without fail, since the certificate is normally issued against the passport number that will appear on the visa application. Fees are set provincially and are modest — typically in the low hundreds to around two thousand rupees depending on province and whether urgent processing is used — but confirm the current amount with the issuing authority rather than relying on a figure published online.

MOFA attestation is usually the step people miss

A certificate issued by provincial police is a domestic document. Before a foreign embassy or immigration authority will accept it, it generally needs attestation by Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and some missions additionally require their own attestation or legalisation afterwards. Applicants routinely submit an un-attested certificate, have it rejected, and lose weeks. Check what the receiving authority requires before you submit, because requirements differ between Canada, Australia and student-visa routes.

Applying from outside Pakistan

Pakistani nationals living abroad apply through their nearest Pakistani mission — the High Commission in London, consulates in Toronto, New York, Birmingham and elsewhere. The mission forwards the request to Pakistan for verification, which is why this route takes considerably longer than applying domestically. If you know you will need the certificate and you are planning a trip to Pakistan, obtaining it in person is usually far faster.

Validity and timing within your application

Police certificates are treated as time-sensitive. Immigration authorities expect a certificate that reflects your recent record, and one obtained too early in a long application can be asked for again. The practical approach is to obtain it when your file is otherwise close to submission-ready, not at the very start — but early enough that attestation and any overseas certificate can be completed without holding up the lodgement.

Step by step

1. 1

   List every country you owe a certificate for

   Include anywhere you lived six months or more since turning 18, not only Pakistan.

2. 2

   Identify your provincial route

   Punjab and Islamabad, Sindh, KP, or district police office depending on your domicile.

3. 3

   Apply online or at the district office

   Submit the form with CNIC and passport copies, photographs and the fee.

4. 4

   Complete biometric verification

   Attend the Khidmat Markaz or designated centre where your province requires it.

5. 5

   Collect the certificate and check the details

   Confirm your name, CNIC and passport number match your travel document exactly.

6. 6

   Obtain MOFA attestation

   Then any further embassy attestation the receiving authority requires.