ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s interior ministry said on Thursday a general amnesty granted to foreign nationals illegally residing in the country, which allowed them to leave without paying any charges for overstaying, would lapse on December 31.
Introduced in July, the scheme made it possible for foreigners living in the country for up to a year after the expiry of their visa to get exit permits online.
However, those who had been in the country for more than a year after visa expiration were asked to secure the document manually after paying a certain financial penalty.
The interior ministry assured all foreign nationals that no legal action would be taken against them for benefiting from the scheme.
According to Pakistan’s Foreigners Act, 1964, people belonging to other nationalities, who illegally reside in the country after visa expiration, can be subjected to prison sentence or deportation.
On Thursday, a section officer at the ministry directed the country’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to start imposing financial penalty on foreign nationals for overstaying in Pakistan after December 31.
“I am directed to refer this Ministry’ letter of even number dated 29th July 2022, and to state that a general amnesty scheme was given to overstaying foreigners to exit Pakistan without paying overstaying charges with a cutoff date of 31 December 2022,” read the official letter.
It informed that all exit permits would be processed online from January, adding that even those individuals who had stayed in the country for more than a year after visa expiration would not be required to get the document manually upon payment of fine.
“It is requested that in order to revert to the existing policy, NADRA may make changes in the POVS [Pakistan Online Visa System] to start collection of overstay charges for exit permits w.e.f. 01-01-2023 and henceforth POVS may be enabled to process all exit permit applications through online including overstay period of more than one year,” it said.
The letter noted that foreign nationals overstaying in the country for more than a year would be blacklisted after the scheme expired at the end of the year.
“Foreigners who have overstayed for more than one year may be put into the blacklist category for further entry into Pakistan with one-time permission to exit Pakistan,” the letter added.