VISA The 'hard phase', countries whose visa is not Pakistan, looks elsewhere

The 'hard phase', countries whose visa is not Pakistan, looks elsewhere
Be it pursuing education abroad, going to in-laws after marriage or the desire to meet a married daughter compels a Pakistani to go abroad, then obtaining a visa becomes difficult for Pakistanis.
Especially if the visa is to be obtained from a country whose embassy is not present in Pakistan or its visa section is not present, then the difficulty becomes double.
New Zealand, Finland, Scotland, Croatia and Bulgaria are included, while Austria, Canada, Greece, Sweden, Denmark and many other countries have embassies or high commissions in Pakistan but do not have visa sections. or are closed.
Due to this situation, for Pakistani nationals like Sarah Ahmed of Lahore, the dream of going abroad turns into a difficult and complicated journey. Sarah is a student and has received a scholarship to a university in Austria for higher education.
But when she tried to get an Austrian visa, she found that she could not submit her application directly to Pakistan. For this, they have to send their application to the Austrian Embassy in Iran. For which they had to go through a long and difficult phase.
In a conversation with Urdu News, she said that 'I thought that the embassy in Pakistan would mean that I would be able to apply from here. But when I found out that this embassy doesn't process visa applications, it felt like a wall had been erected in front of me, and I was forced to think about how to proceed.'
Sarah's story is not unique. Thousands of Pakistani citizens face similar challenges when they apply for visas from countries that do not have visa sections in Pakistan. The reasons for this situation can be varied, including diplomatic complications, logistical problems and economic factors.
Muhammad Arif, a businessman from Rawalpindi, also faced a similar problem. He was invited to attend a business conference in Croatia, but found out he would first have to go to the United Arab Emirates or Iran to apply for a visa.
In a conversation with Urdu News, he said that 'I had to get a UAE visa before applying for a Croatian visa. It's not just a matter of spending. It's a time away from my business and an uncertain situation.'
Many countries have embassies in Pakistan but do not process visas locally because they lack diplomatic resources. Some countries prefer to centralize their visa processing in a single regional center to streamline operations.
Some countries do not have adequate infrastructure or staff to handle the large volume of visa applications in Pakistan. As a result, Pakistani applicants have to send their documents to embassies in other countries, which incurs costs, delays and further complications.
Applying for a visa through embassies in other countries often incurs additional costs, which may be prohibitive for many applicants. These costs include international courier services, higher visa fees (due to currency conversion), travel to biometric appointments, and possible legal or translation fees.
For many Pakistani families, these costs become an extraordinary financial burden. These high costs make traveling abroad for study, business, or tourism a difficult goal.
Ahsan Malik is a businessman. This situation is particularly challenging for many people like him, who wish to obtain visas for business purposes. The extra costs and delays almost made their business a failure.