Immigration to Pakistan

Immigration to Pakistan is the legal entry and settlement of foreign nationals in the country. This process is managed by the Interior Minister of Pakistan through the Directorate General Passports. Most people who move to Pakistan cannot become citizens or stay permanently, unless they are married to a Pakistani person or are from the Commonwealth and have invested at least PKR 5 million in Pakistan's economy.

According to reports from the United Nations, in 2005 there were about 3.3 million immigrants living in Pakistan, making up about 2.1% of the country's population. This placed Pakistan as the 13th most popular country for immigrants in the world at that time. Earlier reports showed that the number of immigrants was just over 1 million in 1990 and grew to around 1.4 million by the year 2000.

Policies and procedures

Pakistan manages immigration using several important groups, such as the Ministry of Interior, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).

In 2019, the government started an online visa portal to make it easier for people from other countries to apply. There are also special counters at big airports, like Jinnah International Airport in Karachi and Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, to help with checking people in. NADRA keeps records of people from other countries who are allowed to stay, gives them special cards, and helps those who need protection under agreements with the UNHCR. Rules about visas and registration often change because of safety issues and how Pakistan interacts with other countries.

Demographics

Main articles: Afghans in Pakistan, Bangladeshis in Pakistan, and Arabs in Pakistan

As of 2009, about 2.1% of people in Pakistan were from other countries. The number of people moving to Pakistan has grown quickly in recent years. Most of these people come from South Asia. The biggest groups are from Bangladesh, followed by Afghan, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Indian, Sri Lankan, Burmese, and Briton. There are also people from places like the Arab World, such as Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen.

Many of these people are refugees, and most of them are Muslim. They are usually accepted or ignored by local people, and there are no laws to send them away from Pakistan. Some Bengali-speaking people live in many areas of Pakistan, like Karachi, Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Tando Adam, and Lahore. Experts say that people from Bangladesh and Burma (including the Rohingya) started moving to Pakistan in the 1980s and kept coming until 1998. Because of this, Karachi became one of the biggest homes for Rohingya people in the world, after Myanmar. The Burmese community lives in many neighborhoods in Karachi.

There are also thousands of Uyghur Muslims who have moved to the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan.

Refugees

Further information: Afghan refugees and Afghans in Pakistan

See also: Anti-Afghan sentiment

As of December 2020, about 1,435,445 registered Afghan refugees lived and worked in Pakistan. Most of them stayed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, Pakistan. In 2025, Pakistan began sending Afghan refugees away after their Proof of Registration cards expired, which affected around 1.4 million people and caused worry from the UNHCR.

Additionally, roughly 500 Somalis, between 60 and 80 Iraqis, and 20 to 30 Iranians were temporarily living in cities like Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Karachi. Nearly all of these people were waiting to be resettled in countries in the Americas, Europe, or Oceania.

Illegal aliens

Further information: Alien (law)

See also: Deportation of undocumented Afghans from Pakistan

In January 2012, it was reported that there were about 5 million people living in Pakistan without proper papers. Many of these people came from nearby countries like Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and others came from places such as Africa, Iran, Iraq, and Myanmar.

Pakistan’s government started trying to count these people in 2006. By 2007, it was thought that about 1.8 million people without papers lived in the big city of Karachi. Some believe the number might have been even higher, around 3.35 million. By 2010, the number in Karachi was thought to be between 1.6 and 2 million.

Many of these people came to Pakistan for different reasons. Some were students from places like Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Others came looking for work, especially in jobs that need little skill. Some people also used Pakistan as a place to rest while they tried to travel to countries in Europe or America.

In January 2010, Pakistan’s government asked these people to leave the country or register with the proper authorities. This happened after some violent events in Karachi linked to foreign groups operating in Pakistan.