pakistan visa, sent for referral
 

We got a massive knock back today after our visit to the Pakistan embassy in London.
After seeing several officials including the consult attache we where told that our application is being sent to Islamabad to be looked at on merit as the official line is that it is to dangerous to travel overland at the present time !
Have any of you guys got any idea if this will come back + or - and where we go from here ?
It seems the this is new policy and has not reached the other offices in the UK yet, so if your looking for a Pakistan visa in the near future, I would get in quick and not in London.

Pete & Caf

Hi Pete,

As you know I went in to the Pakistan Consulate in Glasgow today and got my visa sorted out within a couple of hours. They asked a few questions to make sure I was aware that there may be some security issues in the country which will probably involve some police escorts along the way but they seemed happier once I said I would be travelling in a group of 3 or 4 people.

I am no expert at this but from our different experiences trying to do the same thing today it seems to have better odds going to a consulate rather than the embassy.

I suppose it at least it shows they are willing to let people travel through, just depends on where/who deals with the visa request.

Cheers
Trev

We applied in August 2007 (Finnish passport) from Pakistan embassy in Stockholm, and they asked about our itinerary, and then sent our applications to Islamabad, which did not sound promising at the time. This was before president Musharraf declared martial law, so there were tensions at that time, too.

But after about 10 days we were notified that we will get visas, with advice to contact the authorities before going to certain areas, and altogether the process took a bit more than 2 weeks.

Thanks for the heads up, that's made me feel a bit more positive.
If it's turned down we'll try in Istanbul and if that's negative we will ship to uae/dubai and then onto Mumbai

re-apply telling them you wan to enter via Amrtisar/wagah and visit Skardu and Gilgit before returning to India. They will issue you a visa straight away. If you need multi entry, tell them you are exciting to china before returning along the KKH.

I did this last year and balouchistan was a doddle. You are probably being to truthful with them about your visa application.

I recently applied for a Pakistan visa, although to a different embassy (Berlin, by post). I stated my itinerary (truthfully) as

Enter via Khunjerab pass -> Sost -> Gilgit -> Islamabad -> Lahore

and had the passport and visa back in the mail 3 days later. It has a stamp stating "you are requested not to enter prohibited areas", and a ban on employment/university attendance, but otherwise no restrictions.

I crossed into Pakistan from China last year. I had all the visas, but getting the Pakistani visa was a bit of a nerve-wrecking experience (1 week wait for a decision from Islamabad). Just out of curiosity, I explicitly inquired about a visa on arrival at the Sost border:
If you're coming from China (Karakorum Highway), you can get a visa on arrival in Sost, no problems. (That's for EU citizens at least. Not sure about US or Australian, but it should be OK as well).

Got my first knockback from the Pakistani embassy in London as well today... the polite lady said that "for my own security" I would not be allowed in the country with a motorcycle.

Told her I'm travelling through Pakistan on my way from Iran to India, requested to see my itinerary and sent me on my way - now I'm leaving for the embassy again with an itinerary I knocked up which hopefully does not strike too many sensitive chords (I was specifically told to avoid Quetta!), but they do require my planned itinerary with daily granularity, so I can't just say "oh I'll visit the KKH and then I'm out".

Will let you know how I get on.

Alexandros

Alright, so it's official. Policy is: "no road travel for foreigners in Pakistan" - at least that's what the consular attache told me in London. So no visa for me.

I will try re-applying in Athens, but wonder what the best strategy is.

Should one NOT mention the word "motorcycle" and let the authorities believe the travel will be by air, and risk turning up at the borders and being denied entry?

Realistically, if I show up in the Iran/Pakistan border in 3 months' time with a valid tourist visa but no special provision for the bike, what's the chance I'll be turned back/arrested/whathaveyou? It'll be a pretty grim situation, since I won't be allowed re-entry to Iran (one-way visa only, which by that point should be expiring anyway), so I'll have nowhere to go.

Opinions/experiences about not being too truthful and forgetting to mention that I'm travelling overland next time I apply very much appreciated.

Alexandros

PS: I presented the London consulate with a signed LOI, copies of my passport, the ID of the person inviting me, 2 pictures, my planned itinerary with dates and the application form. They didn't read the rest when they got to the "motorcycle" on the application form...

PPS: I forgot: I didn't bother doing the referral process that Pete & Caf are going through, since I was told it would take "4 to 6 weeks" and would probably yield a negative answer anyway, and I thought I'd take my chances with another consulate. Pete & Caf, any news with how that went?