NICOP and CNIC: NADRA cards from the United States

NICOP and CNIC: NADRA cards from the United States

The NICOP is the document everything else rests on. Without a current one, the passport system will not process your application, because it reads your details straight from NADRA rather than from the form you fill in. People who arrive at a consulate for a passport and leave with nothing are almost always people whose card had expired.

How long a Smart NICOP takes

Three speeds, and the difference between them is money rather than paperwork.

  • Normal: around six weeks.
  • Urgent: around four weeks.
  • Executive: around two weeks.

The payment trap

A single visit involves two fees paid two different ways, and getting it wrong sends you home.

  • The NADRA fee takes credit cards and Visa debit cards only.
  • The consulate processing fee takes a money order or a cashier's check only.

Neither accepts the other's method, no fee is refundable, and that includes applications that are later refused.

Renewing an expired card

For every renewal case, bring the expired NICOP, a valid US or Pakistani passport together with your green card, work permit or study permit, and your parents' CNIC or NICOP with marital status up to date.

Two references are required, and the rules about who they can be catch people out. You need each one's name, CNIC or NICOP number and a contact number. They cannot be your spouse, and they cannot be blood relatives, which rules out parents, siblings and children. They do not have to come with you.

When your circumstances have changed

Renewal is straightforward until something on the card is no longer true. Each change has its own document:

  • Marriage: the Nikah Nama or a government marriage certificate, plus your spouse's ID.
  • Divorce: the divorce certificate or the court order.
  • Widowhood: the spouse's death certificate.
  • New permanent address: a utility bill or property papers in your name or an immediate family member's.
  • Date of birth: a matriculation certificate, a Pakistani passport or a birth registration certificate.
  • Given name: a name change certificate or court decree, plus a US passport showing the new name.

Children

A first card for a child needs the CNIC or NICOP of both parents, updated after marriage, and one parent has to be physically present. The two references apply here too.

Two rules make the visit easier than parents expect. Under 18 months, a recent digital photograph is accepted and the baby does not have to come. From ten years old, biometrics become mandatory and the child does. Between those ages, ask the office you are dealing with.

For a child born in Pakistan, add the Union Council birth certificate and the NADRA Child Registration Certificate.

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