Pakistan Origin Card (POC)
The Pakistan Origin Card exists for people who are not Pakistani citizens but have a Pakistani connection worth documenting. It is the card for someone who gave up the nationality, and for foreign nationals whose family did not.
Who qualifies
- You were a Pakistani national and surrendered that nationality.
- You are a foreign national and one of your parents or grandparents was a Pakistani national.
- You are a foreign national with a close relative who is or was Pakistani: a brother, sister, uncle or aunt.
- You are a foreign national married to a Pakistani or former Pakistani citizen.
The grandparent route is the one most people do not realise is open to them.
Applying through a parent or grandparent
Three things, and all three are needed together:
- Your valid foreign passport.
- A Pakistani document belonging to that parent or grandparent: CNIC, NICOP, POC, Pakistani passport, manual national identity card, domicile or citizenship certificate.
- Proof of the link. A birth certificate or Child Registration Certificate works, and so does any document carrying the parents' names, such as an educational record, a marriage certificate or property papers.
On top of that, the CNIC or NICOP of a sibling, aunt, uncle or cousin, with a statement from them describing the relationship.
Applying through a spouse
Where the Pakistani spouse is alive, you need your valid foreign passport and their Pakistani identity document. The specific list varies with circumstances more than in the other routes, so confirm it with the office handling your case before you gather anything.
What the card does not do
A POC is not a passport and it is not a restoration of citizenship. If what you actually want is to become Pakistani again, this is not that procedure. If what you want is documented recognition of origin and the practical rights that come with it, it is.
What it takes to get one
Processing follows the same NADRA tracks as the identity cards, so expect a wait measured in weeks rather than days, and expect the executive track to cost more and deliver sooner.
Payment works the way it does everywhere else in this system, and it catches people out every time. The NADRA fee takes a credit card or a Visa debit card. The consulate's processing fee takes a money order or a cashier's check. Neither accepts the other, cash is refused, and nothing is refundable.
The document that usually goes missing
Applications through a parent or grandparent fail on the link rather than on the identity. You have to show that you are related to the person whose Pakistani document you are producing, and a foreign birth certificate does not always name them in a way the file accepts.
Anything carrying the parents' names works: an educational record, a marriage certificate, property papers. Gathering one of those before you start is easier than being asked for it halfway through.
Where to apply
You apply through the consulate whose jurisdiction covers where you live. The map holds two boundaries almost nobody guesses right, so check yours rather than assuming: Wyoming and Kentucky are both served from New York, and Pennsylvania, Florida and Georgia are not covered by the offices that look closest on a map.
After the card arrives
A POC does not lead anywhere on its own. It is not a step towards a Pakistani passport, because a passport requires citizenship and this card exists precisely for people who do not have it. If your circumstances change and citizenship becomes the goal, that is a separate process with separate rules.