Documents for a visit visa from Pakistan: how to prepare your visa file

A "visa file" is simply the set of documents that proves who you are, why you are travelling, how you will pay, and why you will come back to Pakistan. Embassies differ in details, so always start from the official checklist of the country you apply to. The lists below cover what almost every visit visa file from Pakistan needs.

For everyone

• Passport with enough validity and blank pages, plus old passports and previous visas.
• CNIC copy and, where asked, the NADRA Family Registration Certificate (FRC) in English. For children, the NADRA birth certificate (CRC/B-Form).
• Photos to the embassy's size and background rules.
• Completed application form (online or printed, as the embassy requires).
• Personal bank statement, usually the last 6 months, stamped by the bank, plus a maintenance certificate.
• Travel plan: dates, cities, hotel reservations or an invitation letter, and a flight reservation.
• Travel insurance where required (for Schengen at least EUR 30,000 cover).
• A short cover letter. See our cover letter guide.

If you are employed

• Employer letter or NOC on letterhead: designation, salary, joining date, approved leave dates and that your job continues after the trip.
• Last 3 to 6 salary slips that match the salary credits in your bank statement.
• Employment contract or appointment letter; service card if you have one.
• Government employees: the departmental NOC for private travel.

If you run a business

• Business registration: SECP certificate, partnership deed, or sole-proprietor proof.
• NTN certificate and FBR income tax returns (Schengen embassies ask for the last two tax years).
• Business bank statement alongside your personal statement.
• Chamber of commerce membership and letterhead if you have them. Exporters can add export documents that show real trade.

Students, housewives, retired people and children

• Students: enrolment letter and leave permission from the school or university, plus the sponsoring parent's job or business documents and bank statement.
• Housewives: the husband's or family sponsor's financial documents, a sponsorship letter, the nikah nama and FRC.
• Retired: pension statements (Schengen asks for 6 months), plus savings and property documents if relevant.
• Children under 18: birth certificate, both parents' CNICs and consent from the parent who is not travelling, as the embassy requires.

Making the file read well

• Every date and amount must match across form, bank statement, leave letter, bookings and insurance.
• Explain anything unusual in one honest line: a big deposit from selling a car or plot, a new job, a gap in work.
• Translate documents that are not in English, and get apostille or attestation where the embassy asks for it (Italy, for example, asks for an apostille on Pakistani documents).
• Put documents in the order of the checklist. Officers have little time per file.
• Never use "arranged" bank balances, fake job letters or dummy bookings. They can lead to a refusal on reliability grounds that follows you to later applications.

Country-specific detail: Schengen checklist, UK visit visa, Canada visit visa and USA visa and DS-160.

How Meridian helps

Visa file preparation is our main work. We build the checklist for your exact embassy and profile, review every document for consistency, write the itinerary and cover letter, and tell you honestly if something needs to be stronger before you apply. Schengen file consultation is PKR 20,000 per person; USA form filling is PKR 50,000 per person; other countries get a fixed PKR quote after a free case review. Only the embassy decides the visa.

Information checked 1 November 2026. Rules change, so always confirm on the official embassy or visa-centre website before you apply.