Avoid long queues and visa applications, request NICOP

Significant improvements in travel have been seen in recent years, with chartered flights and well-priced airfares that have allowed people to travel quickly from one place to another, and even worldwide. Well-priced travel has also been one of the primary reasons for many of them to travel for jobs, holidays, a new life, and so much more to other countries. It makes the travel process much more straightforward and soothing with the daily reminder that you are just a short flight away from almost every part of the world.

Like several other nations worldwide, Pakistan allows its citizens to retain dual citizenship with 19 countries, enabling them to become citizens of two separate countries concurrently. For those with family or excuse to continually move back and forth, this is perfect. However, the procedure allows the person to continue to apply for a Pakistani visa, which often takes a couple of days to complete.

What is the NICOP?

The NICOP Pakistan (National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis) document that any Pakistani citizen living in a different country holding dual citizenship can apply for. Better put, it is a computerized national identification card that workers, emigrants, or Pakistanis with dual nationality, most often living out of Pakistan, have applied for and issued. Nearly two decades ago, in 2002, the Overseas Pakistani Base, the Ministry of Labour and Manpower, and the Ministry of the Interior came up with the NICOP concept. The NADRA database currently houses many citizens' confidential information, which is also used by NICOP.

The primary goal of developing this document was to minimize the time it takes for individuals to move from one nation to another. This makes it possible to travel between the two countries smoothly without continually applying for a visa. It should, however, be noted that the procedure needs a working and modified passport.

Statistically speaking, more than 8.8 million Pakistanis are living abroad at present. About half of this population is in the Middle East, a giant 4.7 million, which is not that shocking as the Middle East has a lot in common with Pakistan. Another 1.2 million people live in the UK.

Is the information that NADRA collects secure?

Pakistan, along with the Government of Pakistan, has an autonomous agency powered by the Ministry of Interior, which looks through and regulates government databases and manages the registration of all Pakistani nationals. Besides, the NADRA agency stores the data of the citizens of Pakistan from theft and preserves and secures it.

Not only does the NADRA office hold all people's exact addresses and banking records, but it is also recognized globally as the world's largest biometric information database, compared to any other country. There are more than 800 national offices in the department, along with five international ones. The data collected is safe, secure, and secured.

NICOP remains a prerequisite for Pakistanis overseas

NICOP became a precondition for protector clearance, making it obligatory for planned emigrants, according to an order passed by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) in 2000.

MOPHRD 's spokesperson said, "... the Ministry has only given instructions not to require emigrant staff to register with NICOP at its Protectorate of Emigrants Offices."