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Pakistan: visas, tax & cost of living

Thinking of Pakistan as a remote-work base? Honest guide to cost of living, the tourist eVisa (no nomad visa), tax residency, healthcare and banking.

Pakistan: visas, tax & cost of living
Your passport

United KingdomPakistan

Your move to Pakistan on a United Kingdom passport

  • VisitFairly easyVisa on arrival, e-visa or travel authorization (ETA)
  • NomadMediumNo nomad visa, other route
  • RelocateMediumResidence with conditions

Visiting

You need a travel authorization (an ETA) before you board. Apply online, pay the small fee, and keep the approval with your passport.

Passport validity:Passport generally valid for at least 6 months from your date of arrival.

Heads-up:In 2026 Pakistan reportedly suspended visa on arrival and visa prior to arrival for many nationalities, making the online e-visa the standard route, so check current rules before you travel.

At the border:Most visitors need an e-visa obtained in advance through the official NADRA portal, supported by a passport photo, travel itinerary and hotel or tour booking.

Working remotely

No dedicated nomad visa; the usual route is a standard residence permit.

Tax and residency

You are generally a tax resident if you are present in Pakistan for 183 days or more in the tax year (1 July to 30 June), and residents are in principle taxed on worldwide income while non-residents are taxed only on Pakistan-source income.(estimate)

The UK decides residence with its Statutory Residence Test (days in the UK plus your ties). As a non-resident you are usually taxed only on UK income; where one exists, a double-tax treaty with the destination decides who taxes what.

Practical

Currency:PKR. Cost of living:low.

Healthcare:Public healthcare is basic and uneven, so foreigners typically rely on private hospitals in major cities and should carry travel insurance with medical evacuation cover.

Driving:An International Driving Permit alongside your home licence is strongly recommended, as roads and traffic conditions can be challenging for visitors.

Sources: NADRA Pakistan Online Visa System · Ministry of Foreign Affairs (e-Visa) · Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) · PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Pakistan residence · GOV.UK: tax on foreign income · HMRC: double-taxation treaties

Estimates, not advice. Confirm with the official sources before you act.

Should you move to Pakistan?

Let me be honest up front: almost nobody moves to Pakistan for the digital nomad lifestyle. There is no nomad visa, the currency has been on a rollercoaster, and safety and infrastructure swing wildly depending on where you land. But if you have family ties here, a work posting, roots you want to reconnect with, or you simply want to live somewhere genuinely cheap and are willing to trade convenience for it, Pakistan can work. Go in clear-eyed, not starry-eyed.

The three cities you will hear about are Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi. Islamabad is the calmest, greenest, and most orderly, which is why most foreigners and returning expats gravitate there. Lahore is the cultural heart, warmer in every sense, with the best food and the most character. Karachi is the sprawling economic engine by the sea, exciting and exhausting in equal measure, and the one where you most need to know which neighborhoods to stick to.

Budget-wise, a single person can live comfortably on very little by Western standards, with a modest lifestyle landing somewhere around 400 to 700 US dollars a month once rent is included. The trade-offs are real, though: power cuts (load-shedding) still happen, internet can wobble, heat in summer is brutal, bureaucracy is slow, and the political and economic backdrop stays unpredictable. This is a place for the patient and the well-connected, not the impulsive.

Cost of living in Pakistan

Pakistan is one of the cheapest countries in the world for a foreigner earning in dollars or euros, and that is the single biggest reason anyone considers it. Just remember that “cheap in dollars” is partly a story about a weak rupee, so your real experience depends on the exchange rate the week you arrive.

According to LivingCost, a single person spends roughly 400 US dollars a month all in, or around 250 without rent. A one-bedroom apartment runs about 113 dollars in a city centre and closer to 66 dollars outside it, though a Western-standard place in a good Islamabad or Lahore neighborhood will cost you a multiple of that, so treat these as floor prices, not ceilings. A restaurant meal for two lands around 14 to 15 dollars, and monthly groceries for one person sit near 150 dollars. Street food and local markets are where the real savings live; imported goods and Western brands quickly erase the advantage. These are estimates that move with inflation and the rupee, so verify a fresh figure before you go.

Pakistan tourist eVisa and entry

Here is the plain truth: Pakistan has no digital nomad visa, and there is no residence route built for remote workers earning foreign income. If someone tells you otherwise, they are wrong.

What exists is an online tourist eVisa, applied for through the official government portal at visa.nadra.gov.pk. Per the visa policy overview, citizens of most countries can apply online, though a handful of nationalities are handled differently, and processing usually takes a week or so. Access has genuinely been getting easier in recent years, but the exact fees, eligible countries, and rules change often, so confirm the current terms on the official portal rather than trusting an old blog post. Budget for a standard eVisa fee that varies by nationality and length of stay.

A tourist visa is for tourism, not for building a life. If you want to actually reside in Pakistan long term, the real routes are a work visa tied to a local employer or sponsor, a business visa, or residence through family and Pakistani-origin status (many people of Pakistani descent hold a POC or NICOP card, which changes everything). If you are weighing whether any legitimate long-stay option fits your situation, our digital nomad visa checker is a useful starting point before you commit to flights.

Tax residency and the 183 day rule

Taxes here run through the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and the tax year runs from 1 July to 30 June, not the calendar year, which trips people up.

Residency turns on a version of the familiar 183-day rule. Per PwC’s tax summary, you are generally treated as a tax resident if you are physically present in Pakistan for 183 days or more in the tax year, regardless of nationality. The catch that matters most for remote workers: Pakistan taxes residents on their worldwide income, while non-residents are taxed only on Pakistan-source income. So if you cross that 183-day line, your foreign salary or freelance income can, in principle, come into scope.

Rates are progressive. Broadly, annual income below around 600,000 rupees is exempt, and the top marginal rate reaches roughly 35 percent on salaried income and can climb toward 45 percent on non-salaried and business income, per Wikipedia’s overview. That split matters because a lot of freelancers fall on the non-salaried side. Treaties, foreign tax credits, and your home-country rules complicate all of this, so treat these as rough estimates, not advice, and talk to a Pakistani tax professional. Our tax residency checker can help you think through where you might be considered resident before you book a long stay.

Healthcare and insurance

The honest picture: public healthcare is underfunded, with Pakistan spending only around 1 to 2 percent of GDP on health, per Wikipedia, and it is not something a foreigner should rely on. A large majority of the population turns to the private sector, and that is where you will go too.

The good news is that the top private hospitals are genuinely strong, and many doctors trained abroad. The names to know are Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad, and Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar) for oncology. Out-of-pocket costs are a fraction of Western prices, but pricing is unregulated and varies hospital to hospital. Carry solid international health insurance that covers Pakistan and, critically, medical evacuation, because for anything serious or complex you may want to fly out. Confirm your policy actually pays at your chosen hospital before you need it.

Money, banking and settling in

Pakistan is still a cash-heavy economy, and the rupee has been volatile through repeated economic wobbles and IMF programs, so watch the exchange rate and do not park large savings in local currency. Cards work at bigger hotels, restaurants, and malls in the main cities, but keep cash for daily life, transport, and smaller vendors.

Opening a local bank account as a foreigner is genuinely hard without residence, a work visa, or Pakistani-origin documentation; most short-stay visitors simply live off foreign cards and ATM withdrawals. If you have NICOP or POC status, banks open up considerably. For your first weeks, get a local SIM early (you will need your passport and visa to register it), lean on trusted local contacts for neighborhood and landlord advice, and budget for a backup power source and a solid mobile data plan given load-shedding and patchy fixed internet. Move slowly, verify everything twice, and let people who already live here guide your first big decisions.

Figures are estimates. Always check the official source.

Frequently asked questions

Pakistan: is there a digital nomad visa?
No dedicated digital nomad visa; most people use a standard residence permit instead.
Pakistan: when do you become a tax resident?
You are generally a tax resident if you are present in Pakistan for 183 days or more in the tax year (1 July to 30 June), and residents are in principle taxed on worldwide income while non-residents are taxed only on Pakistan-source income.
Pakistan: what is the cost of living?
The cost of living is low and the local currency is the PKR. Treat any figures as estimates.
Pakistan: do you need health insurance?
Public healthcare is basic and uneven, so foreigners typically rely on private hospitals in major cities and should carry travel insurance with medical evacuation cover.
Pakistan: can you drive on a foreign licence?
An International Driving Permit alongside your home licence is strongly recommended, as roads and traffic conditions can be challenging for visitors.

Terms worth knowing

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Last verified: 2026-07-28

Voymo gives general information to help you organise your move. It is not legal, tax, or immigration advice, always confirm with an official source or a qualified professional before you act.

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