Foreign Ministry issues new guidelines for visa notice issuance: Here’s all you need to know

ISLAMABAD: According to an official announcement on 14 August 2024, the Ministry of External Affairs has issued updated guidelines for issuing visa notices.

New instructions were issued by Foreign Secretary Cyrus Sajjad Qazi after the approval of Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar. These guidelines relate to the issuance of initial “note verbal’s” to holders of diplomatic and official passports, pursuant to formal requests by the Senate and the National Assembly.

Under these guidelines, diplomatic and official passport holders traveling for private purposes will receive advance visa notices, while formal agreements will be required for family members. The agreement mandates that travellers neither seek asylum nor abuse initial communications in the country they are visiting.

This update comes in the light of the recent case of Senate Joint Secretary Haider Ali, who received an initiation letter for his family to attend the IPU Assembly meeting held in March. The letter was requested by the Senate Secretariat on behalf of Hyder Ali’s family.

However, it later emerged that his family had applied for political asylum in the Western European country.

The new guidelines aim to prevent similar incidents and ensure proper exercise of diplomatic privileges.