NICOP urgent fee update for Pakistanis travelling to Saudi Arabia

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani citizen intending to travel to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, or Bahrain must secure his National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis from any National Data and Registration Authority (NADRA) Registration Centre.

With this identity document, you will receive several advantages, including entry into Pakistan on a foreign passport without a visa, recognition of your Pakistani citizenship, the ability to buy/sell properties, the ability to open a bank account in Pakistan, passport issuance, and voting rights in Pakistan.

The NICOP application process is relatively straightforward, and you can choose from different categories, including normal, urgent, and executive, depending on your needs and timeline.

NICOP Urgent Fee Update

As of January 2025, the urgent fee for NICOP for Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Bahrain stands at PKR 8,300, and it charges the same for countries that fall in Zone B.

The urgent category is suitable for those who want NICOPs issued within twelve days of their application, for which a higher fee is charged by NADRA as compared to normal procedures.

Additionally, NADRA has categorized the countries and designated them as Zone A and Zone B to create a fee structure.

For Zone B countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE, the normal fee is Rs5,563, whereas the executive fee is Rs11,128. You can apply for your NICOP at any NRC, and the entire process consists of a token issuance, collecting biometric data, entering the data, and reviewing the form; only after this would it be sent for processing.