NADRA work is one of our busiest services, and it is the one where the application itself is the easy part. Submitting a NICOP or POC is straightforward. What takes the time — and what catches almost everyone out — is that your record at NADRA has to be correct and current before the card can be issued, and for families in the UK it very often isn’t.
A marriage that was never registered against your record. A child born in Britain who was never added. A marital status still showing as single years after the wedding. Parents’ details that don’t match across documents. None of these stop you applying; all of them stop the card arriving.
We tell people this at the start rather than after they’ve paid, because the honest sequence is: fix the record, then apply. Doing it the other way round is how a straightforward card turns into six frustrating months.
Who needs this
Eligibility overview
NICOP (National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis) is for Pakistani citizens living abroad — it evidences your Pakistani citizenship, allows visa-free entry to Pakistan, and is needed for property, banking and inheritance matters there. POC (Pakistan Origin Card) is for people who have given up Pakistani citizenship, or foreign nationals with Pakistani parentage or a Pakistani spouse; it gives most of the same practical rights without citizenship. British-Pakistani dual nationals generally want NICOP; those naturalised elsewhere who renounced Pakistani nationality generally need POC. If you’re unsure which applies, send us your situation — choosing the wrong one wastes months.
Documents required
What you'll need
- Your current passport, and your previous Pakistani passport or CNIC/NICOP if you have ever held one
- Digital photo with a white background
- Proof of UK address
- Parents’ CNIC or NICOP numbers — these link your record and are the most common missing piece
- Marriage certificate, where marital status needs adding or correcting (often needs registering against the record first)
- Children’s birth certificates, where you are adding them to your family record
- Any additional document required by NADRA for your specific case
Processing time
How long does it take?
Timelines depend far more on the state of your record than on the queue. A clean, current record with everything matching processes routinely. A record needing a marriage registered, a child added, or parents’ details corrected takes as long as those corrections take — which is why we look at your record first and tell you which category you’re in before you commit.
Common mistakes
Why applications are refused
- Family record incomplete — parents’ details missing or not matching
- Marriage not registered against the NADRA record when applying as married
- Children not added to the family record before applying for their cards
- Name spellings that differ between passport, certificates and the existing record
- Applying for POC when NICOP is correct, or the reverse
Common questions
FAQs
NICOP is for Pakistani citizens living overseas; POC is for those who gave up Pakistani citizenship, or foreign nationals with Pakistani parentage or a Pakistani spouse. Most British-Pakistani dual nationals need NICOP. Applying for the wrong one is a common and costly mistake.