Guides / Protecting your property

Power of attorney from abroad, without visiting an embassy

Protecting your property6 min readLast checked 22 October 2026

What it is, in plain words

You are the "executant". The person you trust is the "attorney" or "agent". The paper says what the agent may do in your name. The agent can only do what the paper says, and what the paper says is read by offices, banks and courts, so the words matter.

General or specific: why specific is safer

A general power of attorney gives wide powers over many things. A specific one covers one task, such as "collect the rent from this house" or "attend the land office for this one transfer".

• Use a specific paper whenever you can. If the agent goes wrong, the damage is limited to one task.
• If you do need a wider paper, ask your lawyer whether it can still exclude the biggest risks, such as selling or mortgaging the property.
• Write the property details in the paper: address, plot or khasra number, and the office it concerns.
• Say whether the agent may sign for you, receive money, or only submit papers.
• Put an end date in the paper where the form allows it.

The online route through NADRA

The Pakistan Embassy in Berlin explains an automated, digital power of attorney that is handled online through NADRA’s POA portal (poa.nadra.gov.pk). Its page says the service was first offered to Pakistanis living in the USA and the UK, with other regions to follow. So check with your own mission whether it is open to you yet.

As that page describes it, the steps are:

1. Sign up on the portal.
2. Upload your details, the details of the attorney and of the witnesses, and a scan of your power of attorney.
3. NADRA checks the details and you pay the fee online by card.
4. The mission holds an online interview with you.
5. The mission issues a receipt, which you print.
6. You post the signed paper and the receipt to your agent in Pakistan.

What you need ready, according to that page: a valid CNIC, NICOP or POC for yourself, your witnesses and your attorney; an email address; a phone number and address in the country where you apply; fingerprints for you and two witnesses; a card for payment; and any extra papers such as an affidavit. Read the portal’s own guide before you start, as steps and countries change.

The in-person route

Many missions still attest in person. The rules differ by mission, so read your own mission’s page.

• The Berlin embassy lists two Pakistani witnesses who are not close family, and a validity of 90 days for the attested paper (checked 22 October 2026).
• The Toronto consulate says the signer must come in person and sign in front of the official, and lists a fee of C$50 for the first three pages (checked 22 October 2026).
• Validity and fees differ between missions and change over time. Ask the mission how long the attested paper can be used in Pakistan, and when to get it to your agent.

Cancelling or changing it

You can end a power of attorney. Ask your lawyer to prepare a written cancellation, have it attested the same way as the original, and give a copy to the agent and to any office, bank or person who has relied on the old paper. Until those offices know, the agent may still be able to use it. Keep a dated record of whom you told.

Warning signs of fraud

• An agent who asks for a general paper "to make it easy".
• Pressure to sign quickly, or to sign a blank or half-filled paper.
• A paper that includes the power to sell, when you only wanted rent collected.
• An agent who will not send you copies of what they signed in your name.
• A relative who says "no need to tell the lawyer".
• Requests to send money to a personal account for "fees".
• A seller or agent offering to "arrange the whole power of attorney" for you, with their own people as witnesses.

Common mistakes

• Giving a general power of attorney to one person for everything, for years.
• Forgetting to cancel it after a falling out.
• Signing without reading the Urdu part, or without a lawyer reading it.
• Not keeping a scan of the final attested paper.
• Letting the paper expire before the agent used it.
• Choosing an agent with no one watching what they do.

Urdu glossary

Last checked: 22 October 2026. Rules change; confirm with the office or a lawyer before acting.