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NICOP and travelling home: expiry, visa and phone rules

Visiting home6 min readLast checked 22 October 2026

Your NICOP

The NICOP is the National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis. The Pakistan High Commission in London says it is for Pakistani citizens living abroad, dual nationals, and children of Pakistani nationals or dual nationals (checked 22 October 2026). The same page explains the steps:

1. Book an appointment through the online system, where your mission uses one.
2. Attend with your documents, including valid NADRA cards of your parents and spouse, and your existing NICOP or passport for a renewal.
3. Your fingerprints and photograph are taken.
4. You pay the fee, and NADRA makes and delivers the card.

The page lists, for London, a normal fee of 51.50 pounds and about six to eight weeks, an urgent fee of 64.50 pounds and four to five weeks, and an executive fee of 79.50 pounds and about two weeks (checked 22 October 2026). Fees and times differ by country and change, so check your own mission.

The page also warns that if a parent’s or spouse’s card has expired, it must be renewed first, and that if one has died, the card must be cancelled first, which needs a death certificate. Start early for that reason alone.

The Pakistan Origin Card is applied for online, according to the same page.

Expiry, visas and boarding

Rules about travelling on an expired NICOP, and about visas for those who hold one, can change, so the safe advice is simple:

• Renew before you book, not after.
• Look at the expiry date on your NICOP and your passport.
• Ask your airline what papers they will check at check-in.
• Ask your Pakistani mission in writing what it advises, and keep the reply.
• If your NICOP has expired and you are close to flying, ask the mission what you can do.

Your phone

FBR’s customs pages say a system called DIRBS has been in force since 1 December 2018 to register mobile devices, and point travellers to the PTA’s DIRBS website (dirbs.pta.gov.pk) for the procedure (checked 22 October 2026). The number of phones, the time limits and any fees are set by the PTA and Customs and can change, so do this before you go:

1. Open the PTA’s website and read the rules for passengers.
2. Find out how many phones you may bring, how long you can use them and how to register.
3. Register in good time, and keep the confirmation.
4. If you are not sure, ask the PTA or your mobile network in Pakistan.

Money and baggage

The FBR says passengers arriving in or leaving Pakistan can make currency declarations through its online Currency Declaration System (checked 22 October 2026). The FBR page does not state the amount above which you must declare, so check the thresholds on that system, or ask Customs, before you pack. FBR also says that rules on duty-free allowances for Pakistani nationals are in its baggage rules brochure, so read that before you buy gifts. FBR says that people who carry restricted or dutiable goods through the green channel risk prosecution, fines and having the goods taken. If you are in doubt, use the red channel and ask.

Pre-flight checklist

• NICOP and passport valid, with margin.
• Airline’s check-in rules read.
• Phone rules checked and registration done.
• Currency declaration rules read.
• Baggage rules and gifts checked.
• Copies of your property papers, your CNIC and your tickets, saved in a cloud folder.
• Name and number of someone at the house.
• House opened, aired and checked before you arrive.
• Local money, medicines and a charger.

Before you arrive: the house

A house shut for months needs air, a water check, a look at the electrics and gas, and a look for pests and damp. If you can have someone do this a few days ahead, you land to a house that is ready. See our guide on opening a closed house for the checklist.

Common mistakes

• Noticing the NICOP has expired when you are at the airport.
• Believing a friend’s advice about rules instead of checking the official site.
• Leaving the phone registration until arrival.
• Carrying large amounts of cash with no declaration.
• Not asking for written answers from the mission.
• Arriving at a house that nobody has opened.

Urdu glossary

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