Nadra: woes of Pakistani expats
THIS is to draw the attention of Pakistan government towards the plight of oversees Pakistanis.
I have been in the US since the early 1990s and hold dual Pakistan-US citizenship.
I had applied for National Identity Card for Pakistanis (NICOP) in early 2007 which I never received. However, I can see an online version of it.
After over a decade I decided to visit my homeland and inquired about the original NICOP which allows one to enter the country without a passport.
Despite several phone calls to the Pakistani consulate in Los Angles, I have never been able to get hold of a live person.
I was lucky enough to leave a message once since most of the time the mail box remains full.
Emails to the same, as well as to Nadra and the embassy of Pakistan in Washington D.C., have remained unanswered.
And I am wondering can something straightforward ever be done via the Pakistan government without having to resort to ‘uncomfortable means’ for a law-abiding citizen?
NAZIA JUNEJO
United States
I have travelled around the world and found the level of service differs in different countries according to local customs. In UAE and Saudi they are quite efficient and in UK i remember in the Manchester Consulate the staff was physically beaten in 2000 by the pakistani expats whom had comes from 200-300 miles away only to be told come tomorrow. The attitude of the staff was very bad they were very impolite and arrogant so hence they got paid by the local thugs. The police was called whom also sided with the expats rather then the embassy staff.
I applied for the NICOP online. But I had to call Islamabad a number of times before it was issued. The service was professional, courteous, but slow.
I have no problem with people, but it was the Computer System that let me down. When choosing the place of birth, the application form refused to take “India” as the entry. So after many trials I gave up.
Later, when I wanted to activate a phone chip I had to call in, and they asked for my place of birth as the security question. As soon I said the city in India, the checker would simply hang up. Upon visiting the NADRA office a sympathetic Agent let me know that my place of birth had been registered as “Algeria” (most likely the first entry in the list).
I was told by NADRA that there is no SIMPLE means of correcting this error. So, I am now parading as one having been born in Algeria! For a while I was worried that I may have difficulty with foreign secret services when Algeria was considered a high risk terrorist country, but the saving grace is that for these organization, Pakistan is no lesser risk.
Pakistani Consulate at LA really needs to be fixed. The staff dealing with expats is uncooperative and rude. On the other hand consulate at New York is a lot better. In addition geographical jusrisdiction of consulates needs to be redone. Some of the states being served by LA consulate are too far from it.
I applied for NICOP in NYC consulate and got it with out any delay or trouble. Best of luck to you.
We applied for the NICOP card at the London High Commission (family of 4) and left them a self-addressed envelope. Very professional service and received the cards in 2-3 weeks time. This was in 2007, cards valid till 2016.
I would like to inform our all our respectable Overseas Pakistanis that NADRA is striving hard to process all received applications within stipulated time frame. However, sometimes we are unable to process your NICOP / POC cases on time. Here I will not go into the details. I just luckily read this post and being NADRA employee it’s my prime duty to cater your queries pertaining to NADRA especially NICOP and POC.
I will request you all to fax your case details (NICOP/POC receipt photocopy, Complaint/Query Details) at +92-51-9205803, or you can call our Department directly on these telephone numbers +92-51-9208606 & +92-51-90391918. You can also call our helpline 111-786-100.
Or you can launch you query / complaint through our Complaint Management System by visiting our website http://www.nadra.gov.pk or just click this link
http://nadra.gov.pk/chat/complaint/index.php?a=add
I assure you our support team will resolve and respond all your queries.
Our Chairman Mr. Muhammad Tariq Malik, is determined to instill in NADRA a culture of ethics & clean Administration. As part of the commitment he has initiated the “Whistle-blower” system. If you have any complaint pertaining to NADRA employee you are free to launch your complaint at this link
http://nadra.gov.pk/index.php/contact-us/launch-whistleblow
Last but not the least WE ALL are trying our best to serve YOU and being part of NADRA for the last 12 years I personally believe that NADRA is one of the best Organizations in Pakistan. There is always a room for improvement and we will highly appreciate your feedback to cater your queries / complaints.
** I wrote here in my personal capacity to cater your problems pertaining to NADRA especially NICOP/POC queries. There is nothing official. Thank you
Your response is exemplary and akin to staunch proactive professionalism more familiar with private MNCs. As an Indian I am really impressed by your effort to help your fellow citizens. People like you and your chairman should be at the forefront of administration at our part of the world. These actions are something which I will like my government agencies to emulate as well.
My experience with NADRA in Dubai was entirely to the contrary! The staff were extremely courteous and efficient and the entire process was smooth and trouble-free. In fact, I continue relating my experience to other people as an example of how effective and people-friendly our services can be, with the right people leading the change process.
I share your comments, as I had similar experience. I had applied for POC (Pakistan origin card) renewal through Pakistan consulate LA in May 2011 with a fee of $167 which included courier expenses as well. I never received it and got no help from the consulate as well as from Nadra. Finally I had to spend $120 for the visa to travel to Pakistan. On contacting local Nadra office Lahore, I was told that I can only get POC after paying $300 as urgent fee and even that will take 21 days. I did that but I had to use my personal contact to get POC in one week. There is no accountability of any government official and they know they can get away with it. Everybody wants to work only after you pay them in addition to the prescribed fees. At the end it cost me $587 for a POC. This is how Pakistan works. Pathetic!
Suhail Kausar
Dear Friend
I also applied for POC in 2009 for my wife and still waiting.
when ever I asked they told me it is banned. In the start of this year, some one told me ban is lifted. one month ago I contacted with nadra, now they are going to Issue in this week.
I hope, I will receive POC in next week.
David
On an encouraging note, I have had a pleasant experience at the Pakistan Consulate, Toronto. The staff here have shown genuine concern and have earned respect by going that extra mile to help us expats when there was a glitch in the system. Guess the staff here in Toronto need to teach other offices how to do their job, that too with a smile.
Thank you Pakistan Consulate, Toronto.
David Samson
I agree with the working of Pakistan Consulate General, Toronto. I had no problems whatsoever to get NICOP for me and my family as well as the computerized Passport. Staff at Toronto is really helpful and very efficient.
Same here… praise should be given where it is due… Pakistani Consulate in Toronto always answers the emails and phone calls.
This is a systemic problem with NADRA. NADRA employees see issuing of NICOPs as a profit-making scheme. I too had applied for a NICOP by submitting an application at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington DC, and was shocked to see on the NADRA website (where I was told I could follow online the status of my application) that my application had been rejected. This despite the fact that I clearly met all the requirements, had completed the application carefully, and the NADRA employee in Washington DC had also reviewed and accepted the application as being complete. So, I had two choices. I could visit NADRA personally next time I was in Pakistan, pay bribe to the undoubtedly pious employee of the Islamic Republic, and “get my work done”. Or I could have someone “in authority” in Pakistan inquire from NADRA why my application was rejected. I chose the latter, the NADRA staff had no explanation and simply said they would take care of it. Within a day or two I checked the NADRA website again, and the status had been magically changed to “Approved”.
My case for NICOP is with the NADRA and I am sure I will get the National Identity card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) in due course.
The staff in Pakistani embassies and high commissions is on a holiday trip. They forget their duty is to assist expatriates.
I have been living in Australia, for the last 13 years. I also hold dual citizenship, and had a completely different experience. I applied for the NICOP through the consulate in Sydney, on the prescribed form, for myself, and my family, and received the NICOP in a short period, without any hassle. Maybe there is a difference in the attitudes of different embassies and consulates. Hats off to the Sydney consulate.
I am sure you can get your card. You need to contact Tariq Malik. He is a very responsible person in NADRA. Only problem is getting his email or tel no.