Do I need a Covid-19 test for travel to Pakistan?

Are you traveling to Pakistan from abroad and need to inquire if you need a mandatory negative coronavirus/Covid-19 test - also called PCR test - before boarding a plane?

It depends on which country you are coming from.

If you are coming from a Category A country, a list of 20 countries made by Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), you do not require the coronavirus PCR test to enter the country. 

If you are coming from a Category B country - which is virtually everyone else not on Category A list, except for 22 Category C countries - you will require a mandatory negative coronavirus PCR test 72 hours before boarding a flight to Pakistan. This is what the latest (4 April 2021) CAA travel advisory for in-bound travel to Pakistan says.

Travel from 22 Category C countries is restricted and can only be allowed on criteria approved by high-level government committee, NCOC.

Before arriving in Pakistan all international travellers are required to fill in the Personal Declaration of Health and Origin and hand it over to the Health Department Staff upon arrival at the airport.

List of 20 Pakistan CAA Category A countries that do not require a PCR test to enter Pakistan (Updated: 4 April 2021)

1. Australia
2. Bhutan
3. China
4. Fiji
5. Japan
6. Kazakhstan
7. Laos
8. Mongolia
9. Mauritania
10. Morocco
11. Myanmar
12. Nepal
13. New Zealand
14. Saudi Arabia
15. Singapore
16. South Korea
17. Sri Lanka
18. Tajikistan
19. Trinidad and Tobago
20. Vietnam

This list is valid from travel during 6-20 April 2021.

Pakistan CAA Category B countries

Every country that is not listed in Pakistan CAA Category A or C is included in Category B. For example, USA, UK, Germany, Italy, UAE, Bahrain are all Category B countries.

22 Pakistan CAA Category C countries

1. South Africa
2. Botswana
3. Ghana
4. Kenya
5. Comoros
6. Mozambique
7. Zambia
8. Tanzania
9. Rwanda
10. Brazil
11. Peru
12. Colombia
13. Chile
14. Eswatini
15. Zimbabwe
16. Lesotho
17. Malawi
18. Seychelles
19. Somalia
20. Suriname
21. Uruguay
22. Venezuela

Need more details? You can download these documents:

COVID-19 SOPs for international arriving passenger flights PDF

For more information:

Pakistan CAA travel advisory

Pakistan govt Covid website

PIA travel advisory for all destinations