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)
- Australia
- Bhutan
- China
- Fiji
- Japan
- Kazakhstan
- Laos
- Mongolia
- Mauritania
- Morocco
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- New Zealand
- Saudi Arabia
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Sri Lanka
- Tajikistan
- Trinidad and Tobago
- 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
- South Africa
- Botswana
- Ghana
- Kenya
- Comoros
- Mozambique
- Zambia
- Tanzania
- Rwanda
- Brazil
- Peru
- Colombia
- Chile
- Eswatini
- Zimbabwe
- Lesotho
- Malawi
- Seychelles
- Somalia
- Suriname
- Uruguay
- 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