OPF chief clears Gerry’s visa confusion, backs dual consular system in UK

LONDON: Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) Chairman Syed Qamar Raza has written to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to clarify that misinformation had circulated after the Pakistan High Commission signed a contract with Gerry’s for consular and visa services in the United Kingdom.

In his letter, Raza said that during his ongoing visit to the UK, he held consultations with prominent community leaders, who expressed overall satisfaction with the planned arrangement for consular services. According to him, the system will operate through Gerry’s Visa alongside the Pakistan High Commission in London and the Nadra Pak ID platform.

Raza said concerns had earlier emerged within the community over the possible end of direct consular services by the High Commission, leading to fears that overseas Pakistanis would have to depend only on Gerry’s.

He clarified, however, that the Pakistan High Commission would continue to provide consular services in parallel with Gerry’s and Pak ID, adding that this clarification had been broadly welcomed by the community.

The OPF chairman also recommended that the High Commission should actively publicise this position so that overseas Pakistanis receive clear information and misinformation is avoided.

Raza said he was conveying the “true sentiments of the community” to the government and had also sent input from local representatives, including Cllr Tariq Dar, for consideration.

High Commission outlines scope of new arrangement

Earlier this week, the Pakistan High Commission in London announced that it had awarded a contract to Gerry’s Visa Services Ltd to provide additional consular facilitation services across the UK, describing the move as a step aimed at improving convenience for the British Pakistani community.

In a statement, the High Commission said the decision had been approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad after a competitive bidding process conducted in line with Public Procurement Regulatory Authority regulations.

Only locally registered UK companies were allowed to take part in the process, which included due diligence and compliance with regulatory requirements and took four months to complete.

According to the statement, the arrangement is expected to help Pakistani nationals living in distant parts of the UK who had previously faced difficulty and expense in travelling to the High Commission in London or its consulates.

"By offering these additional facilities, the initiative will save applicants both time and transportation expenses. Gerry’s International will also extend the services to weekends, providing further flexibility for the community. Regular consular services will continue uninterrupted at the Pakistan High Commission in London and the consulates in Birmingham, Manchester, Bradford, and Glasgow," the statement read.

The High Commission said the role of the new facilitation centres would remain limited to processing and data entry for passport applications, visa applications, NICOP applications, and the collection of documents for attestation.

Powers of Attorney, land-related matters and all other services would remain the exclusive responsibility of the High Commission and its four consulates.

The statement further said that all decisions on applications would continue to be made solely by the Government of Pakistan, including the relevant authorities such as Nadra, IMPASS, Mofa, MOI, or Pakistani missions.