Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Pakistan offers permanent residency scheme for rich foreigners

Pakistan offers permanent residency scheme for rich foreigners

PAKISTAN has decided to offer a permanent residency scheme for wealthy foreign nationals, including Sikhs living in the US and Canada, to attract investments, it emerged on Saturday (15).

Information minister Fawad Chaudhry through an overnight tweet announced that the new scheme was in line with the new National Security Policy, which was formally launched by prime minister Imran Khan on Friday (14).

“In line with new National Security Policy, through which Pakistan declared geo-economics as the core of its national security doctrine, the government has decided to allow permanent residency scheme for foreign nationals, the new policy allows foreigners to get permanent resident status in lieu of investment,” the tweet said.

The Express Tribune newspaper reported that while sharing the background of the scheme, a key federal minister said one of the purposes of opening the PR scheme was to attract rich Afghans, who were moving to Turkey, Malaysia and some other countries following the fall of Kabul last August.

“They needed to be incentivised,” Chaudhry said.

The minister said the scheme targets the Sikhs living in Canada and the US, who were willing to invest in religious sites, especially in Kartarpur Corridor but had no option to do so.

He said the third objective of the scheme was to incentivise the Chinese nationals, who wish to move or establish industrial units in Pakistan.

“It's a historic step” that foreigners were being allowed to invest in the real estate sector,” he said.

The cabinet on Tuesday (11) had directed the finance and interior ministries to sit with the Board of Investment and deliberate upon a scheme where foreign citizens could be facilitated in buying properties in Pakistan.

In just three days, the government has given a go-ahead to the scheme in an attempt to bring in billions of dollars in foreign exchange.

Citing Turkey's example, which recently allowed foreigners to buy properties in the country, the information minister had termed the project a “game-changer,” saying that the foreigners would be able to buy houses, hotels and invest in real estate once the scheme was approved.

Giving an example of Sikh pilgrims, the information minister had said that they would be able to buy property in Kartarpur, assuring that both the projects will have complete legal protection.

Sources, while referring to the federal Cabinet's decision taken in its last meeting to launch a housing project in the capital for the overseas Pakistan people said that it has now been decided that two more such projects would be launched in Lahore and Karachi.

The information minister had shared that a housing project stretching on 50 acres of land was being launched for overseas Pakistanis, saying it would have roughly 6,000 apartments and houses.

While sharing the purpose of the scheme, the minister had said that all the overseas Pakistan people who have Roshan Digital Accounts would be able to invest in the housing project, hoping that the government would fetch roughly $2 billion (£1.46 bn) from the project in the capital, the media report said.

(PTI)

More For You

british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less
scotland-minimum-wages-iStock

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will receive an annual pay increase of £1,400 in real terms. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Wage increase takes effect for thousands of workers in Scotland

HUNDREDS of thousands of workers in Scotland will see a pay increase as new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect from Tuesday.

The changes will benefit approximately 220,000 people, according to STV News.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

April bill increases put financial strain on single parents

A RANGE of essential household bills are increasing from April, with Citizens Advice warning that single parents will be among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools
Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper in 'Adolescence'
Netflix

Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools

THE NETFLIX drama Adolescence will be shown in UK secondary schools as part of efforts to address harmful online influences on young boys, officials announced on Monday.

The show has sparked debate over the impact of toxic and misogynistic content on the internet. Prime minister Keir Starmer met the show's creators, charities, and young people at Downing Street, calling the initiative an important step in starting discussions about the content teenagers are exposed to online.

Keep ReadingShow less