Those who want to attest documents from ministry of foreign affairs should be aware about authorities of the ministry and procedure and nature of documents that they attest. The main office of Ministry of foreign affairs is in Islamabad and its camp offices are located at Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta.
Its worth mentioning here that Ministry doesn’t attest the genuineness of the document or the contents of the documents. It only verifies or countersigns the attestation done by the other authorities like educational certificates attested by HEC or IBCC. In short Ministry verifies the signatures of concerned attesting authorities. These documents which MOFA verifies include:
- Documents attested/issued by authorities of provincial, central and local government that are intended to be used abroad or submitted in Foreign Missions in Pakistan.
- It also includes the verification or attestation of the documents of Foreign Missions which are intended to be presented in Pakistan.
Ministry doesn’t attest documents which are in any other language than urdu and English. The documents once attested from MOFA will remain valid forever and hence will not need to be re-attested. It is pertinent to mention here that Photocopy or translation of any document will be attested when original document is presented or it is attested by a gazetted officer of BPS-17 or above.
ADDRESSES OFAUTHORISED OFFICES OF MOFA FOR ATTESTATION
Addresses and telephone numbers of authorized offices of MOFA are as follows:
| S. No. | Office Address | Tel. No. |
| 1. | Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Constitution Avenue , Islamabad | 051-9207895 051-9056524 |
| 2. | Camp Office Karachi, Main Shahrah-e-Faisal, Adjacent to FTC building Karachi . | 021-9204989 021-9206690 |
| 3. | House No: 82-Shadman-II, Lahore | 042-99268247 042-99268249 |
| 4. | Camp Office Peshawar , No. 66-C-1, University Road , University Town Peshawar | 091-9218126 |
| 5. | Camp Office Quetta , Room 28, 2nd Floor, Block 07, Civil Secretariat Balochistan, Quetta | 081-9203155 |
PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENT BEFORE SUBMISSION OF THE DOCUMENTS TO MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
| S.No. | NATURE OF DOCUMENTS | Attestation Stamp (Rs) (available from Post Office) | PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS |
| 1. | Nikah Nama (Urdu) | Rs. 5 | Seal of Nikah Registrar; copy may be issued by concerned Secretary Union Council or Chief Officer or Tehsil Municipal Officer or Executive Officer of Cant Board. |
| 2. | Birth Certificates(Urdu) | Rs. 5 | Issued by Secretary Union Council or Chief Officer or Tehsil Municipal Officer or Executive officer of Cant Board. |
| 3. | B. Form(Urdu) | Rs. 5 | Issued by NADRA or old B.form having the stamp of District Registration Officer (in original) |
| 4. | Character Certificate | Rs. 5 | Issued by District Police Officer |
| 5. | Medical Certificate | Rs. 5 | Issued or countersigned by Medical Superintendent of any Govt. Hospital |
| 6. | Death Certificates(Urdu) | Rs. 5 | Issued by Secretary Union Council alongwith ID card Cancellation certificate issued from NADRA or the concerned registration office. |
| 7. | Divorce Certificate(Urdu) | Rs. 5 | Divorce Certificate should be issued by Chairman Arbitration Council of the Area or the Court judgment regarding dissolution of marriage should be presented for attestation. |
| 8. | Unmarried Certificate Affidavit Union Council Certificate | Rs. 10 Rs. 5 | Affidavit from Parents and an unmarried certificate from Secretary/Nazim Union Council should be attached with the affidavit. |
| 9. | ID card Cancellation Form (Urdu) | Rs. 5 | Issued by NADRA or District Registration Officer. |
| 10. | Driving License | Rs. 5 | Original Driving License has to be presented at the counter alongwith NOC issued by concerned License Issuing Authority. Only original NOC is attested. Copy of CARD driving license is also attested. |
| 11. | School Leaving Certificate (Urdu) | Rs. 5 | School leaving certificate of Class I-IX countersigned by District Education Officer and Class X attested by Inter Board Committee of Chairman (IBCC). |
| 12. | Secondary School Certificate | Rs. 5 | Attested by IBCC |
| 13. | Higher Secondary School Certificate | Rs. 5 | Attested by IBCC |
| 14. | Diploma of One year duration and short courses | Rs. 25 | These certificates first have to be attested by National Training Bureau (NTB). |
| 15. | Bachelors and Masters Degree | Rs. 25 | Attested by Higher Education Commission (HEC). |
| 16. | Degrees/Diploma Certificates relating to Medical professionals PMDC Reg., etc. Experience Certificates | Rs.25Rs. 5 | All the documents have first to be attested by the Ministry of National Regulations and Services. The MBBS degree has to be attested by HEC. |
| 17. | Diploma of Paramedical professionals, Nursing Diplomas etc.Experience Certificates) | Rs.25Rs. 5 | All Nursing related documents first have to be attested by the Ministry of National Regulations and Services. |
| 18. | Succession and Guardianship Certificate | Rs. 10 | Issued by the Civil Judge of the Civil Court. |
| 19. | Special Power of Attorney from Pakistan to person Abroad | Rs.60/- per executants, upto a Maximum of Rs.240/- | Power of Attorney should be presented alongwith Succession Certificate and Guardianship Certificate. To get the attestation the executant(s) has to be present in person to sign the Power of Attorney or it should be registered with concerned Sub-Registrar of the Revenue Department. |
| 20. | Power of Attorney from Abroad to a person in Pakistan | Same as above | Person authorized in Pakistan has to appear in person with original ID card to get the Power of Attorney attested from MOFA. |
| 21. | Documents relating to commerce/trade | Rs. 35 | Attested by the concerned Chamber of Commerce and Industry. |
| 22. | English translation of all above mentioned documents | Rs. 25 | Translation from the approved translation house by the concerned Embassy/Department will be accepted. |
IMPORTANT NOTES REGARDING WHO CAN PRESENT DOCUMENTS AT MOFA
- The applicant himself/herself or his/her family member with authority letter can present documents at MOFA.
- The person appearing on behalf of his relative is required to show his/her original ID card/Passport/Driving License/University Card/School Card/Domicile/Office Card or any of his valid ID.
- If a person has no family member or relative available in Pakistan to appear on his/her behalf, in that case the applicant is required to produce an authority letter duly signed by our Mission abroad to the authorized person to be brought at the counter along with other related documents.
DURATION OF DOCUMENT ATTESTATION
Once the document is submitted for attestation on window the document is likely to be attested and returned within two hours after submission.
LIST OF DOCUMENTS THAT ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE FOR ATTESTATION
- Passports
- Domicile
- ID card
- Documents related to immoveable property (i.e Registries of the plots and agriculture land)
Drop Box Facility for Attestation of Documents at Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its Camp Offices
In order to get rid of travelling long distances or disturbing relatives. Ministry has facilitated the general public, following courier companies have been authorized to receive documents for attestation (except Power of Attorney) from Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all its Camp Offices located at four provincial headquarters. These four companies are:
- TCS
- Gerry’s
- OCS
- UPS
Note: Expenditure on stamps to be affixed on documents will be borne by the applicant.
Note 2: In case of loss of documents courier companies will be responsible for that and will have to bear all the charges that is needed to get another original document.
Timings:
Monday to Thursday: 8 AM to 1 PM
Friday: 8 AM to 12 Noon
