Home Is a Destination Too: Taking Foreign-Born Kids to Pakistan
The look on a child's face the first time a rickshaw takes a corner at what they're certain is impossible speed — and the quieter look when they meet their grandparents in person for the first time in years. If your children carry foreign passports, here's how to make their first Pakistan trip the story they tell for decades.
HTG Travels Desk
There's a particular look on a child's face the first time a rickshaw takes a corner at what they're certain is impossible speed. There's another, quieter look when they meet their grandparents in person for the first time in years. Both are worth a fourteen-hour flight. If your children carry foreign passports, here's how to make their first Pakistan trip the story they tell for decades.
01 /The papers — simpler than the group chat fears
Children holding US, UK, Canadian or other foreign passports can get their Pakistan visa online — the country's e-visa system now serves 192 nationalities, and family applications move together. If your children qualify as dual nationals, a NICOP card from NADRA is even better: it grants visa-free entry and doubles as their formal Pakistani identity. Whichever route you take, check that every passport has six months' validity remaining.
02 /Getting there is easier than the relatives think
London families are spoiled: PIA, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways all fly direct to Islamabad. From the Gulf, Australia or North America, one connection through Doha, Dubai or Istanbul does it. The real planning question isn't how to get there — it's how to keep four people sane across a long flight, which is a problem of snacks, downloaded cartoons and seat strategy. We have opinions.
03 /The itinerary that actually wows kids
- Lahore Fort and Badshahi Masjid — let them stand somewhere emperors stood, then race them across the courtyard.
- Food Street in the evening — the sounds, the sizzle, the rooftop view of a lit-up minaret.
- A rickshaw ride negotiated properly, at least once, with the meter debate included as cultural education.
- Faisal Masjid and a Margalla Hills sunset in Islamabad — geometry and nature in one afternoon.
- The Khewra Salt Mine — yes, the pink salt in your kitchen has a homeland, and it has a mosque inside it.
- And for children over eight: the north. Hunza and Skardu will recalibrate what “mountain” means to them forever.
04 /Survival tips from hard-won experience
Travel between October and March — the plains in summer are no place for jet-lagged children. Ease into street food across several days, keep mineral water in the car, pack a small medical kit, and schedule a rest day after every two adventure days.
“Grandparents will disagree on all of this. That is also part of the trip.”
05 /Packing for the homeland — the short list
- Comfort layers — evenings in the north and mornings everywhere are cooler than the relatives promised.
- A small gift from their birth country for cousins — friendship forms in ninety seconds over shared novelty.
- An empty suitcase. They're coming back with handmade truck art, bangles, and more ajwa dates than customs considers reasonable.
- Tablets loaded — but ready for the discovery that the real show is out the car window.
HTG Travels Desk