Benefits of NICOP (Merged)

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

I doubt that Farangi passport will save Paki butt although most of us have that impression that it will. They have the old excuse that local laws and your country of origion takes precedence when your ass is grass.

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

So does that mean if I apply for a POC I am no longer a Pakistani National?

The problem is that I don't mind applying for a NICOP, but for that I have to have a valid Pakistani passport but mine expired and a valid computerized CNIC (which they require that you surrender) which I don't have either as I left Pakistan with my old ID card.

I have been told by one friend that I should get a Pak Visa on my Blue passport, then when I get to Pakistan, apply for a NICOP. Or I can apply for a new passport, which will be valid for only a year and then apply for NICOP from US & keep my fingers crossed.

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

as long as your first country of citizenship does not have an issue with it US does not realy care. if u are a US citizen looking for another citizenship then that is a diff story.

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

ahmedjee bhaijaan, if you have a blue passport then why do you want to apply for NIPOC?? why don't you simply get POC?

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

the country of origin does not hold true if you hae no official connection to the country. You think US embassy would not intercede for 4th generation itlaian americans who get in some trouble in Italy, or 3rd generation russians americans who get in some trouble in Russia.

so for pak citizens who became US or UK citizens US/UK citizen of Pak origin who also holds pak citizenship , versus a Uk or US citizen of Pak origin who has no official ties to the country. the argument of well your family is originally from there is not valid.

as far as providing help goes, I had UK embassy step up to help me when I needed, and this was in USA.

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

AJ, you don’t have to surrender NIC when you apply for NICOP, you just have to send the copy of NIC with the application. Oh and if you don’t have a valid pakistani passport, you can just send the copy of your US passport. The instruction on the actual form are accurate and updated.

I just got my NICOP, it took them almost 3 months. It kind of looks like ghista pita version of green card…lol…(ok, from pakistani perspective it isn’t too bad)…anyway it is good for 10 years, so for 10 years you don’t have worry about getting visa or renewing your paki passport…and all this in $15.00…:smiley:

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

Ditto Lusi.

AJ - If you have a US passport, and a pakistani shinakhti card, that is all you need for NICOP. You don't need a valid Pakistani passport to apply for NICOP.

We (the whole family) just filled out forms for NICOP and will be sending them out tomorrow. My dad knows someone in the NYC Pak Consulate and he said all we needed was photocopy of US passport & shinakhti card for each form. For your baby girl, since she was born here, u just need her passport copy and in the form, you have to write ur ID card number in the appropriate area.

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

The kids and I have POC cards, the husband has an NICOP. We decided that we didn't want Pak passports for the kids, hence the POC. We got them in Pakistan, and it only took about a week.

The embassy can be very helpful. My husband was robbed at the airport in Karachi last year and they replaced our passports, cancelled his credit cards, and helped us get our traveller's checks replaced. They even got us a police report to give to our credit card companies so that we wouldn't be held liable for any additional charges. They even offered financial and housing assistance, although we declined.

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

so do we have a summary of the 'benefits' of the NICOP card?

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

Apply for PK passport using your old Id card. You won't have to surrender it. You will only get it renewed for a year. Thats fine. Once you have the PK Passport, apply for NICOP. Once you have NICOP, apply for MRP (Machine Readable Passport). BTW, I am LMAO as I am writing this because this process reminds me of a recursive infinite loop in c++.

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

sorry but there is no civil way to say what needs to be said..

abay..yeh kya *%$%# hai?

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

I think by the time you get your NICOP and machine readable passport you’re addicted to the process and you want to go farther into it. You want to apply for the “next thing”. In which case may I suggest throwing your NICOP in the river and starting over. :halo:

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

^ Which river Roman? Ravi or Hudson?

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

not in hudson. macchli nikal kar NICOP card moonh parr maray gi...

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

^ Is it because of the dislike fish have for NJ folks?

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

No..just Roman

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

I just spoke to a lady in Pakistan Consulate @ Houston since I am up for my passport renewal.

They said, they won't do machine readables but they would renew and provide the "manual" passports valid for 5 years if I have NICOP or CNIC. I do have CNIC so I am going to go ahead and get the manual passport. The hell with machine readables!!!. I will get the machine readable one when I go to Pakistan or when I visit New York or LA--you have to go visit in person for one of those for biometrics and stuff.

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

On a serious note, I have a quick question. If you are a US citizen with NICOP and own property for your personal use in Pakistan, do you still have to pay the property tax in Pak? Can your property come under foriegn investment which may be exempt from propery tax. Again, I am not talking about income tax here. Everyone who makes money in Pak, foriegner or otherwise has to pay tax on earned income in Pak. I am strictly talking about personal use property like a condo. If so, how do you prove that property is owned by a foriegner? Can someone shed some light on this subject?
Thanks

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

There is a reason for putting your “country of Birth” on your US passport. :smiley:
All citizens are not created equally unless you are a gora from Eurpoe or even Russia. So when the time comes like another 911, our asses could be like Japs during WW2. At that time Paki land might be the only option. Unless of course it may or may not exist at that time. :teary1:

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Re: Benefits of NICOP

^ Not really true, as far as I know. Even for naturalized citizens, the same rights exist. I personally know one person from Karachi who came to US for studies, stayed on and became a naturalized US citizen. Moved back to Pakistan and now lives permanently in Karachi. Got arreseted for some panga with the government (at the height of MQM-PPP tussle in mid-90's) and was put in military jail. His family notified the US Consulate in Karachi, and those guys were all over the case. US Consular approached the Corps Commandar Karachi, arranged for lawyer and finally got the dude out in 2 weeks - all charges were dropped. All this for a bonafide brownie who lived and got arrested in the place of his birth. It became such a hot potato for the government, that the military lawyer told his family, "we wouldn't have arrested him if we had known he is a US citizen".

ps. I am told that if you keep dual citizenship, then you lose all such consular benefits. So think carefully before applying for the Pakistani passport (as the so-called back up) or getting a NICOP (bcz thats an evidence that you are a Pakistani citizen). You may think that no one will know, and truly no one will know in the normal course of life ... unless a major problem occurs and then you can bet that everyone will find out; and you will be on your own.

Is haleem