I`m trying to piece together the soup to nuts procedure of getting a general power of attorney (PoA) attested from Pakistani consulate in New York in such a way that building control registrar office in Pakistan will not find any fault with it even after five or ten years.
The procedure being told by the embassy seems too casual and is raising following doubts in my mind.
1- In Pakistan when a general power of attorney is given, the property papers are inspected by the registrar office which takes about a month but the embassy is not doing any of that. Basically they seem to be just attesting signatures and returning it the same day.
2- In Pakistan signatures of executant, attorney and two witnesses are required. But embassy only requires signatures of executant. While understandable, but makes me wonder if registrar office in Pakistan do accept that.
3- In Pakistan general PoA has to be on stamp paper along with revenue stamps but embassy is saying that it could be printed on plain paper without revenue stamps.
4- I`m not getting any straight answer about verification of the attestation from embassy or ministry of foreign affairs (MOFA). Raises the question if attested PoA is going to be valid after 5 or 10 years without verification from MOFA.
MOFA is saying that such PoA is valid only for 120 days. I`m wondering if the whole procedure will have to be repeated after 120 days or just the verification from MOFA will have to be done.
I have tried to clarify my doubts with embassy and MOFA many times but they are unaware of the sale/purchase regulations of registrars and giving me casual answers without realizing how much stress and trouble an invalid/expired PoA could cause.
If anyone here has used a foreign-attested PoA in Pakistan for sale/purchase or is aware of the procedure, please enlighten.
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1- In Pakistan when a general power of attorney is given, the property papers are inspected by the registrar office which takes about a month but the embassy is not doing any of that. Basically they seem to be just attesting signatures and returning it the same day.
2- In Pakistan signatures of executant, attorney and two witnesses are required. But embassy only requires signatures of executant. While understandable, but makes me wonder if registrar office in Pakistan do accept that.
3- In Pakistan general PoA has to be on stamp paper along with revenue stamps but embassy is saying that it could be printed on plain paper without revenue stamps.
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Yes I have been through this @decentGuy you only need signature attested by Counsular Officer in your nearest Consul Office, then when you go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakistan you end up buying documents with required stamps they put on and attest your Power of Attorney legality!
I hope I made it clear for you Bhai Sahib?
So Actually the local registrar or Tehsildar wants to see your stamped Power of Attorney given to you by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Also they will take picture of the person along with their ID Card who got the power of attorney at the local Tehsil Office for their records too!
Thanks @SindSagar , that was very helpful. If embassy-attested PoA is verified by the MOFA, does it remain in effect until:
1- The executant dies.
2- The executant revokes it.
3- The PoA explicitly has set an expiry date and that date has passed.
If you go to mofa.gov.pk and click on Consular Affairs. Scroll down to Power of Attorney from Abroad section. Do you know what is that 120 days limit they are talking about? Does that mean embassy-attested and MOFA-verified PoA is of no use after 120 days?
I did not pay attention on the duration of the POA, therefore if the Consular Affairs people confirm that for you then it is only good for what hey say! but on the other hand I think if you go to Pakistan and receive POA from someone over there, it has different expiry dates, please also remember, when the owner passes away then it is void, therefore if the owner is in foreign country and passes away, Pakistan Authorities do not get notified therefore the need for limit I think!
I can now confirm the actual procedure as I have been through it now, all the way through district registrar office in Karachi and getting registered sale deed back in my hand with microfilming completed. Here are the steps:
1- Get general PoA made on stamp paper in Pakistan with all the required clauses regarding sale/rent/lease/etc. Double check CNIC numbers, date of births, addresses, measurements of the property, etc. Basically the document itself should have no technical shortcomings. Embassy will not ask to see actual property papers. They just attest that you are the person signing the PoA and that is it.
2- Once you get this PoA abroad, get in touch with the nearest Pakistani embassy to get it attested. Follow the procedure laid down by the embassy to get the PoA attested.
3- Send PoA to Pakistan to the designated person whom you have given the power.
4- (Optional) The designated person should take the embassy-attested PoA to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)’s camp office within 120 days to get it attested from them as well. This step is optional and is not required. Most people, including the PoA I was dealing with did not have this attestation, yet the PoA got accepted and later verified because the real verification occurs after registrar receives your sale deed for review.
5- Once sale deed is accepted by the registrar and a receipt is given to you. It will take 1 year approx for the registrar to get the foreign PoA verified, and then the sale deed is sent for microfilming which takes another 3 or four months before being finally returned to you.
OP, my uncle recently went through the whole process of selling a property in Pak etc if you have any specific question I can ask him? I couldnt understand the whole process either each time he told me