Visit visa to work abroad from Pakistan? Why it can cost you up to five years under section 17

Tips · 2026-10-19 · 11 min read

A Pakistani man checks his phone as an older relative points to papers beside a closed passport at home.

Going on a visit visa to work abroad from Pakistan is not a shortcut to a job: it breaks Pakistani law before it breaks the destination's rules. Section 8 of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979 treats emigration for work as lawful only with a work permit or appointment letter from a foreign employer, an employment visa, or selection through a licensed channel, and section 17 punishes departing any other way with up to five years in prison and a fine of up to one million rupees. In Australia, Home Affairs says you cannot work on a Visitor visa or an Electronic Travel Authority at all.

How the visit-visa pitch usually sounds

The offer rarely uses the word "illegal". A visa agent in your area, or a contact on WhatsApp, says the work visa takes too long, so you should fly on a visit visa, and the "company" will sort out the papers once you land.

If you are a welder in Faisalabad or a cook in Rawalpindi, it sounds practical: no trade test, no Protector visit, leave next month. Each missing step is a warning, not a saving.

At JobsAbroad Pakistan we see going abroad on a visit visa and hoping to find work as a gamble. With employer sponsorship you depart with a confirmed position agreed before you leave, and an employer that the Australian or New Zealand government has approved and holds to account.

Section 8: what lawful emigration looks like

The Emigration Ordinance, 1979 on Pakistan Code sets out who may leave Pakistan to work. Under section 8, a citizen's emigration is lawful if they hold one of these:

a letter of appointment or a work permit from a foreign employer;
an employment or emigration visa issued by a foreign government;
selection through the Director-General of the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BE&OE);
selection through a licensed Overseas Employment Promoter (OEP), or under a government-to-government agreement.

A tourist or family visit visa is not on that list: it has no job or employer behind it.

You do not need a promoter to go abroad lawfully. BE&OE's FAQ, published by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (OP&HRD), says foreign jobs can also come through direct employment, found through relatives, friends or the internet.

Section 17 and the rules around it

Section 17, as amended by Act No. VIII of 2025, covers anyone who emigrates or departs other than in conformity with the Ordinance and its rules. The maximum is five years' imprisonment and a fine of one million rupees.

Conformity has a concrete meaning. Section 15 says that before emigrating, a person must appear before the Protector of Emigrants, in person or through video link or other modern devices as the rules allow, together with the OEP who recruited them or the promoter's authorised representative.

That appearance is where "protection" happens. BE&OE describes it as a Foreign Service Agreement (FSA) between you and the employer or OEP, countersigned by the Protector of Emigrants to make sure the contract is complied with. A visit visa has no FSA, so there is nothing for the Protector to countersign.

Workers often fear being "offloaded" at the airport. No official page we checked describes airport procedure, so we do not guess at it; the legal question is whether you left in conformity with the Ordinance. The Federal Investigation Agency's Anti Human Trafficking and Smuggling Wing enforces the Emigration Ordinance, 1979 alongside the Prevention of Smuggling of Migrants Act, 2018 and the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act, 2018.

The seller takes a risk too. Under section 18, forging emigration documents, or getting someone to emigrate through fraud or wilful misrepresentation, carries up to fourteen years' imprisonment and a fine of up to two million rupees.

Australia and New Zealand: a visitor cannot simply start work

The Department of Home Affairs' visa scams page is direct: you cannot work in Australia on an Electronic Travel Authority or a Visitor visa. It adds that Australia does not issue "work permits" or visa labels, so anyone offering to arrange one after you arrive is running a scam.

The consequence is long. Home Affairs says people who engage in visa fraud through a scam agent risk visa refusal or cancellation and being banned from Australia for up to 10 years.

The genuine route starts with an employer. Australia's Skills in Demand visa lets an approved employer sponsor a skilled worker for a position it cannot fill locally; our guide to the Skills in Demand visa from Pakistan walks through it. The Australian High Commission in Islamabad warns that visa scams can have serious consequences for applicants and their families.

For New Zealand, the main employer route is the Accredited Employer Work Visa. It is for people with a job offer from an accredited employer, and the employer sends you a link to the online application form. Immigration New Zealand warns that job offer scams are common in India and South Asia. Our New Zealand work visa guide for Pakistani applicants covers the steps.

Visit visa versus a sponsored work visa, side by side

Question	Visit visa, "find work there"	Employer-sponsored work visa
Lawful emigration under section 8?	No: no appointment letter, work permit or employment visa	Yes: an employer's offer and an employment visa
Protector Clearance and FSA	None, so nothing is countersigned	FSA countersigned by the Protector of Emigrants
Right to work on arrival	None in Australia on a Visitor visa or ETA	Work for the sponsoring employer under the visa's conditions
Insurance and OPF	No emigrant insurance or automatic OPF registration	Insurance certificate in the registration file; automatic OPF registration for protected work visas
What you hold when you board	A promise from an agent	A confirmed position agreed before departure
Risk at home	Section 17: up to five years and a fine of up to one million rupees	None for leaving, once registration is complete

Check any offer in seven steps before you pay or pack

Ask which visa the offer is for. If the answer is a visit visa, tourist visa or ETA "for now", stop there.
Check who is recruiting you. Search the BE&OE list of active OEP licences or ask your Protector of Emigrants office. Under section 9, nobody but the Overseas Employment Corporation may recruit, advertise or hold interviews for emigration without prior permission from the Director-General or the Protector.
Get the employer's terms in writing. Pay and hours should be confirmed by the employer itself, not by a middleman.
Verify the visa, not a scan of it. ImmiAccount is the only official website for applying for an Australian visa, and a grant you cannot find in VEVO is probably fake. A New Zealand visa can be checked with INZ's Visa Verification service.
Refuse to pay for the job. Paying an employer to sponsor you is illegal in Australia, and INZ will decline an AEWV if money was offered for a job offer. Our guide to paying money for a job abroad explains who may charge what.
Register before you fly. Appear before the Protector of Emigrants with your FSA and documents and get your Protector Clearance.
Keep copies of everything. Documents, receipts and messages, in case you need to complain.

Common mistakes Pakistani workers make with visit-visa offers

Believing a "work permit" will be arranged after arrival. Australia does not issue work permits, so the promise itself is the scam.
Treating a protector stamp as optional paperwork. Skipping it is what turns a trip into a departure outside the Ordinance.
Trusting a visa agent because a relative used them. A licence is checked on the official list, not by reputation.
Assuming an Australian or New Zealand employer can fix the visa later. In Australia, only Home Affairs grants, refuses or cancels visas.
Using a visit visa to "attend an interview". Genuine employers usually interview by video first; our video interview plan for Pakistani applicants shows how to prepare from home.

Already paid for a visit-visa "job"? Where to report it

BE&OE says complaints against a fake recruiting agent, meaning anyone who is not a valid OEP, should include the case details and supporting documents, and are referred to the FIA under Rule 29(4) of the Emigration Rules, 1979.

You can go to the FIA directly at complaints@fia.gov.pk, on its helpline 051-111-345-786 & 1991, or through its online portal at complaint.fia.gov.pk. OP&HRD's Complaint Resolution System takes complaints at ds.complaint@ophrd.gov.pk or ac.complaint@ophrd.gov.pk, by phone on 051-9208581, in person in Islamabad, or through the Pakistan Citizen's Portal.

Where JobsAbroad Pakistan fits

We list employer-sponsored jobs in Australia and New Zealand, and every employer listed is prepared to sponsor an overseas worker. You apply with an English CV and trade certificates, the employer interviews you, usually by video, then handles sponsorship while you lodge the visa and complete your emigration formalities.

Your English CV and your trade certificates should tell the same story. Build AI CV helps you write the CV in a clear format, and our guide on which body attests your experience certificate before MOFA shows how to get your trade papers ready the lawful way.

We are not an Overseas Employment Promoter and we do not process Pakistan's emigration procedures: confirm registration with a Protector of Emigrants office through BE&OE's official channels. Current openings include a carpenter role in Cairns and a tandoori and curry chef job in Sydney, both with a sponsoring employer behind them.

Because the employer usually interviews by video, practise your answers out loud before the call. InterviewTraining.ai lets you rehearse job interview questions, and our guide on choosing IELTS or PTE for Australia from Pakistan helps you plan the English test the visa may ask for.

Frequently asked questions

Can I go on a visit visa and look for work abroad legally from Pakistan?

Not as a way to emigrate for work. Section 8 of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979 recognises a work permit or appointment letter from a foreign employer, an employment or emigration visa, or selection through the Director-General, a licensed Overseas Employment Promoter or a government-to-government agreement. A visit visa is none of these, and leaving for work outside the Ordinance falls under section 17.

What is the penalty for unlawful emigration in Pakistan?

Under section 17 of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979, as amended by Act No. VIII of 2025, emigrating or departing other than in conformity with the Ordinance and its rules can be punished with imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of up to one million rupees. Forged emigration documents and fraud fall under section 18, with heavier penalties.

Can I work in Australia on a visitor visa if an employer agrees?

No. The Department of Home Affairs says you cannot work in Australia on an Electronic Travel Authority or a Visitor visa, whatever an employer or agent tells you. Working needs a visa with work rights, such as a visa an approved employer sponsors you for, and visa fraud through a scam agent can lead to refusal, cancellation and a ban of up to 10 years.

How do I know whether the person offering me a job abroad is licensed?

Search BE&OE's list of active Overseas Employment Promoter licences or ask your area's Protector of Emigrants office. Section 9 of the Ordinance says that, apart from the Overseas Employment Corporation, no one may recruit Pakistani citizens for emigration, advertise or hold interviews or tests without prior permission from the Director-General or the Protector.

Where do I complain about an agent who sold me a visit visa as a job?

The Federal Investigation Agency takes complaints at complaints@fia.gov.pk, on its helpline 051-111-345-786 & 1991 and through complaint.fia.gov.pk. OP&HRD also takes complaints at ds.complaint@ophrd.gov.pk or on 051-9208581.

Key takeaways

A visit visa is not one of the lawful routes to work abroad under section 8 of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979.
Departing outside the Ordinance can mean up to five years' imprisonment and a fine of up to one million rupees under section 17.
Australia does not allow work on a Visitor visa or ETA, and scam-agent visa fraud can bring a ban of up to 10 years.
The safe route is a sponsoring employer, a work visa, an FSA and Protector Clearance before you board.
Check every recruiter on the BE&OE licence list and report fake agents to the FIA.

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