ISLAMABAD – In a major relief for Pakistani citizens, Sweden has announced to resume visa processing from next week.
The Swedish Embassy in Islamabad has stated that the visa issuance for Pakistani citizens would resume from April 9th.
As far as the visa category is concerned, it has been clarified that only processing of work and study visas would be resumed in Pakistan.
“This partial resumption of visa processing in Islamabad will address the large number of applicants, particularly students, eligible workers, and those intending to travel to Sweden for family reunifications,” read a statement issued by the embassy.
The Swedish Migration Agency has stated that those “who have applied for a residence permit to come to Sweden to live with someone, to work, or for studies will be able to have their application processed at the embassy in Islamabad.”
The embassy has also clarified that the resumption also applies to those who wish to visit Sweden for longer than 90 days; however, the resumption excludes those applying for visit and Schengen visas or a short stay (up to 90 days) and they would have to submit applications to VFS Global in Bangkok, Yangon, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, Cebu, Jakarta, Bali, Phnom Penh, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Tokyo or Seoul.
It bears mentioning that the embassy of Sweden had suspended the issuance of visas from Pakistan in 2023 in a shocking development. After the suspension, visa seekers from Pakistan had to travel to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia for visa processing.
The fresh announcement comes as a relief especially to the students who had lost hope after the suspension of visas as travelling to Ethiopia was a hassle.
