Getting NICOP made in UK

National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) is a registration document issued by NADRA (National Database & Registration Authority) to a eligible citizen of Pakistan who lives or has reference abroad.
Any citizen of Pakistan can apply for NICOP and can travel to Pakistan without requiring a visa in case of dual nationality. Read on to find out more how to get NICOP made for yourselves or you family.


Though the process is quite streamlined but still requires waiting in queues and patience. Now NADRA has made its base in Pakistan Counslate in major cities which saves you the hassle of traveling to London.

Booking an appointment 

Appointment Booking is done online in either of the 4 centres. London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bradford. You can book in by calling as well. You can book Saturdays too but you will be charged an extra fees. Multiple applicants can book under a single slot. 

Head over the website of the nearest center and book your appointment. It will ask whether you want to book an appointment for NICOP or MRP (Machine Readable Passport). Timings are from 10:00 - 16:00 hrs. It has no fees. You will be sent an email with confirmation

Documents Required

Documents if applicant is a newborn / infant /child /adult and has never held any NADRA card or any document issued by NADRA 

• Physical presence of the applicant. Yes be it a newborn 

• Birth Certificate with parents names

• NIC / NICOP of parents. Atleast one of of the parents marital status must be updated to married in NADRA system. It's a easier if both the parents status have been updated and NADRA marriage certificate is also available. So if you are applying for your child and your status hasn't been updated in the NADRA system it's better to get your NIC /NICOP modified before applying. 

• Physical presence of blood relatives of the applicant with NIC / NICOP. Now this is a hassle for those unable to get blood relatives physically, photocopies work just tell them they cannot come for whatever reasons 

• For applicants whose Date of birth is prior to 18 April 2000, then Father's nationality MUST be Pakistani. If father is non-national and mother is Pakistan, then they are eligible for acquiring Pakistan Origin Card (POC), otherwise they have to sought Naturalization Certificate from Govt of Pakistan, to acquire SNICOP. This is a whole another topic and best consulted by NADRA officials themselves 

• Marriage Certificate if you want your status to say married. If you show that you are single then in future for your kids you will need to modify your NICOP, so it's better to get it sorted now 

• Passport (Pakistani / Foreign) 

• Photocopies of all the above documents

Documents if you already have a NADRA card or CRC (Child Registration Certificate) or form B

• Original NIC / NICOP 

•  Valid passport (Pakistani / Foreign) 

•  Marriage Certificate if married 

•  Copy of NIC / NICOP of father / mother /siblings / wife for family linkage 

•  Photocopies of all documents 

Fees and processing time for NICOP

• New Smart NICOP (Normal) £42

(06 Weeks) 

• New Smart NICOP (Urgent) £52

(04 Weeks) 

• New Smart NICOP (Executive) £67

(02 Weeks) 

These include £2.00 bank surcharge and £10 Delivery Charges for NADRA

Visiting the NADRA office

Reach the your selected NADRA office at least 15 minutes before the appointment. You will also find others with the similar time slot. So it's basically first come first serve basis even if you have an appointment. The environment is pretty similar to the NADRA back home in terms of attitude and working pace of the staff.

Initially head over to the counter to collect your token and get your documents checked and sorted. You will be asked how urgently do you need the NICOP a token will be be generated accordingly plus a bank slip. A UBL (United Bank Limited) branch is usually on the premises where you will have to pay the fees. There will be photocopy machines on premises too, its 25p per page. Handy if you forgot to make copies  Keep the token and bank slip safe and wait for your turn in the queue.


First will be a station where the applicant will be photographed now if it's a infant you are going to have a hard time making your infant face the camera. Make sure they are well fed and calm to speed up the process. The next station will be data entry. Pretty straight forward. You will be given a print out at the end to recheck all the data once you are satisfied sign return the form to the NADRA officials and you are all done.

Delivery of NICOP

Your NICOP will be delivered to the address mentioned that you mentioned on your NADRA data entry in approximately the same time as mentioned by NADRA. The token you have has a tracking number on it, use it to track the progress.

Congrats on getting your NICOP and entry into the NADRA system. If you now plan to get a Pakistani passport you can proceed as NICOP is a pre requisite for it. (Read here how to get your Passport made)

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