Who is involved and how we are affected by the problem?

There are hundreds or thousands of students as well as working professionals who suffer from the following numbered highlighted daily life matters on a regular basis due to absence of Pakistani Embassy in Finland.

Since the inception of Finland's ambassador in Islamabad recently October 2022, we demand the Government of Pakistan and specifically the Ministry of foreign affairs (MOFA) Pakistan consider opening the Pakistani embassy in Helsinki, Finland. The presence of Pakistani embassies and consulates in neighboring countries does not provide relief to us in the following matters due to the cost of traveling to those countries and non-convenience, especially with little kids and family members. The Pakistani embassy in Helsinki can provide various resources and assistance for different challenges and life facets we face during our time abroad.

What will be the Purpose of a Pakistani Embassy?

The purpose of an embassy is to assist citizens of their home country living, working, or traveling overseas including:

1. Issuing emergency passports (if ours got lost or stolen)
2. Replacing/renewing our passport
3. Issuing birth reports for children born abroad
4. Issuing death reports for residents who pass away abroad
5. Accepting ballots for elections in a person’s home country
6. Filing taxes in a person’s home country
7. Navigating foreign police, legal and medical systems
8. Assisting residents who get arrested or detained abroad
9. Notarizing certain documents for use in a foreign country or our home country
10. Assisting with emergency/evacuation situations
11. The embassy will also collaborate with local governments, businesses, and other organizations, and work with local citizens interested in traveling to Pakistan.
12. Embassies can help citizens from the foreign country it resides in becoming citizens of the country the embassy represents. Though Finland has shown concern and started its embassy in Islamabad as a goodwill gesture, however, we demand our government to open the counter embassy here in Finland to facilitate bilateral cooperation in speeding up the process of passport verification and authentication. As the current status is we have to wait for 2 to 3 years for the decision to become Finnish nationals due to the lack of a Pakistani embassy and a system of authentication of our passports.

It is hoped that this matter will be taken up seriously considering the daily difficulties of Pakistani citizens and improving bilateral relations between the TWO governments so that small-medium enterprises (SMEs) will start flourishing. And implement a passport verification and authentication system to become Finnish citizens in the least possible time to facilitate Pakistani citizens residing in Finland.