Pakistan and the Netherlands at a glance
- Stamp
- Legalisation; the Netherlands objected to the apostille accession of Pakistan
- First stop
- Pakistan issues apostilles, but the Netherlands refuses them
- Language
- English, accepted as it is
- Register
- Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP)
- Tax treaty
- Signed 1982, in force 1982 (Rijksoverheid, 1 October 2026)
- EU trade
- EU tariff and preference schemes
- Moving here
- Residence permit needed
Documents from Pakistan
Passport copy, certified by a notary in Pakistan.
Proof of address in Pakistan, at most three months old.
Power of attorney. Sign the power of attorney before a Pakistani notary public (oath commissioner). The Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs then legalises the notary’s signature. Ask for legalisation only, because the Netherlands refuses apostilles from Pakistan.
Ownership statement, one page from us.
Legalisation. Pakistan issues apostilles, but the Netherlands refuses them. For use in the Netherlands, the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs legalises the document. It does this in Islamabad or at the camp offices in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta. The Netherlands asks for this stamp only, so you skip the Dutch embassy. Urdu documents need a sworn translation.
Official page: https://www.netherlandsworldwide.nl/legalisation/foreign-documents/pakistan
Good to know. Originals from the Pakistani company regulator (SECP) can be attested. Photocopies must first be attested by the regulator.
If a company from Pakistan becomes a shareholder
Register extract, at most three months old: Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). Order a certified company profile, Form 29 (directors) and Form A (shareholders). Commercial documents are first attested by the Chamber of Commerce. Plus articles, signing authority and ownership chart.
Trade between Pakistan and the EU
The European Union (EU) was Pakistan's second most important trading partner in 2025, with 14.1% of Pakistan's total trade. Trade in goods reached €12.2 billion in 2025, and Pakistan ranked 48th among the EU's partners for trade in goods.
Textiles made up 77.7% of EU imports from Pakistan in 2025. Machinery and appliances (24.9%), chemical products (22.4%) and base metals (15.7%) led EU exports to Pakistan in 2025. Trade in services added €2.5 billion in 2024.
Since 1 January 2014, Pakistan has used the EU's Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), with mostly zero duties on two thirds of all product categories. Pakistan is the largest beneficiary of this arrangement. In 2024, more than 88% of its exports eligible for tariff reductions entered the EU at preferential rates.
Trade relations rest on the Cooperation Agreement of 2004.
Import duties: Access2Markets.
Your next step from Pakistan
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