A No Objection Certificate (NOC), also called a leave letter or employment letter, is issued by your employer. It confirms that you work there and that your leave for the trip is approved. Schengen, UK, Canada and US applications from Pakistan all rely on it, whether or not it is called a NOC.
What a good NOC includes
- Company letterhead with full address, a landline or official email, and the date.
- Your full name as in the passport, CNIC or passport number, and employee number if you have one.
- Designation, department and date of joining.
- Monthly salary, clearly stated as gross or net. It should match your salary slips and bank credits.
- The exact approved leave dates, matching your travel dates.
- A sentence saying you will resume work on a specific date after the leave.
- Name, designation and signature of the person issuing it (usually HR or your manager), with the company stamp.
Government employees
Government and semi-government employees usually need a formal NOC or leave sanction from their department for foreign travel. Get it in the format your department uses, and keep the approval order with it.
A short outline you can give HR
"This is to certify that Mr/Ms [name], CNIC [number], has been working with [company] as [designation] since [date], with a monthly salary of PKR [amount]. He/She has been granted leave from [date] to [date] to visit [country] for [purpose] and will resume duties on [date]. The company has no objection to this travel." Signed and stamped, with contact details.
The letter must be issued by your employer and every fact in it must be true. Do not write it yourself on a letterhead. Embassies do contact employers to check.
Common mistakes
- Leave dates that do not match the flight or itinerary.
- A salary in the NOC that differs from the salary slips.
- No contact details, so the embassy cannot verify it.
- Issued months before the application. Get it close to the date you apply.
How we help
We check your NOC against your salary slips, bank statement, itinerary and form, and tell you exactly what to ask HR to correct. This is part of our Schengen file consultation at PKR 20,000 per person and our USA DS-160 service. Also see the visit visa documents checklist.
Inviting family from abroad? If your relatives live abroad and are inviting you, or you live abroad and are inviting parents or family from Pakistan, see Bringing family from Pakistan to visit you abroad. For the sponsor's letter, read Invitation letter for a visit visa: a guide for hosts abroad.
Roman Urdu mein khulasa
NOC company letterhead par ho, us mein designation, joining date, salary aur leave ki exact dates likhi hon, HR ka sign aur stamp ho. Salary slips aur bank statement se match kare.
Information checked 1 November 2026. Rules change, so always confirm on the official embassy or visa-centre website before you apply.
