The chairman of the Pakistan Leather Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PLGMEA) has claimed that Pakistan’s leather garment exporters are experiencing long delays in the issuance of business visas for the USA, Canada and European Union (EU) countries.

Mr. Fawad Ijaz Khan said the industry was already facing a sharp decline in exports and that such harsh visa requirements were only exacerbating the problem.

The US embassy in Islamabad took the longest to process business visa applications, he said, with exporters having to wait up to 45 days. Some traders also complained that they had been mistreated at the embassy. Seven PLGMEA members who were due to participate in the first edition of the Source International trade show in the USA this week were unable to take part after their visa applications were refused, he added.

Similarly, EU embassies were causing problems to exporters by taking up to eight weeks to process visa applications. Only Germany, Italy and Holland had retained embassies in Karachi, meaning traders were having to travel to Islamabad to obtain visas for the other European countries.

Mr. Fawad added that it was necessary for his members applying for a visa to have already had business in the EU and to have visited them during the past two years. These stipulations were causing serious concern to exporters seeking business visas for multiple countries.

Mr. Fawad called on the Government to look into the matter in the hope that the issue may be resolved without further delay.

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