How to Hire Workers from Pakistan

Pakistan is one of the largest sources of skilled and general labour for the Gulf, Malaysia and beyond. For an employer hiring from Pakistan for the first time, though, the practical questions are the same everywhere: who do I talk to, how do I know they are legitimate, and what do I have to do myself?

This guide answers those questions in the order they usually come up.

Step 1 — Verify the agency is licensed

In Pakistan, only a licensed Overseas Employment Promoter may recruit workers for overseas employment. The licence is issued by the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment, and every licence holder appears on a public registry.

Be aware of the distinction between a licensed promoter and an intermediary. Many businesses present themselves as recruitment agencies while actually passing your order to a licensed promoter and taking a margin. You can usually tell by asking who will submit the Protector of Emigrants file — if the answer is “our partner”, you are not talking to the source.

Step 2 — Prepare your documents

Recruitment cannot begin until the paperwork exists. The requirements vary by destination, but the core set is consistent.

• Demand letter — job titles, headcount, salary, benefits, contract duration and working terms
• Employment contract — the terms the worker will sign
• Quota or permit approval — where your country requires it before recruitment can start
• Company documentation — trade licence or registration, as required for attestation

Attestation requirements differ by country, and this is often where first-time employers lose time. Ask your agency for the specific checklist for your jurisdiction before you start preparing anything.

Step 3 — Agree the commercial terms in writing

Before selection begins, get the following in writing:

• An itemised cost breakdown, with exclusions stated explicitly
• Who bears which costs — permit, visa and medical should sit with the employer under most destination regulations
• A timeline estimate from confirmed order to arrival
• Replacement terms if a worker proves unsuitable or fails post-arrival medical
• How and how often you will receive status updates

If any of these are answered vaguely at the start, they will be answered worse when something goes wrong.

Step 4 — Screening and selection

A properly run screening process should give you enough to make a real decision rather than accept an allocation.

• Candidate biodata matched to your stated job requirements
• Trade testing for skilled roles, with results shared
• Video interviews where you want them
• Document verification before submission, not after

You should be selecting from screened candidates. If an agency is sending workers without your approval, that is a structural problem, not a detail.

Step 5 — Documentation, medical and deployment

Once you have selected, the Pakistan-side process runs through document collection, medical examination at an approved centre, visa processing for your destination, and Protector of Emigrants clearance — the BEOE stage that legally permits the worker to depart. We cover this in detail in our guide to the BEOE Protector process.

For most destinations we quote a range of roughly four to ten weeks from approved permit to arrival, with a written estimate specific to each order.

Why dealing directly matters

Almost every seriously delayed order we have seen traces back to the same root cause: the employer was never actually talking to the licensed provider. There was a layer in between.

• Accountability. With one party responsible, problems get solved rather than passed along.
• Cost transparency. Every added layer takes a margin, and you cannot see what the worker was charged.
• Speed. Questions get answered by the people doing the work, not relayed through an intermediary.
• Verifiability. You can check a licence number. You cannot check an informal arrangement.

A checklist before you commit

1. Licence number provided and verified on the official registry
2. Itemised written quotation with exclusions stated
3. Written timeline estimate
4. Confirmation that no recruitment costs are charged to the worker
5. Replacement terms agreed in writing
6. A named point of contact who responds within a working day

Sheikhu International is a licensed Overseas Employment Promoter based in Lahore, operating under BEOE licence 3893 LHR, with over 2,400 workers supplied worldwide across thirteen years. We work directly with employers — no sub-agents between you and us.

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