If you have ever had a document attested at the Foreign Office, you know the queue. From 12 October 2026, that changed: MOFA now runs attestation online and emails you an electronic certificate instead of stamping paper at a counter.
What changed
Under a notice on MOFA’s consular services page, the Ministry in Islamabad and its liaison offices in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Gujrat adopted a Digital Attestation System from Monday 12 October 2026. In MOFA’s words, the point is that applicants can get documents attested “from the comfort of their homes”. In practice:
- You submit your documents for apostille or general attestation online, through MOFA’s attestation portal.
- Once the process is complete and the fee is paid, MOFA issues an electronic certificate (e-Certificate) by email — similar to the system HEC already uses.
- You no longer need to visit the Ministry or a liaison office, except in exceptional cases where MOFA asks for you in person.
This follows an earlier change: since 27 July 2026, MOFA has not accepted apostille requests without prior online registration.
Apostille or general attestation?
The portal offers two services, and choosing the wrong one wastes a fee.
- Apostille is for countries that accept a Pakistani apostille under the Hague Apostille Convention. One certificate, and the receiving country accepts it without going through its embassy.
- General attestation is the standard legalisation route for countries that don’t. Depending on the country, the document may then need further legalisation or verification by that country’s embassy.
MOFA’s own destination directory lists Canada as accepting the apostille for eligible Pakistani documents — with the reminder to check what the receiving authority actually requires before you apply. For any other country, look it up in the same MOFA directory rather than going on what a friend did.
Before MOFA: HEC and IBCC first
MOFA attests documents that have already been through the right Pakistani authority. Its checklist sets out the order:
- University degrees need HEC authentication first.
- School and board certificates (matric, intermediate) need IBCC authentication first — and IBCC in turn wants the board’s verification before you apply to it.
- Powers of attorney and affidavits can carry personal-appearance requirements.
- Commercial documents may need Chamber of Commerce or issuing-authority authentication.
- Experience letters must be on the organisation’s letterhead, with the authorised signatory’s name, signature and stamp.
Do you need it for a Canadian application?
Only if someone asks for it. Attestation is a requirement of whoever receives the document, not a step every application needs. For Canada, that means following the document checklist IRCC gives you for your application, and the rules of whichever body is looking at the document — a credential-assessment organisation, a regulator, an employer. Where a document is not in English or French, IRCC generally asks for a certified translation. Attesting documents nobody asked for costs fees and weeks, and adds nothing to your file.
If you are building a Canadian file from Pakistan, our guide to the paperwork sets out what most files need — including the police certificate, which is a separate process again.
Two practical notes
MOFA’s help pages lag the notice. The attestation portal’s step-by-step pages still describe the earlier flow — book an appointment after approval, bring the originals, collect in one to three hours. The 12 October notice is the newer instruction. Follow what your application on the portal actually asks of you, and keep the originals to hand in case yours is one of the exceptional cases.
You can check any attestation yourself. MOFA lets anyone verify an apostille or a general attestation online. If someone hands you a document they say they “got attested”, check it on MOFA’s verification page before you send it anywhere.