Introduction
Human trafficking refers to the act or practice of transporting people illegally from one area or country to another for forced or sexual exploitation. The type of work visas available in a country can either protect or increase the vulnerability to trafficking. The paper, therefore, focuses on the kind of work visas available in Pakistan and how they protect or enhance the susceptibility to human trafficking.
Pakistan has, for a long time, been known as a transit and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to human trafficking mainly for forced labour and prostitution. As a result, the country was placed in "Tier 2 Watch list" in 2017 by the U.S State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. The various types of work visas currently available in Pakistan to minimize the cases of human trafficking include House-maid visa, Missionary work visa as well as Business visa (Lubischer, Gabel, & Harder, 2019).
The House-maid Visa is a type of work visa granting entry for foreigners to work as housemaids or domestic servants in Pakistan (Nelson & Abuse, 2017). The entry visa is granted by the country's missions abroad only after the approval of the country's Ministry of Interior. Foreigners applying for a new visa as housemaids or domestic servants have to submit their application documents with all the requirements to the employers in Pakistan who subsequently forwards the documents to the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry of Interior grants any extension in housemaid work or domestic servant visa cases every year with one or two re-entries per year subject to the validity of the passport of the applicant (Nelson & Abuse, 2017).
The Missionary Work Visa is a type of work visa granted by the Ministry of Interior to Christian Missionaries applying for initial visa or extension of the duration for missionary work in the country. Foreign Missionaries desiring to open new missions or strengthen the existing ones involved in proselytizing activities are, however, denied entry visas into the country (Zimmerman & Kiss, 2017). Furthermore, the missionary workers can apply for extension in visa in one month before the expiry of visa at the nearest Regional Passport Office (RPO). The concerned RPO usually grants a visa extension for two years with two re-entries per year if the documents are adequately furnished. The extension is, however, not valid for India (Zimmerman & Kiss, 2017).
The Business Visa is a type of work visa authorized by the country's Missions abroad to grant five years validity visa within 24 hours to business people of 68 countries of Business Visa List (BVL) upon producing the necessary documents. The duration for each stay is for three months. The mission abroad can grant one-month validity and stay entry visa to business people of the remaining 107 countries upon producing the necessary documents except for Israel. The conversion of Business visa into work visa and vice versa has, however, been discontinued (Zimmerman & Kiss, 2017).
Conclusion
In summary, it is evident from the above discussion that Pakistan is one of the countries which has been for a long time affected by human trafficking. The country has, however, adopted various types of work visas such as House-maid visa, Missionary work visa, as well as a Business visa in an attempt to protect it from the vulnerability of human trafficking. The visas have resulted in a significant reduction in the number of human trafficking cases in the country.
