According to reliable sources, overseas Pakistanis sent a record $3.4 billion in remittances during June 2025, marking a significant 7.9 per cent year-on-year increase.
This strong finish to the fiscal year pushed the total overseas Pakistanis’ remittances for FY2025 to an unprecedented $38.3 billion, a substantial 26.6 per cent rise compared to $30.3 billion in FY2024.
These inflows of foreign exchange continue to serve as the lifeline of Pakistan’s economy, stabilising its external accounts and strengthening its reserves. Yet, behind these impressive figures lies the untold story of the millions of Pakistanis, especially youth, who leave their homeland legally in pursuit of education, employment and dignity.
While the formal banking system records this $38 billion as legal inflows, various international and national agencies, including the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and World Bank/IMF, estimate that an additional $7 billion to $10 billion enters Pakistan each year through informal or illegal channels such as hundi, hawala and hand-carried cash.
These unrecorded inflows bypass official banking systems and operate through private networks, reflecting both a lack of financial inclusion and the persistence of informal money transfer mechanisms.
If we consider both legal and informal channels together, the total remittance inflows from overseas Pakistanis could exceed $40 billion annually, a remarkable figure by any standard. This volume of foreign exchange not only supports the national economy but also underlines the trust and emotional investment that overseas Pakistanis maintain in their homeland. They are not just economic contributors but informal ambassadors of Pakistan’s resilience and hard work.
While we celebrate these financial contributions, we must not forget the human challenges that underpin them. Many of these Pakistanis, especially young students and professionals, embark on their journeys after enduring numerous social, financial and bureaucratic hurdles.
From securing admissions or job offers abroad to navigating visa paperwork, attestations and protectors, every step is a test of patience and persistence. Even after fulfilling all legal requirements, some young travellers face unnecessary humiliation and suspicion at airports, where reports of valid visa holders being offloaded without justification have become increasingly common.
This treatment not only undermines their confidence but also sends a troubling message to the world that Pakistan struggles to trust its own law-abiding citizens, even when they are leaving to represent the nation positively abroad.
Pakistan continues to grapple with what experts term a ‘brain drain’ – the outflow of skilled youth seeking better futures overseas. The reasons are deep-rooted, including limited employment opportunities at home, low wages and poor working conditions, political and economic instability, inadequate research and educational facilities, lack of meritocracy and transparency, attraction of better lifestyles and global exposure, absence of return incentives and weak institutional linkages.
While traditionally viewed as a loss, this phenomenon can also be reframed as a ‘brain gain’, a source of learning, exposure and remittance inflows that ultimately benefit the national economy.
When viewed through this lens, our overseas youth are investments, not losses. They acquire new skills, build international networks, and often channel funds or opportunities back home. Their remittances, approaching $40 billion annually, are far greater than the one or two billion dollars Pakistan painstakingly negotiates to borrow from international financial institutions. This comparison alone underscores the strategic importance of facilitating legal migration rather than obstructing it.
Ironically, while illegal migrants, those smuggled through dangerous routes by human traffickers, often find ways to cross borders by counter settings or with unfair means, our law-abiding travellers with legitimate visas are frequently stopped, questioned or even offloaded from flights at Pakistan’s own airports.
Most recent media reports highlighted several such cases, where first-time travellers, including students and skilled workers, were denied boarding despite carrying complete documentation. This misplaced suspicion not only damages Pakistan’s image abroad but also discourages responsible, legal migration.
It is essential for the Ministry of Interior and related agencies to issue clear and humane directives to immigration and security officials to facilitate and not frustrate those who are leaving legally to learn, work and contribute to Pakistan’s growth.
These young Pakistanis should be seen off with respect and encouragement, not scepticism and harassment. Each one represents a potential source of innovation, investment and foreign exchange for the country’s future.
For Pakistan to turn migration into a sustainable advantage, several policy-level interventions are urgently needed:
The government should expand technical and vocational training programs aligned with global labour market demands. Skilled youth are more likely to find legal employment abroad and send higher-value remittances home.
Pakistan should negotiate bilateral agreements with key destination countries to ensure fair employment, recognition of Pakistani qualifications and safe working conditions. This will also help curb exploitation and illegal migration.
The government, along with the private sector and civil society, should promote pre-departure orientation sessions to prepare youth for cultural adaptation, legal rights and financial management abroad.
There should also be incentives for returning professionals, such as tax breaks, grants and research opportunities, to encourage them to reinvest their skills in Pakistan’s economy.
Embassies, labour attaches and education ministries must work together to streamline documentation, simplify visa processing and ensure better communication between migrants and state institutions.
It’s time to change the national mindset around migration. Those who legally move abroad are not ‘leaving’ Pakistan; they are extending its presence globally. Each student, worker and entrepreneur abroad represents an opportunity for brain circulation, global learning and economic reinforcement.
Rather than perceiving migration as a loss, Pakistan should institutionalise support for its diaspora communities, celebrate their success stories and involve them in national development initiatives. Programmes like Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) already demonstrate how connecting overseas Pakistanis to the formal financial system can bring billions into the economy.
The legal migration of Pakistani youth is not merely a personal journey but a national asset. Every student departing for higher studies, every worker boarding a plane for employment, carries with them not just hope for a better life but the potential to strengthen Pakistan’s economy, diplomacy and reputation abroad.
Therefore, the state’s responsibility does not end with just issuing passports. It begins there. By removing bureaucratic barriers, ensuring dignified treatment at airports and supporting legal migration pathways, Pakistan can transform this ‘brain drain’ into a cycle of brain gain, economic empowerment and global learning.
The writer is associated with the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). The views expressed by him are his own and do not necessarily reflect the organisation’s official stance.