Power of attorney for Pakistan, signed in Canada.
For Pakistani-Canadians who need someone in Pakistan to sell, rent, file a case or handle an inheritance for them.
Short answer. From Canada there are three valid routes: NADRA’s online power of attorney (CNIC, NICOP and POC holders), signing at the High Commission of Pakistan in Ottawa or a consulate general in Toronto or Montreal, or a Canadian notary plus an apostille from Global Affairs Canada or the competent authority in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec or Saskatchewan. The apostille route has worked since 11 January 2024.
Reviewed by Khalil Ahmad Bhullah, Founding Partner · Last reviewed 7 October 2026 · Pakistani law only. We are Pakistani advocates. We are not members of any Canadian law society and do not advise on Canadian or Quebec law.
What matters when you sign from Canada.
Which office apostilles depends on the province
Documents signed in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec or Saskatchewan are apostilled by that province’s competent authority. Documents from the other provinces and territories go to Global Affairs Canada.
Quebec notarial acts
Quebec notaries are a separate legal profession and their acts follow Quebec civil-law form. They are apostilled by the Quebec authority. We send the wording in a form the Quebec notary can adopt without changing its effect in Pakistan.
Rent collection for a house you keep
Many Canadian clients keep a house in Pakistan and let it. A limited power of attorney to collect rent and sign one tenancy, with no power to sell, and an end date, protects the house while it earns.
How the file runs from Canada.
You stay where you are. We appear in Lahore on your power of attorney; a court can still ask for you by video link at a particular stage.
Tell us the job
Which property or case, and exactly what the attorney may do. Sale, rent, a court case, a succession file — each needs different wording.
We send the wording
A special power of attorney naming the property by khasra, plot or file number, the act allowed, what is forbidden, where the money goes, and an end date.
You sign in Canada
Through NADRA online, the High Commission in Ottawa or a consulate general, or a Canadian notary plus apostille. We confirm which one the receiving office in Pakistan will take before you book.
Verification and use
The original comes to Lahore. Where it is used to sell or transfer property it is presented for verification at the sub-registrar or society before the transfer desk acts on it.
A typical Canadian file.
A couple in Mississauga are keeping their house in Lahore and want a brother to manage the tenancy.
We draft a special power of attorney: collect rent into the couple’s own account, sign and register one tenancy, deal with the Rent Tribunal if the tenant defaults, and nothing else — no sale, mortgage or gift, and a two-year expiry. They sign at the consulate general in Toronto, and the original is couriered to Lahore.
Illustrative example, not a client file. Timelines depend on the court, the district and the other side.
Document route from Canada.
The single most expensive mistake overseas clients make is paying for the wrong signing route.
- Notary plus apostille. Sign before a Canadian notary, then an apostille from Global Affairs Canada, or from the competent authority in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec or Saskatchewan for documents signed there. The Apostille Convention operates between Canada and Pakistan, so no further attestation by a Pakistani mission is legally needed — though some registrars still prefer a mission-attested document, and we check first.
- NADRA online power of attorney. For CNIC, NICOP and POC holders at poa.nadra.gov.pk: biometrics for you and two witnesses, online payment, and an online interview with the mission you select. No visit.
- In person at a mission. The High Commission of Pakistan in Ottawa, or the consulates general in Toronto and Montreal. The route for anyone with no Pakistani identity document who does not want the notary route.
- Canadian documents signed or issued on or after 11 January 2024 can be apostilled. Anything older went through authentication and legalisation, and we check whether it still works or has to be redone.
What we will ask for
- Your CNIC, NICOP or POC (or passport only, if you hold no Pakistani ID — the route changes).
- The attorney’s CNIC copy.
- Property identifiers: khasra or khewat numbers, or plot, block and society name, or registry number.
- Two witnesses with valid ID for the signing.
- For a sale: buyer’s name and the minimum price, and the bank account the proceeds must reach.
Time difference with Lahore.
- Lahore is 10 hours ahead of Toronto in winter and 9 in summer, 12 and 11 ahead of Calgary, 13 and 12 ahead of Vancouver. Pakistan does not change its clocks.
- Our office day starts at 11:00 PM Toronto time in winter (midnight in summer). Hearings happen in your night and the summary is on WhatsApp by morning.
- In Toronto, 7:00 AM is 5:00 PM in Lahore in winter. In Vancouver, an 8:00 PM call in winter (9:00 PM in summer) is 9:00 AM the next day in Lahore.
- WhatsApp is read Monday to Saturday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Pakistan time. Fees are quoted in writing before any work starts.
Questions from Canada.
Global Affairs Canada, or the competent authority in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec or Saskatchewan for documents signed there. Pakistan then accepts it without attestation by a Pakistani mission, although some registrars still prefer a mission-attested document.
Yes, with a CNIC, NICOP or Pakistan Origin Card. You give biometrics for yourself and two witnesses, pay online, and take an online interview with the mission you select — Ottawa, Toronto or Montreal.
Not necessarily, but review it before relying on it. Check what it allows, whether it has been misused, and whether the receiving office still accepts it. Most clients replace an old general power of attorney with a narrow special one.
Sign a revocation deed through one of the Canadian routes, send written notice to the attorney, and notify the sub-registrar, society or development authority and any bank. Anything already done under it is challenged in court.
Read next.
Property cases from Canada
Occupied, rented out or sold behind your back.
Inheritance from Canada
Succession certificate and transfer to heirs.
Divorce & khula from Canada
Talaq, khula, maintenance and custody.
All matters for Pakistanis in Canada
The country desk: missions, time zones, every service.
Power of attorney from abroad: the full guide
The law and the routes, for clients in any country.
Child adoption from Canada
Court guardianship of a child in Pakistan.