To transfer money from Pakistan to the UAE, you send it through a Pakistani bank (as an international SWIFT transfer) or a licensed exchange company to the recipient’s UAE bank account, which is identified by its UAE IBAN. What you are allowed to send depends on where the money sits and why you are sending it: the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has different rules for foreign currency accounts, for rupee payments for specific purposes, and for foreign exchange bought from exchange companies.
This guide covers that direction: from Pakistan into a UAE account. If you live in the UAE and send money home to Pakistan, the last section is for you.
What SBP allows: can you send money out of Pakistan?
SBP’s Foreign Exchange Manual sets different rules depending on the source of the money and the purpose. In summary:
| Your situation | What SBP’s rules say |
|---|---|
| Money in a foreign currency account | Foreign currency accounts are “free from all Foreign Exchange restrictions”, with full freedom to remit “to any country and for any purpose”. Personal foreign currency accounts “should not be used for commercial and business purposes”. (FE Manual, Chapter 6) |
| Paying for studies in the UAE | Up to USD 70,000 per student per calendar year. Tuition and dues go directly to the educational institution; living expenses can be sent to the student. (FE Manual, Chapter 17) |
| Paying for medical treatment in the UAE | Up to USD 50,000, paid directly to the hospital. (FE Manual, Chapter 17) |
| Buying foreign currency or remitting through an exchange company | SBP’s Regulatory Framework for Exchange Companies (FE Circular 02 of 2024, effective 1 January 2025) sets a maximum of USD 10,000 per person per day and USD 100,000 per calendar year. SBP’s FAQ on its 2021 circular ties these limits to genuine needs such as travel, family maintenance abroad and other personal needs, across cash, cheques, bank transfers or outward remittances. |
| Money in a Roshan Digital Account (for non-resident Pakistanis) | SBP’s brochure says funds in the account “can be remitted back from Pakistan without any approval from bank or SBP”. |
| Any other purpose | Private individuals apply to the SBP Banking Services Corporation on Form ‘M’ for remittances for purposes other than those the manual already provides for. (FE Manual, Chapter 16) |
These are SBP’s published rules, not a promise that a bank will process your transfer. Your bank or exchange company applies them, may ask for documents, and decides how it handles your request. If your purpose does not fit a row above, ask the bank before you start.
Route 1: a bank transfer to a UAE account
A Pakistani bank can send money to a UAE bank account as an international (SWIFT) transfer, within the SBP rules above. The steps:
- Collect the recipient’s details: their full name exactly as their UAE bank holds it, their UAE IBAN, and the SWIFT/BIC of their UAE bank (see “What the recipient in the UAE needs to give you” below).
- Ask your bank whether it can send from your account type and for your purpose, and which documents it needs.
- Ask for the quote before you commit: the amount debited, the bank’s fee, the exchange rate, and the AED amount the recipient should receive.
- Ask who pays the charges along the way. A SWIFT payment can pass through one or more correspondent banks before it reaches the UAE, and the amount that arrives can be lower if those banks deduct charges.
- Keep the transfer reference. If the money does not arrive, your bank needs it to trace the payment.
Route 2: a licensed exchange company
Licensed exchange companies in Pakistan sell foreign currency and send outward remittances for personal needs within per-person limits SBP has set: USD 10,000 a day and USD 100,000 a calendar year, under its Regulatory Framework for Exchange Companies (effective 1 January 2025). Those limits apply across cash, cheques, bank transfers and outward remittances.
Before you hand over any money, ask the company for the AED amount that will reach the UAE account, its fee, the exchange rate, how it will send the money to the UAE bank, and how long it expects the transfer to take. Get the quote in writing or on the receipt.
As with a bank, state the purpose clearly. SBP’s FAQ ties these limits to genuine needs such as travel, family maintenance abroad and other personal needs.
Pakistan to UAE money transfer rate: how to judge a quote
There is no single published Pakistan-to-UAE transfer rate. Each bank or exchange company sets the exchange rate it uses to convert your rupees and quotes it at the time of the transfer. GulfSend does not publish rates for this direction.
To judge a quote, look at three numbers together:
- The AED amount the recipient will receive for what you pay. This is the number to compare.
- The fee the bank or exchange company charges.
- The exchange rate. The gap between it and the mid-market rate you see on a currency converter is also a cost, even when there is no fee.
Ask two providers to quote the same amount on the same day and compare the dirhams that arrive. For a SWIFT transfer, also ask whether correspondent banks could deduct charges, because that can reduce the amount received after you have paid.
What the recipient in the UAE needs to give you
UAE banks identify accounts by IBAN. The Central Bank of the UAE says customers “must use an IBAN to make and receive international and domestic electronic payments”. Ask the recipient for:
- Their full name exactly as it appears on the UAE account.
- Their UAE IBAN. It is always 23 characters: “AE”, two check digits, a three-digit bank identifier and a 16-digit account number made up of numbers only. Format example only, not a real account: AE00 1230 0000 0012 3456 789.
- The SWIFT/BIC of their UAE bank, which your Pakistani bank uses to route the payment. Look it up in our UAE bank SWIFT code directory and confirm it with the recipient.
Copy the IBAN from the recipient’s bank statement or banking app rather than retyping it. Our guides to what an IBAN is and what a SWIFT code is explain both formats.
Documents, purpose and source of funds
SBP’s rules are built around purpose, so expect to say why you are sending the money and to provide paperwork where a rule calls for it:
- Tuition and medical payments go directly to the institution’s or hospital’s account, so have its payment details ready. A student’s living expenses can be sent to the student.
- Purposes outside the standard rules need SBP approval through Form ‘M’, submitted to the SBP Banking Services Corporation.
- Exchange-company remittances are tied to genuine personal needs such as family maintenance abroad.
Your bank or exchange company decides exactly which identity documents and supporting papers it needs, including whether it asks where the money came from. Ask before you go, so the transfer is not held up.
Timing, and what happens when the money arrives
There is no single published time for a Pakistan-to-UAE transfer. Use the time your bank or exchange company quotes for your transfer, and allow for three things:
- Correspondent banks. A SWIFT payment can pass through intermediary banks between Pakistan and the UAE, and each step can add time.
- The UAE weekend. Saturday and Sunday have been the UAE federal government’s official weekend since 1 January 2022. Whether a UAE bank credits incoming payments at the weekend is up to that bank, so the recipient should check with it.
- Checks. Either bank may hold a payment while it checks details or asks questions.
When the payment arrives, it is credited to the account that matches the IBAN. The recipient’s UAE bank may contact them about it, for example to ask its purpose, so the recipient should know the money is coming and why. Moving it on to another UAE bank afterwards is a separate domestic transfer; our guide to transferring money between UAE banks covers that.
If the money has not arrived once the quoted time has passed, the sender asks the Pakistani bank to trace it using the transfer reference, and the recipient asks the UAE bank whether it has been received. If the problem lies with the UAE bank, the recipient complains to that bank first: under the Central Bank of the UAE’s Consumer Protection Standards, the bank must acknowledge a complaint in writing within 2 complete business days and send its final response within 30 complete business days. Sanadak, the independent unit the Central Bank set up to resolve consumer complaints free of charge, can reject a case if the consumer has not first complained to the bank and waited 15 calendar days.
Sending money the other way: UAE → Pakistan
If you live in the UAE and send money home to Pakistan, compare options on our AED to PKR page and see UAE routes to Pakistan with published fees. Three SBP rules on the Pakistan side are worth knowing:
- Qualifying transfers stay free of cost. SBP discontinued its TTCIS scheme with effect from 1 July 2026, but told Pakistani banks to keep implementing its key features so that qualifying home remittances remain free of cost for senders and beneficiaries. Under the criteria, a transfer must be at least USD 200 or equivalent, and only five free-of-cost transactions a month are allowed from one remitter to the same beneficiary through the same overseas sending provider; transfers between the same two people on the same day count as one. The exchange rate still decides how many rupees arrive.
- Pasban Remittance Reward Scheme. A beneficiary who receives home remittances of USD 100 or more each month, for three consecutive months within a quarter, into a bank account is eligible for a quarterly draw of 2,521 cash prizes worth Rs 4 billion in total. The scheme is run and funded by Pakistan’s banks under the Pakistan Banks Association, under the patronage of the State Bank of Pakistan, which announced it. Participation is free. The first draw is scheduled for 15 January 2027 and covers remittances received from 1 October to 31 December 2026.
- Crediting in Pakistan. SBP’s Foreign Exchange Manual says a remittance is credited instantly when the beneficiary’s account is with the receiving bank, and within 24 hours of receipt of funds at most when it is with another bank. If a bank is late, the beneficiary is entitled to 65 paisa per thousand rupees for each day of delay.
Money can also go to a Pakistani mobile wallet such as Easypaisa or JazzCash when the sending provider offers wallet payout. A wallet is tied to the recipient’s registered mobile number, so you need that number and the name registered on the wallet. Confirm that the provider pays out to that wallet, and check its current limits, before you send.