Pakistan only lets a phone use a Pakistani SIM if the phone's IMEI is registered with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, and a phone bought in London, Dubai or Toronto is not. Put a Jazz or Zong SIM in it and it will work briefly and then stop, unless you have registered it. Visitors and overseas Pakistanis get one phone free for 120 days from the day they arrive; after that the phone has to be registered permanently, with duties that run to several hundred dollars on a current iPhone. A phone on a foreign SIM, roaming or a travel eSIM, needs no registration at all today, although the PTA published draft rules in October 2026 that would change how long a foreign SIM can roam. This guide sets out the rule as the PTA publishes it, how to claim the 120 days, what the tax is if you stay, what the draft roaming rules would mean, and the cheapest way to have data from the moment you land.

Quick answer: On your home SIM or a travel eSIM, nothing to do: inbound roaming phones are outside the PTA's device register. If you want a Pakistani SIM, register the phone free at dirbs.pta.gov.pk/drs as soon as you land; the 120 days run from your arrival date, not from the day you apply. After 120 days the phone needs permanent registration and FBR duty (about Rs 150,000, roughly $540, on an iPhone 17 against a passport). Umi's Pakistan eSIM runs on Zong 4G/5G at $2.55/GB pay as you go, or 10GB for $22.55, with no registration, and the balance never expires.

Does a foreign phone work in Pakistan?

Yes, with a condition that depends on which SIM you put in it. Since 2019 the PTA has run the Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS): every phone sold in Pakistan is registered by its importer, and a phone whose IMEI is not on the register is blocked from local networks once it is used with a Pakistani SIM. Three cases follow:

• You keep your home SIM on roaming, or use a travel eSIM. The phone works normally and does not need to be registered.

• You want a Pakistani SIM for a visit of up to 120 days. Register the phone on the PTA's temporary registration system, free, and it works on any Pakistani network until the 120 days are up.

• You are staying longer than 120 days on a Pakistani SIM, or bringing the phone to keep. The phone has to be registered permanently and the duty paid, or it is blocked.

The register is national, so a block applies on Jazz, Zong, Telenor and Ufone at the same time.

What is the PTA's 120-day rule?

The temporary registration system is for overseas Pakistanis and foreign nationals visiting the country. It is free, online, and lets one personal phone per visitor work on Pakistani SIMs for up to 120 days from the date of arrival, during each visit. The details below are from the PTA's announcement of the system and its registration portal, read in November 2026.

The detail that catches people is the start date. The 120 days are counted from the day you entered Pakistan, so a phone registered 30 days after arrival has 90 days of cover, not 120. The PTA's own example makes exactly that point. Register in the first day or two, before the phone has a chance to be blocked.

How do I register my phone for 120 days?

Do the first step at home; the rest takes a few minutes once you have a Pakistani SIM.

1. Dial *#06# before you fly and note the phone's IMEI. Dual-SIM phones show two; register the one for the slot you will use, and note that the eSIM slot has its own IMEI.

2. On arrival, buy a Pakistani SIM in your own name from Jazz, Zong, Telenor or Ufone. It is issued against your passport (or CNIC or NICOP), and the registration has to be linked to a number in your name.

3. Go to dirbs.pta.gov.pk/drs and create an account.

4. Choose the temporary registration for overseas Pakistanis and foreign nationals, and enter your passport number, your CNIC or NICOP if you have one, your Pakistani mobile number, the IMEI, your email, your arrival date and your planned departure date.

5. Submit. When the application is approved, restart the phone and check that it has signal and data.

6. If the status shows the phone as compliant but there is still no service 24 hours later, raise it through the PTA's Complaint Management System.

If you plan to return within the year, keep the account; you apply again with the same details on the next visit, and the clock starts from the new arrival date.

What does permanent registration cost?

Once the 120 days are up, or if you are bringing the phone to stay, the phone has to be registered permanently through the same portal and the Federal Board of Revenue's duty paid. The duty is set per model and recalculated against the live exchange rate on the day you pay, and there are two rates: a lower one if you register against a passport within 60 days of arriving, and a higher one against a CNIC after that. For current iPhones the figures published by Pakistani retailers in late 2026 are about Rs 150,000 for an iPhone 17 and Rs 205,000 for an iPhone 17 Pro Max on a passport (roughly $540 and $740 at November 2026 rates), and about 10% more on a CNIC. Cheaper phones carry proportionately smaller duties. Check the exact figure on the DIRBS portal before paying, as it moves with the rupee.

A phone that is used on a Pakistani SIM past the free period without being registered is blocked, and unblocking it means paying the duty and any penalty. The block is on the phone, not the SIM, so changing operator does not help.

Does a travel eSIM start the clock?

No. The device register only checks phones that connect with a Pakistani SIM. A phone on a foreign SIM, roaming onto Jazz or Zong, is treated as a visitor's phone on a visitor's network and is not checked against DIRBS, and a travel eSIM is a foreign profile roaming in exactly the same way. Umi's Pakistan eSIM is a foreign profile on Zong, so there is nothing to register and no 120-day count. That has been the position since the system began, and the PTA's temporary registration pages describe the scheme as being for phones used with Pakistani SIMs.

There is one development to know about. In October 2026 the PTA published draft International Roaming (Inbound) Regulations for consultation, with comments open until 10 November 2026. As drafted, they would require operators to verify the identity of visitors roaming on foreign SIMs and eSIMs (passport details, nationality, home operator), would treat a foreign SIM used for 90 days or more in any 180-day period as permanent roaming that can be suspended, would count by the phone's IMEI as well as the SIM so that swapping eSIM profiles does not reset the count, and would require travel eSIM providers to register with the PTA. None of it is in force, and a draft can change a great deal before it is final. For a holiday, a family visit or a business trip it would make no practical difference beyond a possible identity check; the people it is aimed at are those living in Pakistan on a foreign SIM indefinitely. We will update this page when the final regulations are published.

Which eSIM for Pakistan?

For a visit of a few weeks the choice is between a Pakistani SIM, which gives you a local number and needs the registration above, and a travel eSIM, which gives you data on arrival with nothing to register.

Umi's prices are from the live Pakistan page on 9 November 2026. Airalo's Pakistan eSIM, for comparison, is sold as "unlimited" on Zong from $12.50 for 3 days to $72 for 30, with a daily high-speed cap the page does not state (see unlimited data eSIM caps), and the page says nothing about the PTA or registration. For a three-week family visit, 10GB on Umi covers WhatsApp, maps, banking and photos for $22.55, and whatever is left carries on to the next country at that country's rate, as explained in eSIM data that never expires. If you need a Pakistani number for local calls, buy the SIM for that, register the phone on day one, and keep the eSIM for data.

Pakistan is one of several countries with a rule that catches visitors' phones. Turkey counts 120 days on any SIM, roaming included, before blocking a foreign phone; Egypt charges 38.5% after 90 days on a local SIM; Indonesia keeps an IMEI whitelist with a $500 allowance; Russia puts every foreign line through a 24-hour block on arrival. In the UAE the catch is different: WhatsApp and FaceTime calls are blocked on local networks, and China blocks WhatsApp, Google and Instagram outright. Delayed on the way? What you're owed when a flight is delayed covers the thresholds, and Umi gives you 1GB free if an international flight is an hour late or cancelled. Our best travel eSIM guide covers the field. All seven are compared in our phone rules by country guide.

Flying to Pakistan? Install your Universal eSIM before you go, and register the phone on day one if you want a local SIM as well.