eSIM for Pakistan from the UK: visiting family, long stays and your UK number
In short
Which way to stay connected in Pakistan turns on your UK network. Sky charges £2 for 24 hours and EE £8 for 24 hours with 500MB (checked on 24 October 2026 and 24 October 2026, EE price guide, 31 March 2026). Our Pakistan eSIM is £7.99 for 5 GB over 30 days, data only.
Information verified on 24 October 2026 at the official sources listed below. This is not immigration or legal advice; check GOV.UK and the official website of your destination before you travel. How we check information.
On this page
eSIM for Pakistan from £2.99 — see plans At a glance
- Purchase QR code by email · after payment
- Installation profile on your phone · in advance
- Activation first network on the trip · the clock starts
Get an eSIM for Pakistan — from £2.99
This site is not affiliated with any of the networks mentioned here; we sell eSIMs. How we compare
You have four ways to stay connected: your UK network, a travel eSIM, a Pakistani SIM or a pocket Wi-Fi. Three Complete, O2 Ultimate and Sky VIP Diamond include Pakistan in the plan, so on one of those you may not need an eSIM. Every other plan charges for it.
Pakistan is a long-stay destination. In 2025, 90.3% of trips to Pakistan by residents of Great Britain were visits to friends and relatives. The average visit lasted 24.8 nights (ONS Travel trends 2025).
What do UK networks charge in Pakistan?
Roaming in Pakistan on UK networks is charged by the day, the pass or the MB unless your plan includes it. A day costs £2 on Sky and £8 on EE, Three or Vodafone. Six networks bill per MB, from 10p on SMARTY to £5 on Tesco. A network pass uses your UK allowance on your UK number; our plans are data only.
| Option | Price | What you need | Weak point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roaming on your UK network | £2.00 to £84.00 a day or pass from about £1.75 per GB | Data roaming on; on some networks a pass bought before you fly | Paid passes cost more per GB than the eSIM |
| Pocket Wi-Fi router | Not verified | Collect it, keep it charged and return it | One connection for the group, only while you stay together |
| Local SIM bought on arrival | Not verified | A free SIM slot and a shop after landing | On a one-slot phone it replaces your UK SIM |
| Travel eSIM from this site | from £2.99 by card; from £1.05 per GB | An eSIM phone that is not locked to one operator | Data only: no calls or texts on your UK number |
Roaming prices as published by the 15 UK networks, checked on 24 October 2026; price per GB is our derivation (price ÷ GB). eSIM prices are in pounds at the day’s rate: your card is charged exactly that amount. This site is not affiliated with these networks; we sell eSIMs.
| UK network | What it charges for Pakistan | Condition | Checked on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sky Mobile | £2 for 24 hours; included on Sky VIP Diamond | Roaming Passport Plus; starts with a call you make, a text you send or over 10MB of data; over 25GB in a billing period, £2.50/GB (Sky) | 24 October 2026 |
| EE | £8 for 24 hours with 500MB | Rest of World Zone 3; runs from purchase; no data without a pass | 24 October 2026 |
| Three | £8 a day; passes 3 days £17.50, 5 days £29.75, 7 days £42, 14 days £84; included on Complete | Around the World Extra; £8 on Lite and Lite+ joined or upgraded from 18 December 2025; up to 12GB; not on PAYG (Three Go Roam) | 24 October 2026 |
| O2 | O2 Travel £7 per 24 hours; Bolt On 1GB £9, 3GB £20, 5GB £29; included on Ultimate | Zone 2, Pay Monthly only; O2 Travel charged only on days of use, up to 2Mbps (O2 Travel) | 24 October 2026 |
| Vodafone | £8 a day | Zone D, pay monthly from 11 August 2021 (£6 on earlier plans) (Vodafone Charges Guide) | 24 October 2026 |
| iD Mobile | 2GB for 1 day £5, 10GB for 5 days £20, 20GB for 10 days £35 | Roam Beyond add-on, added to your plan (iD) | 24 October 2026 |
| Lebara | 1GB for 8 days £4, 3GB for 15 days £12 | Zone 5 add-on; not part of Roam Like Home (Lebara) | 24 October 2026 |
| Lyca Mobile | 2GB for 7 days £10, 5GB for 14 days £20 | Zone 2 pass for pay as you go, from top-up credit, five in 30 days at most; a 30-day ROAM BOOST, 3GB for £10, is listed without the plans that can buy it (Lyca) | 24 October 2026 |
| VOXI | No pass; 12p per MB from credit | Outside Global Roaming Extra; ROW1 rate, under an unclear heading (VOXI) | 24 October 2026 |
| Talkmobile | £1.20 per MB | Zone C; the World Holiday Booster covers Zone B only (Talkmobile) | 24 October 2026 |
| giffgaff | 20p per MB | Zone A; Pakistan is not on the travel data add-on list (giffgaff) | 24 October 2026 |
| SMARTY | 10p per MB | Roaming 1, paid from out-of-plan add-ons; with none loaded, data does not work (SMARTY price guide) | 24 October 2026 |
| Asda Mobile | £1 per MB | World Group 1 | 24 October 2026 |
| Tesco Mobile | £5 per MB | Region 4, pay monthly and pay as you go (Tesco) | 24 October 2026 |
| BT Mobile | No figure printed | Roaming Zone 4, not on the Travel Data Pass list; BT’s own pages give conflicting rates | 24 October 2026 |
Per MB, photos add up fast. 100MB is £10 on SMARTY, £20 on giffgaff, £100 on Asda, £120 on Talkmobile and £500 on Tesco (our arithmetic). On those networks, switch data roaming off on the UK line before you land.
eSIM for Pakistan: selected plans
The entry plan, our pick and a bigger one. “Our pick” is a mid-size plan chosen by us, not a sales ranking.
Prices are in pounds; you are charged in GBP, exactly the amount shown. The seller is registered in the United States, so your bank may apply its own rules to a payment to a seller abroad — how card payment works. It appears on your statement as JET SHARING. You pay on the secure Stripe checkout page, by card, or Apple Pay or Google Pay if Stripe shows them on your device.
What it costs per day
Plan price in pounds ÷ days, at the rate of 1 Nov. A longer plan usually costs less per day: pick by your trip length, not by the lowest daily price.
A month with family: how much data?
For 24.8 nights, the average Pakistan visit, 5 GB comes to about 202MB a night and 10 GB to about 403MB (our arithmetic). Our long-stay data plans run 30 days, so either covers that stay with about five days to spare.
| Plan | Data per night over 24.8 nights | Data per week |
|---|---|---|
| £7.99, 5 GB, 30 days, data only | about 202MB | about 1.4 GB |
| £12.99, 10 GB, 30 days, data only | about 403MB | about 2.8 GB |
When visiting family in Pakistan, 5 GB can last if WhatsApp and maps are all you need. Video calls, hotspot and tethering use far more, so check your phone’s data counter for a week at home first. Our 7-day plan, £2.99 for 1 GB, data only, suits a short trip or a top-up.
A network pass costs more as the days stack up. Our sums for 25 days with phone use every day, on plans that pay each price:
| UK network | 25 days of use (our sum) | How |
|---|---|---|
| Lyca Mobile | £40 | two 14-day passes, 10GB in all |
| Sky Mobile | £50 | 25 passes at £2 |
| Three | £147 | five 3-day passes and two 5-day passes |
| O2 | £175 | O2 Travel, 25 days at £7 |
| EE | £200 | 25 passes at £8, 500MB each |
| Vodafone | £200 | 25 days at £8 |
Sources: the network rows above, checked on 24 October 2026. We have not priced a month on iD or Lebara, whose pages do not say how add-ons stack. Each sum keeps your number and UK allowance: Three up to 12GB, O2 Travel up to 2Mbps, EE 500MB a day. Our plans are data only.
An eSIM starts on first connection in Pakistan, so install before you travel, at home over Wi-Fi: how to install an eSIM.
Pakistani SIM card or travel eSIM?
A Pakistani SIM needs a shop and your passport, and in a single-SIM phone it replaces your UK SIM. A Pakistan eSIM from the UK installs at home on an eSIM-compatible phone: ours is £12.99 for 10 GB over 30 days, data only.
The names you will hear are the local networks: Jazz, Zong, Telenor and Ufone. We have not checked their terms for visitors, so we quote no price; we hold none for a pocket Wi-Fi either.
The PTA device registration question comes up for long stays. We hold no dated source from Pakistan’s regulator, so we state no rule; check with the PTA before a month-long trip.
For our Pakistan plans, the catalogue lists Zong and Jazz, 4G, while the plan notes say Telenor. We promise no single network and no 4G/5G coverage in a given street. Ask relatives which network works where they live.
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) travel advice for Pakistan (updated 13 October 2026, checked on 25 October 2026, GOV.UK) includes:
FCDO advises against all travel to within 10 miles of the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
FCDO advises against all travel to Balochistan Province.
FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
FCDO advises against all travel to within 10 miles of the Line of Control.
FCDO advises against all but essential travel within 5 miles of the international border between Pakistan and India.
FCDO advises against all but essential travel to all areas of Sindh Province north of and including the city of Nawabshah.
FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Dera Ghazi Khan.
It also lists areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the city of Peshawar among them, where FCDO advises against all or all but essential travel. Exceptions at the India border are on the page too. The page reports “disruption to internet services in parts of the province” in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and “suspension of mobile and internet services” in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. No eSIM or roaming pass works through a suspension. Read all of it on GOV.UK before you book.
Keep your UK SIM on for bank and OTP texts
Keep your UK SIM or eSIM active in the phone. Banks send one-time passcodes by text to your UK number, and a data-only eSIM has no UK number. Apple says “Dual SIM enables you to have two active phone numbers” (Apple).
Keeping your UK number explains the set-up. In short:
- Install the travel eSIM before you leave, over Wi-Fi.
- Choose the travel line for mobile data. Apple says “Your iPhone can use one mobile data network at a time”. On Samsung, SIM card manager sets the SIM for data, calls and texts.
- Leave the UK line on for calls and texts. Your UK network still charges that line at its Pakistan rates, and Apple warns you “might still incur roaming fees from your home eSIM” (Apple).
- Switch data roaming off on the UK line if your network charges per MB in Pakistan. That stops data charges, not call and text charges.
Before you fly, ask your bank how it sends passcodes abroad and test the login. A pay as you go SIM left unused for months may be switched off, so ask your network how long it can sit idle. Menu paths are in data roaming settings and transfer an eSIM; roaming or eSIM walks through the choice.
Check before you fly
What if the eSIM doesn’t work when you land in Pakistan?
Check four settings, in this order, before you write to us.
The first is the line for mobile data. In the phone’s SIM settings, pick the travel line for mobile data; your UK line stays on for calls and texts, with its mobile data off.
The second is data roaming, for the eSIM line only. The eSIM is a foreign profile, so the phone treats Pakistan as roaming for it.
The third is the APN. On this plan it sets itself, so leave it alone; you don’t need to type one.
The fourth is a restart. Restart the phone or switch aeroplane mode on and off, and let it find Zong and Jazz; this can take a few minutes after you leave the plane.
Still no data? Write to us on WhatsApp or at support@esimworld.co.uk with your order number, or go through the no-signal checklist. Do not delete the eSIM to “try again”: a deleted profile usually cannot be installed twice from the same code. If the eSIM doesn't work and it isn't your phone's fault, we refund the payment whether or not it was installed.
What I’d choose (and when NOT to buy the eSIM)
For a week of maps, rides and messaging I’d take 1 GB for 7 days, £2.99. For two weeks or more, with photos and social media, I’d go for 5 GB for 30 days, £7.99. If you video-call and stream every day, take the unlimited plan for 7 days, £19.99, with 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps.
I would not recommend the eSIM in three cases. If your UK plan already includes Pakistan and its fair use limit is enough for you, roaming costs you nothing extra and keeps your number (compare the networks). If your phone has no eSIM or is locked to one operator, it cannot take the plan: check your model first. And if your group travels together all day and shares one connection, a pocket Wi-Fi can cover everyone.
Frequently asked questions
How to get eSIM in Pakistan?
Buy and install it at home, over Wi-Fi, on an unlocked phone that takes an eSIM (dial *#06#: an EID on screen means it does). The plan starts on first connection to a network in Pakistan. Then switch mobile data to the travel line.
Which SIM is best for internet in Pakistan?
It depends on your UK network and how long you stay. Three Complete, O2 Ultimate and Sky VIP Diamond include Pakistan. Elsewhere Sky charges £2 a day and EE £8 a day with 500MB, so a month adds up. A data-only travel eSIM is one price for the stay; a Pakistani SIM needs a shop and replaces your UK SIM in a single-SIM phone.
Do I need to register my phone with PTA?
Check before a long stay. We hold no dated source from Pakistan’s regulator, the PTA, so we state no registration rule. Ask the PTA or your relatives before you travel for a month.
Sources checked: UK networks: each network’s own page or price guide, linked in its row of the table above · FCDO: Pakistan travel advice · ONS Travel trends 2025 · Apple: Dual SIM and travel eSIM.
Sources are linked in the text; reviewed by Nadezhda Semenova. For the terms of your own contract, check with your network.
More country guides: SIM cards and eSIMs abroad.
Unfamiliar term? See the eSIM glossary.
Get an eSIM for Pakistan, from £2.99 Pay by card in pounds. The seller is registered in the United States, so your bank may apply its own rules to a payment to a seller abroad. Install the profile at home on Wi-Fi before you fly. The QR code arrives by email after payment. See plans