Buy a SIM in Pakistan With a Pakistan Origin Card (POC): Documents, 10 Jazz Centres and Zong Steps

You can buy a Jazz, Zong or Ufone SIM in Pakistan with a Pakistan Origin Card (POC). Take your original POC and original passport to the network's own service centre. Zong also asks for your FIA entry stamp and a signed customer form. Jazz names 10 business centres in 8 cities that issue SIMs to POC holders.

We read the SIM rules on Jazz's, Zong's and Ufone's own websites on 6 November 2026. A POC is the card NADRA gives to people of Pakistani origin who hold another country's passport, such as British, American or Canadian Pakistanis. It lets them visit without a visa. This guide is for them, for their foreign spouses and children who hold a POC, and for families helping a relative get a local number on arrival.

Documents you need for a SIM on a POC

All three networks accept a POC in place of a visa. The original documents matter. A photocopy or a phone photo is not enough.

Zong explains a POC in its own words: it is for former Pakistani citizens who no longer hold Pakistani nationality, and POC holders get visa-free entry. Getting the card itself is a NADRA process, covered in how to apply for a Pakistan Origin Card.

How to buy a SIM with a POC, step by step

The process is the same in spirit on every network. Zong's page sets it out most clearly, so these steps follow it.

1. Keep your passport with its FIA entry stamp from the airport. Zong asks for this stamp.
2. Take your original passport and original POC to the network's own customer service centre or a franchise. A small shop retailer may not be set up for POC sales.
3. Tell the officer you are a POC holder buying a new prepaid connection.
4. The officer records your passport details, your POC and your entry stamp.
5. Sign the customer form. At Zong it is called the CSAF form, and the officer signs it too.
6. Pay the SIM price and wait for the activation SMS before you leave.

Ask how long the SIM stays active on a POC before you pay, and write the answer down. The networks' pages we read do not say. How validity works for passport holders in general is in buying a SIM in Pakistan as a foreigner.

Jazz business centres that sell SIMs to POC holders

Jazz's POC page lists these 10 centres. It also has a franchise locator on the same page for smaller towns.

Lahore and Karachi have two centres each. There is no listed centre in Quetta, Rawalpindi or Hyderabad, so use the franchise locator there or go to Islamabad's Blue Area if you land at Islamabad airport. Jazz's normal SIM price and online order route are in Jazz new SIM price.

POC, NICOP and a foreign passport are treated differently

Which document you hold decides which route you take. Mixing them up is the most common reason a shop turns someone away.

A NICOP is the identity card for Pakistani citizens living abroad, so its holder is still a citizen. A POC holder is not. If you have both a NICOP and a foreign passport, carry both and let the centre choose. Who can get which card is set out in NICOP and POC for overseas Pakistanis.

Safety checks before you leave the counter

A SIM is registered to the document you give. Anything done on that number can be traced back to you, so a few minutes of care is worth it.

• Buy only from the network's own centre or an authorised franchise, never from a street seller offering a ready active SIM.
• Check the receipt shows your name, not someone else's.
• Never let anyone else take a SIM on your POC for their own use.
• Keep the box and receipt until you leave Pakistan.
• When you leave for good, ask the network how to close the number so it cannot be reused in your name.

The wider rules on buying a SIM safely are in how to buy a SIM safely in Pakistan. If you would rather keep your home number working, a travel eSIM may suit a short trip, as explained in using a foreign SIM or travel eSIM in Pakistan.

Common questions about SIMs on a POC

Can a Pakistan Origin Card holder buy a SIM in Pakistan?

Yes. Jazz, Zong and Ufone all name the POC as an accepted document on their own websites.

Do I need a visa to buy a SIM if I have a POC?

No. Zong and Ufone accept a valid visa or a POC, so the POC takes the place of the visa.

Where can I buy a Jazz SIM with a POC?

At 10 Jazz business centres in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan and Rahim Yar Khan, or at a franchise from Jazz's POC locator.

What documents does Zong need for a POC SIM?

Your original passport, your POC, your FIA entry stamp and a customer form signed by you and the sales officer.

Can I buy the SIM from a normal mobile shop?

A retailer may not handle passport sales. Zong describes the process at its service centres and franchises, so go there.

Can my family buy a SIM for me on their CNIC instead?

They can, but the SIM is then theirs in law, and they answer for its use. A SIM on your own POC is the safer choice.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked 6 November 2026. Jazz centres come from Jazz's SIM Issuance POC page. Zong's documents and steps come from Zong's SIM issuance process page. Ufone's rule comes from Ufone's general terms and conditions. We could not open Telenor's website, which refused our request, so Telenor is not covered. SIM validity on a POC is not stated on any of these pages.