UK SIM card for Pakistani students — the eVisa, your first week, and when to get a local SIM

Why the first week needs data

UK student visas no longer come as a plastic BRP card. GOV.UK says eVisas have replaced physical immigration documents — your status is a digital record held in your UKVI account, and you prove it with a share code.

• University enrolment: the Right to Study check asks for a share code.
• Accommodation: a landlord's Right to Rent check asks for one too.
• Bank account applications are usually online, with OTPs to your phone.
• Finding your way round campus and a new city — Google Maps, Citymapper, Uber.

So you need data from day one — exactly when a UK contract SIM is hardest to get.

• GOV.UK — eVisas and UKVI accounts

A UK local SIM — what gets in the way in week one

Getting a SIM in the UK is not hard — pay-as-you-go SIMs are sold in supermarkets and shops, and several networks post them. But a student's first week has three obstacles:

• A contract (and often the cheapest monthly plan) needs a UK bank account and address — which you do not have yet.
• A local SIM means removing your Pakistani one in a single-slot phone — and then UKVI, bank and family OTPs stop arriving.
• Until the SIM is in your hand you are offline — at the airport, on the train, and on your first night.

The sensible order is an eSIM for the first month, and a local SIM once your UK bank account is open. For a full year, a local SIM is the cheaper option — we will say that plainly.

Before you leave Pakistan — a checklist

Do all of this in Pakistan, on home Wi-Fi:

1. Check your phone supports eSIM and is not carrier-locked (JV).
2. Log in to your UKVI account and confirm your eVisa and passport are linked.
3. Buy the UK eSIM and install it at home — validity starts when it connects in the UK.
4. Download Citymapper, Trainline, Uber and your university's app.
5. Turn off data roaming on your Pakistani line, but leave the SIM in so OTPs keep arriving.
6. When you land, switch mobile data to the UK line.

• How to install an eSIM, step by step

What Pakistani roaming costs

Jazz's international roaming bundle, which covers the UK, is Rs. 7,767.50 including tax for 3 GB over 30 days, and Rs. 10,157.50 for 5 GB over 90 days.

Our UK 3 GB for 30 days is Rs. 890, and the 10 GB Student Pack is Rs. 2,390. Roaming makes sense only for a stay of a few days when you want no setup at all.

Holafly sells only unlimited plans for the UK: $27.50 for 7 days (about Rs. 7,650) and $76.50 for 30 days (about Rs. 21,300), paid in dollars by card. For a student's first month that is roughly nine times the price of our 10 GB.

• Jazz — data roaming bundles
• Holafly — UK eSIM plans

Going to the UK to visit family?

If you are visiting family rather than studying, the UK Standard Visitor visa usually allows a stay of up to six months. That is what our 50 GB, 180-day Long Stay Pack is for — one eSIM for the whole visit, with your Pakistani SIM still in the phone.

• GOV.UK — the Standard Visitor visa

How much data — and what it costs

• The first month (enrolment, banking, Maps, daily calls home): 10 GB (Rs. 2,390) — the Student Pack.
• Light use, mostly on campus Wi-Fi: 5 GB (Rs. 1,350).
• A two to three week family visit: 5 GB.
• A visit of three to six months: 50 GB for 180 days (Rs. 15,490).

Universities and halls have Wi-Fi (often eduroam) — do the big downloads there and keep mobile data for when you are out.

• UK eSIM — plans and full details

Which SIM should a Pakistani student get first in the UK?

An eSIM for the first month — it works the moment you land and needs no UK bank account. The 10 GB Student Pack is Rs. 2,390. Once your bank account is open, a UK local SIM is cheaper for a full year.

What is an eVisa share code, and why does it need data?

Your eVisa is your digital immigration status, held in your UKVI account. A share code is generated online from that account, and both your university (Right to Study) and landlord (Right to Rent) ask for one — so you need data in week one.

Do I need a bank account for a UK SIM?

Not for pay-as-you-go, but contracts and often the cheapest monthly plans need a UK bank account and address.

Will my Pakistani SIM keep working?

With an eSIM, yes — it is a second line and your Pakistani SIM stays in the phone, so UKVI, bank and family OTPs keep arriving. Keep data roaming off on the Pakistani line.

My university has Wi-Fi — why an eSIM?

Campus and halls have Wi-Fi, but the airport, the train, the bank, flat viewings and finding your way round the city all happen outside it. The first month is hard without mobile data.