Mobile Phone Registration In Pakistan For Expats & Returning Travelers

Register Your Mobile Device on The Airport in Pakistan, Instructions for Overseas Pakistanis

• Air Travellers & Passengers travelling to Pakistan must register their mobile phones on the Airports or at the custom offices in the country.
• The unregistered Mobile phones will be blocked by PTA after 30 days of usage.
• Mobile phones on international roaming will remain active, however as soon as you will add a local network SIM the PTA will send you a warning message.
• No Registration needed if phone is to be used in Pakistan for less than 30 days, even on local sims.
• Overseas Pakistanis and Pakistani Citizens travelling abroad can bring One mobile phone a year, without paying custom duty.

  BUT the phone must be registered on the airport, otherwise it will stop working.

• If a Mobile device is used in Pakistan before 1st December 2018, than it does not require any registration.
• Duties and registration can be done at either the airports or in any of the Custom Houses across Pakistan.
• Phones are not detained during the process of registration or duty payments.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had recently announced its mobile tax policy for people bringing imported mobile phones to Pakistan.
The new mobile tax policy was introduced in December, 2019 which was to be implemented from January 15, 2019.
The details of these taxes and duties on imported mobile phones have just been released by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
The government had also launched an online registration system with the help of Customs and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to facilitate the people to register their mobile phones.
Besides, people can get their mobile phones registered at airports and local Custom Houses.

Here is how the registration process will follow:
- The mobile phone registration process is entirely voluntary and people can register them at the customs counters established at different airports of the country.
- A declaration form is to be submitted to the customs authorities at the airport.

People can get this form from the customs counter at airport as well as online. The printed form has to be filled in and handed over the customs officials.
- The customs authorities will then require a proof of identity or 15-digit IMEI number of the handset, if the mobile has 2 sims than make sure you enter both IMEI numbers on the form, otherwise one sim will be active and second will get disabled.

The proof of identity can be either CNIC number or passport numbers. The customs officials will not, at any point, confiscate the mobile phone. Please keep photocopies of all your travel documents with you before you enter Pakistan.
- These details will be used by the customs to register the mobile phone with the PTA.
- However, if people do not want to go through the hassle of getting their mobile phones registered upon arrival, they can get them registered from any Customs House near their place within 15 days.
Those, who are traveling along with their families, may have extra mobile on each on their children’s names.

One device per year per passenger is allowed.
- The Customs House can have different requirements for registering the mobile phones so keep all the important documents along.

The required Documents for Customs are

• Passport Copy (First page and immigration arrival stamp)
• Ticket Copy or Boarding Card Copy
• CNIC copy
• Person must visit the customs office himself / herself.

The main Customs Offices are situated in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

Besides, the government has established Customs Offices in other cities as well for the ease of the citizens.
The local Customs Offices will provide further guidelines to the people wanting to register imported mobile phones.

For information about DIRBS registration in Pakistan please click here.