Zain's visitor line has a defined document route
Zain Iraq calls its visitor prepaid line Zeyarah. Its new-SIM guidance directs customers to a main shop or point of sale, asks them to pay an activation charge and sign for the line. For a Zeyarah customer without permanent residence, Zain lists a passport and a copy of temporary residence. That wording is more specific than simply saying a passport always suffices. Ask the intended outlet what document it treats as the temporary-residence copy for your entry status before relying on immediate activation. Take the original passport and retain any arrival document.
Zain's Zeyarah page says the line begins with 15 days of validity and can be extended once, up to 30 days from registration, using the four-digit security code in its envelope. Keep that envelope and the line number after buying it. The operator lists a 5,000 IQD calling add-on with 30 minutes to Zain and ten international minutes to named destinations at the time of checking. Those are voice minutes, not data for maps. Ask for a separate internet bundle and verify its expiry before leaving the shop.
Asiacell's Hala is a time-limited visitor line
Asiacell's Hala Line is designed for visitors and lasts 30 days from activation, according to its own tariff page. At the time of checking it listed a 1,500 IQD SIM card price. A separate 5,000 IQD Hala calling package supplies 30 minutes within Asiacell and ten international minutes to one chosen destination from its list. It can be requested by sending a blank SMS to 296. This is not an included mobile-data bundle, despite the visitor branding. Confirm the local line's activation and any identification required at the chosen Asiacell sales point.
Hala customers can reach Asiacell's wider prepaid offers through *344#. The operator's current package list includes, at checking, a seven-day 3 GB Free Social+ offer for 5,000 IQD and a four-week 10 GB option for 15,000 IQD. The list separates ordinary gigabytes from the named social feature; read the product detail if social traffic or hotspot use matters. A short voice line plus the right data package may fit a brief Baghdad or Najaf stay better than paying by the small GPRS unit shown on the base tariff. Check the purchase confirmation and test an ordinary webpage.
Choose an eSIM route that matches the identity step
Zain says its eSIM has the capabilities of a plastic SIM and is obtained at a main store. It lists a passport, national card, civil ID or residence card among documents to bring, then has staff check compatibility and issue a QR profile. A new Zeyarah purchase may still need the visitor documents described on Zain's separate line page; eSIM is a delivery format, not an exemption from registration. Zain says a move to another handset requires a fresh QR from a main store because a profile is active on one device at a time. Save the shop location before travel and avoid deleting a working profile casually.
Asiacell promotes online purchase of a new SIM or eSIM through its own app and sales channels. Its public promotional page does not clearly set out every visitor identity or payment step for remote eSIM checkout, so do not assume that a foreign passport will pass without help. A traveller who wants an Iraqi local number should compare this route with a staffed Zain or Asiacell shop. Before paying, check that the phone is unlocked, supports eSIM and can keep any home number needed for account messages. Install over a dependable connection, then select the Iraqi profile for mobile data and test it away from Wi-Fi.
Use the regulator's evidence with its dates in mind
Iraq's Communications and Media Commission describes substantial variation in mobile coverage and quality in its broadband whitepaper. It explicitly identifies rural limits and areas where 3G was available but 4G was not in the underlying coverage material. Its cited 4G availability comparison came from 2023 measurements, so it is historical context rather than a current winner for every route. The practical conclusion is narrower: a nominal 4G service or a good result in central Baghdad does not guarantee the same connection on an intercity road or at a remote stop.
The commission's universal-service material names rural tower work in provinces including Salah al-Din, Sulaymaniyah, Nineveh and Anbar. Those are specific coverage projects, not proof that a traveller's chosen operator now serves every nearby village or highway. For a journey towards Mosul, Basra or the Kurdistan Region, ask the receiving accommodation or organiser which local network is usable at the exact stop, then save maps and booking references while connected. A companion on a different network can be useful where operator coverage differs, but check the actual signal before depending on either line.
Keep enough credit and check what a recharge buys
Asiacell's Hala tariff lists scratch-card denominations including 5,000, 10,000 and 25,000 IQD. A recharge adds balance; it should not be read as automatic enrolment in a data package. The operator lists *344# for Hala package selection and publishes separate daily, weekly and four-week internet offers. Save the relevant code and make a test purchase while the retailer can help, particularly if the first transfer leaves an urban area. Zain's Zeyarah terms allow recharge but cap the visitor line at 30 days; adding credit near that maximum does not turn it into an open-ended line.
International minutes are not cross-border internet
Hala's 5,000 IQD add-on names international call destinations such as Iran, Kuwait and Turkey. Zeyarah has its own named international-minute list. Neither voice list states that domestic data works after crossing a border. Asiacell sells separate roaming packages, including a Passport range for selected countries and operators. Its page says a roaming package can be bought in Iraq up to 30 days before travel and starts only when the line reaches the chosen destination. This applies to an Asiacell line leaving Iraq, not a foreign home SIM arriving there. Check the exact destination and partner network before turning on roaming.
Store the Iraqi emergency numbers and a voice route
UK government Iraq guidance lists 122 for ambulance, 115 for fire and 911 for police. Save the numbers with the first accommodation and transport contact before landing. An Iraqi visitor line with calling credit offers a different fallback from a data-only eSIM. None of the cited sources establishes that an arbitrary data-only profile can make a voice emergency call, so keep a working calling option and know which active line the handset will use. Do not wait until a remote transfer to discover that only maps work.
Before leaving a Zain or Asiacell outlet, check that identity registration has completed, open an ordinary webpage over mobile data, note the assigned number and preserve the QR or SIM documents. For a line installed before arrival, keep the activation instructions offline and confirm the validity clock before switching it on. If data later fails, check the selected line, package expiry and coverage before deleting an eSIM profile. A shop visit is a sensible fallback when document verification or a QR transfer cannot be completed remotely.
Networks our Iraq plans use
These are the operators named on our plans for Iraq, taken from the plan data, so the list follows the catalogue.
- Asia Cell4G
- Asiacell4G
- KorekLTE
- ZainLTE
- Zain IRAQ4G