India eSIM

India runs on the phone: you book autos on Uber, Ola or Rapido, pay street stalls by scanning a UPI QR code, and get train and delivery updates by text. A travel eSIM gets you online the moment you land in Delhi, Mumbai or Goa, without the passport-and-visa paperwork that comes with buying an Indian SIM as a visitor.

What a week of data costs in India

Prices for 7 days of data, checked on 3 November 2026. Most home carriers put India in a pricier roaming zone, and day passes charge each day you use the phone, per phone.

For a family of four on Verizon, that's $336 for one week. Gulf carriers' packs cost less per day, but 500 MB a day goes quickly on maps and video calls home.

Landing at Delhi (DEL), Mumbai (BOM), Bengaluru (BLR) or Goa (GOI, GOX)

Delhi and Mumbai take most long-haul flights, Bengaluru is the hub for the south, and Goa has two airports: Dabolim (GOI) near Vasco and Mopa (GOX) in the north. Chennai (MAA) and Kolkata (CCU) are the other big gateways. Switch the kimsim line on as the plane taxis, so you can message your driver or book a ride while you queue.

In order: turn on Data Roaming for the kimsim line only, go through immigration (your biometrics are taken on arrival), collect your bags and clear customs. If airport Wi-Fi wants a code sent by text, it goes to your home number, so keep that line on.

Into the city:

• Delhi: the Airport Express (Orange Line) metro reaches New Delhi station in about 15 minutes. Uber also picks up at the airport.
• Mumbai: the underground Aqua Line (Metro Line 3) has stations at both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.
• Bengaluru: the airport is far from the city. Vayu Vajra buses run into town, and the metro line to the airport is still being built.
• Chennai and Kolkata: both airports have a metro station: Airport on Chennai's Blue Line, and Jai Hind on Kolkata's Yellow Line.
• Goa: most visitors take a pre-booked transfer or a taxi. Save your driver's number in WhatsApp before you fly.

Networks and coverage

India has four mobile operators: Jio, the biggest, then Airtel, Vi and state-run BSNL. Vi is Vodafone Idea, formed when Vodafone India and Idea Cellular merged in 2018, and renamed Vi in 2020. Airtel and Jio both sell 5G in their plans, and Vi switched on 5G in Mumbai in March 2025. Your phone shows the Indian operator's name, not kimsim.

Coverage is generally strong in the big cities and along main highways. Expect it to thin on Himalayan roads and treks, in the Rajasthan desert, on the Kerala backwaters away from towns, and in the remote Northeast. The networks your plan uses are listed above.

Region by region

• Delhi, Agra and Jaipur (the Golden Triangle): busy, well-covered cities. Signal can drop inside thick-walled forts and old havelis, so screenshot tickets first.
• Mumbai: dense coverage on the street. Expect weaker signal deep inside big buildings.
• Goa: good in the beach towns. Quieter coves and the hills inland can be patchier.
• Kerala backwaters: fine in Kochi and Alleppey. On a houseboat, expect gaps between villages.
• Rajasthan desert: fine in Jaisalmer town. Out on the dunes for a camel trek or desert camp, expect little or nothing.
• Ladakh and Kashmir: see the rules below. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, apart from flying into and staying in the city of Jammu.
• The Northeast: the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to Manipur, where internet services can be suspended at short notice.

Internet shutdowns. Indian authorities can disrupt mobile networks and the internet during protests and curfews, often at short notice. No SIM or eSIM works through a shutdown, so keep tickets and maps offline.

Getting around

Long-distance trains are the classic way to travel, and signal comes and goes between towns, so download playlists and maps first. Domestic flights are the quick way between regions. In cities, ride-hailing apps book cars, autos and bike taxis at a fixed fare, which saves haggling at the kerb.

Apps worth having

• Uber, Ola and Rapido: all three book cars and autos, and Ola and Rapido also book bike taxis. Sign-up sends a code by text, so create your accounts at home.
• UPI One World: a prepaid UPI wallet for visitors that works without an Indian number or bank account. You load it with your card and pay by scanning shop QR codes.
• WhatsApp: hotels, drivers and guides use it for almost everything. Keep WhatsApp working on your usual number.
• Trains and food delivery: Indian Railways tickets are sold through IRCTC, and food delivery apps such as Zomato and Swiggy are everywhere. Sign-ups verify a phone number by text, and some may not accept a foreign number. Try at home; if it fails, your hotel or a travel agent can book trains for you.
• Maps: download offline areas for treks, desert trips and the backwaters.

SIM and phone rules

An Indian SIM is paperwork. For a foreign visitor, the proof of identity is your passport with a valid visa. The address is a local reference, such as your tour operator, or your hotel if you have none. The line can't run past your visa, or for more than three months at a time. Airtel says a foreign national's number is valid until the visa's end date. The quick e-KYC that Indians use needs Aadhaar, India's resident ID, so visitors go through the paper route in a shop. A travel eSIM installed at home skips all of this.

Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. For security reasons, prepaid SIMs from other parts of India have long been blocked from working in Jammu and Kashmir, and prepaid lines issued there have their own limits. We haven't found an official answer on whether foreign roaming lines, including travel eSIMs, connect in Ladakh or Kashmir, so plan as if they may not. Download maps and save permits and bookings offline before you leave Delhi or Manali.

Satellite phones need a licence. It's illegal to bring a satellite phone or satellite GPS device into India without one, even in transit. Leave the satellite messenger at home.

Common mistakes

• Turning on roaming for your home line. India is in an expensive zone for most carriers, so that's where daily charges start. Roaming goes on for the kimsim line only. Why roaming goes on for the kimsim line only
• Switching off your home SIM. App codes and bank texts still go to your usual number. How calls and texts work with a data-only eSIM
• Deleting the eSIM in a dead zone. On a train or a mountain road, wait for the next town. What to do if there's no signal
• No way to call for help. India's emergency number is 112. A data-only eSIM can't dial it, so use your home line or any local phone.

More on India

• How much data do I need for a week abroad?
• Does WhatsApp work with a travel eSIM? Keep your number
• Unlimited eSIM data: what "unlimited" really means

How we put this page together

We checked the UK Foreign Office's travel advice, operators' own pages, carriers' roaming price pages and the other sources noted above on 1–3 November 2026, and we'll keep them up to date. We haven't measured speeds or coverage in India ourselves, or tested a roaming line in Ladakh or Kashmir, so coverage notes are general guidance, not a map. kimsim sells the eSIMs on this page.