eSIM India

Which network you get depends on the plan

The fixed-data plans run on Airtel. The unlimited day passes can use Airtel, Jio or Vi (Vodafone Idea), so they suit trips where one network may be weak. Neither uses BSNL, the state operator.

Coverage is strongest in the cities and along the main routes, and patchier in the mountains, deserts and on the islands. On the Andamans, travellers report that BSNL often has the best signal - and this eSIM cannot use it.

Keep your Indian SIM for banking codes

This eSIM gives you data, not an Indian phone number, so the SMS codes that banks and many ride-hailing and delivery apps send cannot reach it. UPI apps also expect the SIM of your registered Indian number to be in the phone.

If you have an Indian SIM - visiting family, for example - keep it in the second slot for calls, codes and UPI, and let the eSIM handle data: dual-SIM phones run both at once. Without an Indian number, check before you travel which of your apps offer another way to sign in.

eSIM or a local tourist SIM?

A local SIM is cheap, but foreign visitors usually need their passport and visa, a photo and often the name and number of a contact in India, and activation can take hours. The eSIM is set up at home before the trip.

Kashmir, Ladakh and mobile data shutdowns

The authorities sometimes switch off mobile internet in a particular district or state, notably in Jammu and Kashmir and in Manipur. India has recorded more shutdowns than any other country over the past decade, according to the digital-rights group Access Now. Shutdown orders go to the mobile networks in the area, so expect a travel eSIM to go offline too.

In Jammu and Kashmir and in Ladakh, prepaid SIMs from other parts of India are reported not to work, and travel eSIMs may not either. The UK advises against all travel to Jammu and Kashmir, except air travel to and from Jammu city and travel within it.

Flying to India from the UK

Virgin Atlantic flies from Heathrow to Delhi daily (nine to ten hours), to Mumbai twice a day (about eight and a half) and to Bengaluru daily (about ten). India is four and a half hours ahead of the UK in British Summer Time and five and a half in winter; it does not change its clocks.

Roaming on a UK plan costs £6 a day on EE (£30 for seven days), £8 a day on Vodafone, £7 or £8 a day on Three depending on when you joined, and O2 sells data bolt-ons from £9 for 1GB.

The e-visa, OCI cards and the e-Arrival card

British passport holders need a visa unless they hold an Overseas Citizen of India card - and since June 2026 the OCI can be electronic, so you no longer need to carry the physical card. Everyone else can use the e-Tourist visa: for UK citizens the 30-day visa costs 25 US dollars (10 dollars from April to June), the one-year visa 40 dollars and the five-year visa 484 dollars, plus a 3% bank charge. On a one- or five-year visa you can stay up to 180 days in a calendar year.

Fill in India's e-Arrival card online up to 72 hours before you land. Your passport needs six months' validity and two blank pages, and British-Pakistani dual nationals must apply on their Pakistani passport. This follows gov.uk (updated 7 October 2026) and India's official e-visa site.

Plugs, rupees and one gadget to leave at home

Indian sockets are types D and M, so a UK plug needs an adaptor. There are restrictions on bringing rupees into India; bring pounds or a bank card and change or withdraw on arrival, and declare more than 5,000 US dollars in notes. Satellite phones and GPS devices - including satellite messengers some trekkers carry - are illegal without a licence, even in transit.