Best eSIM for India

Following a January 2024 Department of Telecommunications directive, India has had the app and website of Airalo removed from local stores and blocked at ISP level: you cannot buy or activate it from within the country. An eSIM already installed and active keeps working — but a fresh install or top-up after landing, including via airport Wi-Fi, will fail for an affected provider. The block is partial, not blanket: other providers (for example aloSIM) have remained reachable in-country. The safe approach is universal regardless of provider: purchase your plan, complete the full eSIM installation on your phone, and verify the profile is installed while still on your home network before your flight. The eSIM connects to an Indian network automatically on arrival, requiring no in-country action.

Local prepaid SIMs in India require Manual KYC for foreigners: original passport, valid visa, a passport-sized photo, biometric verification at an operator store, often a tele-verification call, plus a registered accommodation address. Activation typically takes 30 minutes to 4 hours, sometimes 24–48 hours. Not all airport counters offer this; many require visiting a Jio, Airtel or Vi store in the city. A travel eSIM installed before departure avoids all of this. Note: the Aadhaar resident identity system cannot be used by foreign visitors — Manual KYC is the foreigners' alternative, which is what creates the friction. Note also that the everyday UPI apps (Google Pay India, PhonePe, Paytm) need an Indian bank account, but foreign visitors can get a prepaid "UPI One World" wallet — passport-and-visa KYC, issued at some airports, hotels and exchange counters, loaded by card or cash — whose availability is still patchy: carry cash and an international card too.