Internet in India for tourists: eSIM, Indian SIM and the codes you will be sent

Your EU plan stops at the EU border

The EU's Your Europe portal sets out where free roaming applies: the EU countries, the EEA members Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, plus Moldova and Ukraine. Other countries are not covered, and the portal warns that roaming outside the EU and EEA, especially for data, can be expensive and is worth checking with your provider before you go. India falls in that group, so your operator charges whatever it has set for India unless you buy a specific add-on.

That does not mean switching your home line off altogether. In India you will probably want it to receive texts, as the section on codes below explains. What you want to stop is data roaming on it, so that maps and photo backups do not run up a bill on your usual SIM. The steps are in the guide on turning off roaming on your home line.

Three ways to get online, and what each one costs you in effort

• Travel eSIM: a data plan installed on your own phone from a QR code, ideally at home on Wi-Fi. Your usual SIM stays in place, so you keep your number, but the eSIM gives you no Indian number.
• Indian prepaid SIM: bought from an operator's shop in India, with your passport and visa. It does give you an Indian number, and it takes your SIM slot unless your phone holds two lines.
• Wi-Fi: hotels, cafés and airports, as a backup. It does not help in a taxi, on a platform or in the street, which is where you most need directions.

For the eSIM, Apple lists the iPhone XS, XS Max, XR or later, and the phone must not be locked to a carrier; the guide on checking whether your phone is unlocked shows where to look, and the list of compatible phones covers Android models. If you travel with a laptop, a phone with data can share it through the hotspot, as explained in using an eSIM hotspot for a laptop.

What an Indian SIM asks of a foreign visitor

India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) sets the identity checks for new mobile connections, and its instructions on verifying new subscribers are published on the government's Sanchar Saathi portal. For foreign tourists, a copy of the passport with a valid visa stamp counts as proof of identity. For proof of address, the operator takes the address of a local reference, which may be your tour operator, or, if you have none, the address where you are staying, such as your hotel.

The same instructions limit how long the connection lasts. A line issued to a foreigner cannot be valid beyond the visa, and for a foreign tourist it cannot run for more than three months at a time, even if the visa is longer. So go to the shop with your passport, your visa and your hotel's address, and if your trip is longer than three months, expect to deal with the connection again. Rules get updated, so ask in the shop how the process works now. The general pros and cons are in buying a SIM card at the airport.

One-time codes: keep your own number switched on

Some services you will use in India confirm things with a code sent by text, and they can send it to your foreign number. India's embassy in Brussels explains that IRCTC, the Indian Railways booking site, records an international user's mobile number with the country code and sends an OTP to it to verify the number, plus a second OTP by email. If your bank confirms card payments by text, those codes go to your usual number too. A data-only eSIM has no number at all, so it cannot receive these texts, and a service that only accepts Indian numbers will not work with it.

The way round it is two lines on one phone. Apple says both numbers on a dual SIM iPhone can make and receive calls and messages, but only one at a time uses cellular data, chosen in Settings, Cellular, Cellular Data. Put data on the eSIM and leave your home line on for texts, with data roaming off. Apple also explains that with Allow Cellular Data Switching on, a call on the other line moves data to it during the call, so leave that off if you do not want your home line using data. Ask your operator whether it charges for texts received in India. The full setup is in setting up dual SIM for a trip, and keeping your WhatsApp number covers messaging.

UPI payments as a foreigner

UPI, India's Unified Payments Interface, is what you use when a shop asks you to scan its QR code. For visitors, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which runs UPI, offers UPI One World, a wallet it has extended to inbound travellers from all countries except some excluded under regulatory guidance. NPCI says it is issued by authorised issuers at airports, hotels, money exchange points and other locations, after a full KYC check based on your passport and a valid visa.

Once issued, the wallet can be loaded in cash or by other means, and you pay at shops by scanning their QR code in the UPI One World app. NPCI adds that any balance you do not use can go back to the original payment source, in line with foreign exchange rules. Every one of those payments goes through an app, so the wallet only helps if your phone has data at the till.

Maps, rides and train tickets all need a live connection

Downloaded maps help less than people expect. Google's own help page says that offline, transit, bicycling and walking directions are unavailable, and offline driving directions come without traffic information or alternative routes. A map saved at home is still worth having for when the signal drops, as explained in using Google Maps offline, but finding your way on foot through a city, or following a ride-hailing car to your pick-up point, needs data.

Train travel is a good example of how it all fits together. The embassy's page explains that foreign tourists can book under the Foreign Tourist Quota through a link on the IRCTC website, that the passport number of every foreign tourist is recorded when the e-ticket is booked, and that the booking confirmation goes to your registered email. That means a code to your home number to register, data to book, and your inbox to check the ticket, ideally all on the same phone.

How much data to take, and which network it uses

There is no official figure per day for tourists, so measure your own. On an iPhone, Apple puts usage under Settings, Cellular: scroll down to see which apps use cellular data, and tap Reset Statistics to start from zero. On a Pixel, Google puts it under Settings, Network & internet, SIMs, with App data usage for the breakdown by app and Data warning & limit to get an alert or cut data off at the amount you choose. Reset the counter, spend a normal day at home with Wi-Fi off, and multiply by the days in India, with a margin for long train rides and photo uploads.

The Snoozim India eSIM connects to Airtel, with 5G where Airtel offers it, and carries data only. It comes in fixed packs of 3, 5, 10 and 20 GB; the 3 GB pack lasts 15 days and the others 30, counted from the first connection in India, and you top up the same eSIM without reinstalling it if you run short. The data calculator and the guide on how much data you need help you pick the size.