Bangladesh SIM card for Indian travellers: roaming, local SIM or eSIM

Bangladesh eSIM or local SIM: what Indian travellers need

Most trips need mobile data rather than a Bangladeshi number. Maps, ride apps and WhatsApp all run on data, and a Bangladesh eSIM delivers it from arrival while your Indian SIM stays in the phone for bank OTPs. A local number matters only when people in Bangladesh must phone you.

Pack prices as listed by Jio, Airtel and Vi on 12 Oct 2026; ₹ per GB is our derivation (price ÷ GB). eSIM prices are an estimate at the day’s rate; your card is charged in US$.

India’s Ministry of Tourism counted 358,533 departures of Indian nationals to Bangladesh in 2025, down from 555,680 in 2024. That is about 35% fewer (our calculation from the 2025 dashboard and the 2024 Compendium). Leisure and business made up 90.44% of the 2025 departures.

Of the local networks, our Bangladesh plan uses Grameenphone’s 4G. Every Bangladesh plan we sell is data-only: no calls, no SMS and no Indian number.

Your Jio, Airtel or Vi pack in Bangladesh vs this eSIM

Jio, Airtel and Vi each sell a prepaid roaming pack that covers Bangladesh. The five packs in our table cost ₹599 to ₹1,499 as listed on 12 Oct 2026, and four of them include minutes on your Indian number, which our data-only eSIM does not. The ≈ ₹ per GB column is our derivation (price ÷ GB).

We sell travel eSIMs, so we have an interest here. The table still shows when your operator pack is the better choice.

Source: the operator document (Jio IR plans · Airtel T&C · Vi prepaid T&C), checked on 12 Oct 2026. Airtel’s T&C are dated 24 Sep 2026; its FAQ page still shows older prices, and the current T&C list ₹998 and ₹1,298.

Check your circle before you count on Vi. Its prepaid terms say “IR packs are not applicable for customers in J&K, Assam and North East” and “Prepaid International roaming is not applicable to customers of Assam and North east circle”.

Zones decide what you can buy. Jio lists Bangladesh in its World Pack and its data packs, not in the 100- or 75-country packs, so the World Pack family is the only Jio pack that bundles minutes. Vi places Bangladesh in its prepaid zone without unlimited data: its ₹3,495 Ultra pack gives 2 GB and 200 minutes for 7 days there, so the table shows the ₹1,495 Budget pack instead.

Against these rows, 5 GB over 30 days on our eSIM costs ≈ ₹1,053 (12 Oct rate), about ₹211 (US$2.20) per GB, charged US$10.99, plus any markup your card issuer applies. Choose a pack when you must call home on your Indian number: Airtel’s ₹998 prepaid pack carries 150 minutes, our plan none.

Data plan validity starts at different moments. Jio states: “Your plan validity begins only with your first usage—call, text, or data.” An Airtel prepaid pack runs from when your phone latches on to a covered foreign network and makes chargeable usage, counted in IST. Book it up to 30 days before travel; if you do not travel within 30 days, the pack expires with no reimbursement. Our Bangladesh plan counts its days from first use on a Bangladeshi network, so a home install uses none.

Skip the pack and you may get no data at all: Airtel bars prepaid data “to avoid any accidental usage”, and Vi’s RoamSafe keeps mobile data off.

Short trips to Bangladesh: 3- to 7-day plans

For three to seven days, the smallest plan fits: 1 GB for 7 days at ≈ ₹286 (12 Oct rate), charged US$2.99. A longer visit can take 2 GB for 15 days at ≈ ₹622 (12 Oct rate). Unlimited data starts at 3 days for ≈ ₹1,148 (12 Oct rate), and its speed drops to 1 Mbps after 3 GB in a day.

Airtel’s 5-day pack ends two days before a 7-day trip does; its 10-day pack covers the week. On a multi-country trip, the Asia eSIM plan covers several countries in one profile; install it at home and keep its line switched off until you land abroad.

Local SIM after landing vs an eSIM set up in India

A Bangladesh tourist SIM is a local SIM on arrival: a physical card you buy from a local operator. We quote no Bangladesh SIM card price in taka because we have not verified current rates. An eSIM bought in India is already on the phone when you arrive, and it leaves the SIM tray to your Indian card.

The tray decides it. A physical local SIM needs a free slot; on a single-slot phone your Indian SIM comes out, and OTPs to that number stop until it goes back. The eSIM needs no slot, provided your phone runs an eSIM and a physical SIM together.

Take a local SIM when someone in Bangladesh, such as a host or a driver, must call a local number. For data alone, check the eSIM phone list and follow the install guide; the QR code install happens at home on Wi-Fi.

Full refund within 30 days of purchase, as long as the eSIM has not connected to any network. If the eSIM doesn’t work and it isn’t your phone’s fault, we refund the payment whether or not it was installed.

Bank OTPs and your Indian number in Bangladesh

An OTP from your bank is an SMS to your Indian number. Our Bangladesh eSIM has no number, so it cannot receive one. Leave the Indian SIM in the phone as the second line, switch its mobile data off, and check with Jio, Airtel or Vi before departure whether SMS reaches you in Bangladesh on your plan.

On Airtel prepaid, the ₹118 IR activation runs 28 days, needs an active base pack and allows unlimited incoming SMS. Vi’s ₹118 pack makes incoming SMS free for 28 days. Both are as listed on 12 Oct 2026. No page can promise that every OTP will reach you; the guide to keeping your Indian SIM for OTPs covers the dual-SIM settings. Other countries are in our international SIM guides.

Your card is charged in US dollars. Your bank converts the amount at its own rate and may add a foreign-transaction (forex markup) fee. How card payments work.

What if the eSIM doesn’t work when you land in Bangladesh?

Check four settings, in this order, before you write to us.

The first is the line for mobile data. On iPhone it is Settings > Mobile Service > Mobile Data; on Android, the SIM manager. Pick the travel line there; your Indian line stays on for calls and SMS, with its mobile data off.

The second is data roaming, for the eSIM line only. The eSIM is a foreign profile, so the phone treats Bangladesh as roaming for it.

The third is the APN. On this plan it sets itself, so leave it alone; you don’t need to type one.

The fourth is a restart. Restart the phone or switch airplane mode on and off, and let it find GrameenPhone; this can take a few minutes after you leave the plane.

Still no data? Write to us on WhatsApp or at support@esimgo.in with your order number, or go through the no-signal checklist. Do not delete the eSIM to “try again”: a deleted profile usually cannot be installed twice from the same code. If the eSIM doesn't work and it isn't your phone's fault, we refund the payment whether or not it was installed.

What I’d choose (and when NOT to buy the eSIM)

For a week of maps, rides and messaging I’d take 1 GB for 7 days, ≈ ₹286 (US$2.99). For two weeks or more, with photos and social media, I’d go for 5 GB for 30 days, ≈ ₹1,053 (US$10.99). If you video-call and stream every day, take the unlimited plan for 7 days, ≈ ₹2,585 (US$26.99), with 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps.

I would not recommend the eSIM in three cases. If you need calls or SMS on your Indian number every day, a Jio, Airtel or Vi roaming pack carries them (compare the packs). If your phone has no eSIM or is locked to one operator, it cannot take the plan: check your model first. And if your group travels together all day and shares one connection, a pocket Wi-Fi can cover everyone.

FAQ

Get an eSIM for Bangladesh, from ≈ ₹286 Pay by card in US$. Your bank converts the US$ charge at its own rate and may add a foreign-transaction fee. Install the profile at home on Wi-Fi before you fly. The QR code arrives by e-mail after payment. See plans