Europe SIM card for Indian travellers: roaming or a regional eSIM

Indian nationals made 1,742,493 departures to the 29 Schengen states in 2024, our sum of the state rows in the Ministry of Tourism’s India Tourism Data Compendium 2025 (Table 3.1.5). The ministry’s wider Europe region recorded 3,883,311 departures that year. That region also counts Türkiye, Israel and Central Asia.

One eSIM for a multi-country Europe trip

A single Europe eSIM works in 41 countries: the 29 Schengen states plus 12 more, among them the UK, Ireland, Turkey, Ukraine and Georgia (the plan’s country list, checked on 12 Oct 2026). Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City are not on that list, so before a day trip there, check your operator’s roaming list or plan on Wi-Fi.

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$.

Install the eSIM in India; it connects when you land abroad. Scan the QR code on home Wi-Fi after payment: the plan days start at the first connection in any of the 41 countries, whether you land in Paris, Zurich or London, so an early install costs no days. That one profile then carries you over every border on the route, with no new QR code at each crossing. The install guide has the iPhone and Android steps, and the phone list shows which models take an eSIM.

Three plans cover most trips: 1 GB over 7 days at ≈ ₹478 (12 Oct rate), 2 GB over 15 days at ≈ ₹765 (12 Oct rate), and 10 GB over 30 days at ≈ ₹1,819 (12 Oct rate). An unlimited data plan for 7 days costs ≈ ₹2,585 (12 Oct rate), but speed drops to 1 Mbps after 5 GB used in a day. 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.

Regional Europe plan vs a single-country plan

Choose the Europe plan when your route touches two or more countries, and a single-country plan when you stay in one country for the whole trip. A regional plan is one purchase, one install and one data allowance for the entire route. A single-country plan can fit better when you never cross a border. For trips beyond Europe, start from our international SIM options by country.

Worked case: Paris for 5 nights, Amsterdam for 3, Zurich for 3 is 3 countries and 11 nights. Single-country plans mean three purchases, three installs and a profile switch at each border. The Europe plan means one of each. At our planning estimate of 0.3 GB a day for maps and messaging, 11 days need about 3.3 GB, so 5 GB over 30 days at ≈ ₹1,148 (12 Oct rate) leaves a margin. If the same trip stays in Italy, open the Italy eSIM page and compare its 5 GB, 30-day row with this Europe plan.

Single-country pages: France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom; the full list is on the countries page. A Europe SIM card or a Europe tourist SIM bought on arrival is physical and occupies a SIM slot, so on a phone with one physical slot you would remove your Indian SIM and lose OTPs on that number. An eSIM leaves the slot alone.

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

Airtel’s packs cover all 29 Schengen states, Jio’s 100-country packs cover 28 (Slovenia is missing) and Vi varies by country. The five packs below cost ₹951 to ₹2,851 as listed on 12 Oct 2026, and each bundles calls on your Indian number, which our 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: operator documents (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. The Schengen column is our count against each operator’s published country list. Vi’s list is an image in the PDF, transcribed by hand, so check your country in the Vi app. eSIM Go is not affiliated with Jio, Airtel, Vi or BSNL. Pack details are taken from their own pages on the date shown.

Vi is where the country matters most. Its Ultra plans give 2 to 5 GB, not unlimited, in Switzerland, and nine Schengen states (Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Slovenia, Switzerland) sit outside Vi’s 40-country unlimited zone. After an Airtel prepaid pack ends, calls cost ₹10 a minute and SMS ₹5 each, and data is blocked.

For comparison, 10 GB for 30 days on our Europe eSIM costs ≈ ₹1,819 (12 Oct rate), about ₹182 (US$1.90) per GB, charged US$18.99, before any forex markup your bank adds. The operator pack wins when you need calls on your Indian number; a Europe SIM only for data includes none. Some postpaid and annual plans now bundle a few days of roaming — check your plan in the Airtel or Vi app before you travel.

Family trips: several phones, one budget

Every phone needs its own plan. One eSIM profile sits on one phone, so a family of four buys four plans and sizes each to that phone’s use. Four Airtel ₹998 packs cost ₹3,992 for 5 days. Each roaming pack sits on one Indian number (our arithmetic, assuming all four are Airtel prepaid).

Size by phone, not by family. Our planning estimate is 0.3 GB a day for maps and messaging and about 0.8 GB a day with social media and photos (the data guide has more profiles). Two adults at 0.3 GB a day over 7 days use 2.1 GB each, so 3 GB over 30 days (≈ ₹861 (12 Oct rate)) fits each phone with room to spare. A teenager on social media at 0.8 GB a day needs 5.6 GB, which points to 10 GB over 30 days (≈ ₹1,819 (12 Oct rate)). Compare the 7-day and 30-day rows with the same data before you pay: a longer plan is not always the dearer one. Check every phone first, on our phone list or by looking for an “Add eSIM” option in its SIM settings: a phone without eSIM cannot use the plan. This page does not promise hotspot or tethering between phones.

Bank OTPs on your Indian number while you cross Europe’s borders

Bank OTPs come by SMS to your Indian number, and the Europe plan is data-only, so it cannot receive them in any of its 41 countries. Leave your Indian SIM in the phone with its mobile data off; the eSIM handles WhatsApp and maps. No page can promise that every OTP will reach you.

On the Paris, Amsterdam and Zurich route above, your Indian SIM roams in three countries, and incoming SMS rules differ by pack. Airtel prepaid lists a ₹118 IR activation for 28 days that “allows unlimited incoming SMS” while your regular prepaid plan is active, and Vi prepaid lists a ₹118 pack for 28 days with free incoming SMS, both as listed on 12 Oct 2026. Jio’s incoming-SMS rule is not on the pages we checked, so confirm it in the MyJio app, and remember that its 100-country packs leave out Slovenia. The guide to keeping your Indian SIM for OTPs has the dual-SIM settings.

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 Europe?

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 Europe as roaming for it.

The third is the APN. The plan does not set it by itself here: add internet on Android under the eSIM line’s mobile network settings.

The fourth is a restart. Restart the phone or switch airplane mode on and off, and let it find a partner network; 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, ≈ ₹483 (US$4.99). For two weeks or more, with photos and social media, I’d go for 5 GB for 30 days, ≈ ₹1,160 (US$11.99). If you video-call and stream every day, take the unlimited plan for 7 days, ≈ ₹2,611 (US$26.99), with 5 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 Europe, from ≈ ₹289 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