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

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.

Uzbekistan eSIM or local SIM: what Indian travellers need

A trip along the Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara route leans on data for train bookings, maps and messages. An eSIM for Uzbekistan installed in India works from arrival and keeps your Indian SIM in for bank OTPs. A local SIM on arrival, the kind sold as an Uzbekistan tourist SIM, gives you an Uzbek number, and an Uzbekistan SIM card takes a physical slot; we quote no Uzbekistan SIM card price because we have not verified current rates, and no plan is the best eSIM for Uzbekistan on every trip. For other Central Asian stops, see our SIM and eSIM guides.

Pack prices as listed by Jio, Airtel and Vi on 13 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 47,941 departures of Indian nationals to Uzbekistan in 2025, against 53,434 in 2024, about 10% fewer (our calculation).

Our plan uses Unitel, which our Uzbekistan page shows as 4G. It is a country plan, and we promise no signal in any given spot. We hold no regional coverage data for Uzbekistan, so ask us before you rely on the stretches between Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara. Unlimited data plans slow to 1 Mbps after 3 GB in a day. Hotspot / tethering use draws on the same data allowance; our plan details do not state a hotspot rule.

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

Jio, Airtel and Vi each sell roaming packs that list Uzbekistan, and the six in our table cost ₹951 to ₹3,495 as listed on 13 Oct 2026. Each adds minutes on your Indian number, which our data-only eSIM lacks. Uzbekistan is outside Vi’s unlimited zone, so Vi’s Ultra pack gives limited data here.

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 plan list · Airtel T&C PDF · Vi prepaid T&C PDF); Jio checked 13 Oct 2026, Airtel 13 Oct 2026, Vi 13 Oct 2026. Our division of price by data gives the ≈ ₹ per GB column. Airtel’s FAQ page still shows older prices; its T&C dated 24 Sep 2026 list ₹998 and ₹1,298.

Uzbekistan sits in two Vi lists for two separate reasons. It is in the non-unlimited zone, so the Ultra pack gives 2 GB and 200 minutes. It is also in Budget Set 2, so the ₹1,495 pack gives 750 MB and 100 minutes over 15 days. The two packs and their limits are unrelated. Vi’s postpaid table lists Uzbekistan in Set 2 as well, though we could not confirm that this country table is current.

Jio’s 100-country list names Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan next door is not on it: Jio lists Kyrgyzstan only for its World Pack, Annual IR Plan and data packs, and for its Global Pack balance. Jio states: “Your plan validity begins only with your first usage—call, text, or data.” Airtel counts a prepaid pack from when your phone latches on to a covered foreign network and makes chargeable usage; book it up to 30 days before travel, because an unused pack expires with no reimbursement.

For a 10-day trip at prices on 13 Oct 2026, Jio’s ₹951 pack costs less than our 5 GB row at ≈ ₹1,047 (13 Oct rate), and Airtel’s ₹1,298 pack for 6 GB costs less than our 10 GB row at ≈ ₹1,714 (13 Oct rate), charged US$17.99. The packs include minutes on your Indian number and our rows do not, so that is the real choice.

No 10-day plan: pick 7 or 15 days at purchase

Our Uzbekistan catalogue has no 10-day row. Fixed-data rows run 7 days (1 GB), 15 days (2 GB) and 30 days (3, 5, 10 or 20 GB), and the unlimited rows run 3, 5, 7 and 15 days. For ten days, the 15-day unlimited plan at ≈ ₹5,335 (13 Oct rate) costs more than the 10 GB row at ≈ ₹1,714 (13 Oct rate); unlimited pays off only if you pass 3 GB a day.

Size by pace. At 0.3 GB a day, ten days use about 3 GB (our calculation), which fills the 3 GB row at ≈ ₹761 (13 Oct rate) with no margin; the 5 GB row leaves room. At 0.8 GB a day they use 8 GB, which needs the 10 GB row. Our data guide explains the pace profiles. We make no top-up promise for this plan, so choose the size before you pay.

Uzbekistan with Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan: country plans or the Global plan

We sell no Central Asia plan. The choice on a Silk Road route is country plans or the Global plan, which lists Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan; keep the Global line switched off until you land abroad.

At prices on 14 Oct 2026, a 5 GB row over 30 days costs ≈ ₹1,047 (13 Oct rate) for Uzbekistan, ≈ ₹952 (13 Oct rate) for Kazakhstan and ≈ ₹904 (13 Oct rate) for Kyrgyzstan, against ≈ ₹2,572 (13 Oct rate) for the Global plan’s 5 GB row. For two countries the Global plan costs about 29% more than the two country plans; with Kyrgyzstan added, the three country plans cost about 13% more than the Global plan (our calculation). The flip comes at the third border, in exchange for one install instead of three.

Vi’s prepaid terms list Kazakhstan with the same two lists as Uzbekistan and list no pack for Kyrgyzstan; the Vi roaming page has the zone rules.

Setting up the Uzbekistan eSIM before you fly

Install the eSIM in India; it connects when you land abroad. Scan the QR code from your order e-mail on home Wi-Fi and keep the line off until the flight. Data plan validity starts at the first connection to an Uzbek network, so a QR code install at home uses no days. iPhone and Android fill in the access point name themselves, and our Uzbekistan page states no install window.

After landing, turn data roaming on for the eSIM line; the data roaming guide has the steps. Look up your phone on the eSIM phone list, read the install guide for each screen, and find the plans on the Uzbekistan eSIM page.

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 Uzbekistan

Bank OTPs reach you as SMS on your Indian number, and the Uzbekistan plan carries no SMS. Keep the Indian SIM in as a second line with its mobile data off, and ask Jio, Airtel or Vi whether SMS reaches you in Uzbekistan on your plan. Vi’s ₹118 prepaid pack makes incoming SMS free for 28 days, other use at standard rates (13 Oct 2026); on Jio, check the MyJio app.

No page can promise that every OTP will reach you. The OTP guide covers the dual-SIM settings, and how card payments work explains the dollar charge.

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

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 Uzbekistan 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 Unitel; 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, ≈ ₹333 (US$3.49). For two weeks or more, with photos and social media, I’d go for 5 GB for 30 days, ≈ ₹1,047 (US$10.99). If you video-call and stream every day, take the unlimited plan for 7 days, ≈ ₹2,619 (US$27.49), 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 Uzbekistan, from ≈ ₹333 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