Jio, Airtel, Vi & BSNL roaming in Sri Lanka vs a travel eSIM

Get an eSIM for Sri Lanka — from ≈ ₹285arrow_forward

Short answer: Sri Lanka packs from Jio, Airtel, Vi and BSNL

Which Indian SIM works in Sri Lanka? Jio, Airtel and Vi all do once roaming is on; the pack sets the data. For a 5-day trip, Airtel’s ₹998 prepaid pack gives 4 GB, about ₹250 per GB, the lowest of the three operators’ shortest packs. For 10 days, Jio’s ₹951 pack gives 4 GB at about ₹238 and Airtel’s ₹1,298 pack 6 GB at about ₹216. Vi South Asia gives 1 GB a day for 5 days at ₹1,899. BSNL lists ₹659 for one day with 20 minutes. Prices as listed on 13 Oct 2026.

Keep the operator pack if you must take calls on your Indian number. For maps, cab apps and messaging, a Sri Lanka eSIM from India carries data only. Install the eSIM in India; it connects when you land abroad.

India’s Ministry of Tourism counts 541,949 departures to Sri Lanka in 2025, against 430,492 in 2024, about 26% more (our calculation); 97.31% of the 2025 departures were for leisure or business. Sri Lanka’s tourism authority, SLTDA, counted 531,511 arrivals from India in 2025. It counts by its own method, so the two figures do not compare.

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

Jio international roaming plans that cover Sri Lanka

Jio international roaming plans for Sri Lanka come from four lists: the 100-country and 75-country packs, the World Pack and the data packs. The seven rows below cost ₹589 to ₹2,499 as listed on 13 Oct 2026, the same for prepaid and postpaid. They are a selection; two carry data only.

eSIM Go is not affiliated with Jio, Airtel, Vi or BSNL. Pack details are taken from their own pages on the date shown.

The ₹2,499 figure assumes you use the full 1 GB each day. For five days, the shortest Jio pack is the ₹599 data pack, with no calls; ₹951 adds minutes and lasts ten days. Pack validity on Jio starts at first use: “Your plan validity begins only with your first usage—call, text, or data.”

Airtel and Vi packs for Sri Lanka, including Vi South Asia (table)

An Airtel IR pack Sri Lanka travellers buy comes from the single all-country set, shown here by the prepaid ₹998 and ₹1,298 packs. Vi lists Sri Lanka in three prepaid groups: Budget Set 1, the South Asia pack and the UL zone, where Vi prints Ultra data as FREE. The eight rows below cost ₹755 to ₹6,995.

Vi South Asia’s ₹380 per GB assumes 1 GB used on each of the five days. The same pack lists Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, so one purchase also covers a stop there. Vi’s postpaid table puts Sri Lanka in Set 1; we could not confirm that this country table is current. Vi states that its IR packs are “not applicable for customers in J&K, Assam and North East”.

Airtel also sells ₹698 for 1 GB over one day and ₹2,998 for 10 GB over 30 days. Its FAQ page still shows ₹898 and ₹1,198, while the T&C dated 24 Sep 2026 list ₹998 and ₹1,298.

BSNL’s Sri Lanka tariff: what it lists and what it doesn’t

BSNL shows special tariffs for a handful of countries, and Sri Lanka is the only one where we could read prices. Its Sri Lanka page lists ₹659 for 1 day with 20 minutes of voice and ₹3,495 for 7 days with 100 minutes. It lists no data allowance, so neither tariff enters our per-GB tables.

Before any tariff, a BSNL prepaid user needs two steps. BSNL says: “Recharge with STV 1967 for Activation of prepaid International roaming for 365 days”. It also asks for a different SIM: “Visit to the nearest BSNL Customer Care Centre and collect the special International Roaming SIM after filling up the necessary forms along with the required documents.” For mobile data in Sri Lanka, weigh a Jio, Airtel or Vi pack against an eSIM.

Cost per GB for a 5-day and a 10-day Sri Lanka trip

How we rank: for each operator, pick the shortest pack that covers every day of the trip, then compare price per GB; Vi’s FREE-data rows have no GB figure, so they sit out. All figures are our division of price by data, from prices listed on 13 Oct 2026.

Five days, for example Colombo and Kandy: Airtel’s ₹998 pack wins at about ₹250 per GB, ₹200 a day. Vi has two 5-day packs; South Asia, at about ₹380 per GB, beats the data-only ₹755 Budget pack. Jio’s shortest pack for five days is the ₹599 data pack, about ₹599 per GB with no calls.

Ten days: Airtel’s ₹1,298 pack wins at about ₹216 per GB, ₹130 a day. Jio’s ₹951 pack follows at about ₹238, ₹95 a day; its ₹2,499 daily-data pack lasts as long at about ₹250. Vi’s shortest 10-day pack with a GB figure is the ₹995 Budget pack, about ₹796.

Our Sri Lanka plans run on Dialog and Hutchison LTE and carry data only. All six rows are fixed-GB, with no unlimited plan, so the per-GB comparison is like for like. 1 GB over 7 days costs ≈ ₹286 (12 Oct rate), 2 GB over 15 days ≈ ₹574 (12 Oct rate), 3 GB over 30 days ≈ ₹622 (12 Oct rate), and 5 GB over 30 days ≈ ₹813 (12 Oct rate), about ₹163 (US$1.70) per GB, charged US$8.49 by card. 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.

At 0.3 GB a day, ten days need about 3 GB (our calculation): 2 GB falls short and 3 GB fits. Five days need about 1.5 GB, more than Vi’s ₹755 pack or our 1 GB plan holds. Divide our plan’s ≈ ₹ price by its GB on the day you buy and read it against the tables. Plan days start at the first connection to a Sri Lankan network, and no APN needs typing on iPhone or Android.

Every plan is on the Sri Lanka eSIM page. The Sri Lanka SIM card guide covers local SIMs, and a physical Sri Lanka SIM card from a local operator needs a free slot in your phone. For a trip that continues to Southeast Asia, the Asia eSIM lists several countries in one plan.

Bank OTPs travel as SMS to your Indian number, out of reach of a data-only eSIM. Keep that SIM in the phone as a second line, its mobile data off, and confirm with your operator that texts arrive in Sri Lanka; see keep Indian number for OTP.

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.

How we checked these prices

Each row shows the checked on date and comes from the operator’s own document: Jio’s plan list, Airtel’s T&C PDF dated 24 Sep 2026, Vi’s prepaid T&C PDF and BSNL’s Sri Lanka page. Per-GB figures are price divided by GB, rounded. Our international roaming Sri Lanka coverage comes from the country lists; Vi roaming Sri Lanka terms come from its UL, Budget Set 1 and South Asia lists.

Vi’s country lists are an image that we transcribed by hand, so check Sri Lanka in the Vi app before you pay. Jio international roaming plans for Sri Lanka and other countries are compared on our Jio page.

Updated on 13 Oct 2026: first version. Written and reviewed by Nadezhda Semenova; see the editorial policy. Operator pages: Airtel, Vi; all countries: international roaming.

FAQ

Get an eSIM for Sri Lanka, from ≈ ₹285 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