Why this is worth ten minutes before you travel
Arriving without a working phone is a small problem that makes every other problem bigger — you cannot call your family, cannot reach the employer, cannot look up an address, and cannot call for help if something goes wrong.
None of what follows is a promise about prices. Any figure we could print would be out of date within weeks, so this article tells you how the market works and what to check, rather than what it costs. Where a price matters, get it from the operator on the day.
What you need, in order
- A phone that is not carrier-locked to your home network. If it is locked, it will not accept a foreign SIM. Check this before you travel — it is the single most common problem.
- A SIM card from a local operator in the country you are working in. Local SIMs are almost always cheaper than roaming on your home number for anything beyond a few days.
- A data allowance sized to how you actually use the phone — messaging and maps use far less than video.
What to check before you buy a plan
- The data allowance and its speed after the allowance runs out. Many plans do not stop when you use the included data; they keep working at a much slower speed, which changes what the plan is actually worth.
- The validity period. A cheap plan can be cheap because it lasts a week.
- Whether it can be topped up from outside the country, in case you travel.
- **Whether it is a prepaid or a contract plan. Prepaid requires no credit check and can be stopped at any time; a contract plan is a fixed commitment, usually for 12 or 24 months, with an exit cost. If you are not certain how long you are staying, prepaid is the lower-risk choice.
- What identification the operator requires. In many countries a SIM requires an ID document, and as a foreign worker you may need your passport and your residence permit or registration. Bring both.
What to avoid
- Buying a SIM from someone who is not the operator — a shop, a market stall or an individual selling activated cards. Buy from the operator's own shop or an authorised reseller, and get a receipt.
- A SIM registered in somebody else's name. If the registration is not yours, the number is not effectively yours, and it can be cancelled or misused without your control.
- Roaming on your home SIM for more than the first day or two. It is the most expensive way to stay connected, and the cost is invisible until the bill arrives.
- Signing a long contract to get a cheaper handset, unless you are certain you will stay for the full term. The handset subsidy is the reason the contract is long, and the early-exit cost is where the money is.
Keeping in touch cheaply
- Messaging apps over data cost far less than international SMS and calls.
- Wi-Fi at your accommodation and at work — but do not use public Wi-Fi for banking or for anything with your passport details.
- Tell your family one reliable way to reach you, and make sure they have it before you lose your phone rather than after.
The short version
- Check your phone is not carrier-locked before you travel.
- Buy a local prepaid SIM, from the operator's own shop, registered in your own name, with a receipt.
- Read the data allowance, the speed after the allowance, and the validity period — those three decide what the plan is worth.
- Bring your passport and your permit or registration to buy it.
- Prepaid if you are not certain how long you are staying.
- Messaging over data, not roaming.