UAE / Dubai
UAE SIM card for Indians — Etisalat vs. du vs. roaming
The UAE is India's single largest travel market — about 7.78 million Indian visitors in 2025 — yet both major carriers, e& (Etisalat) and du, keep their visitor/tourist SIM pricing off their public pages and route you to the app or a store counter instead. Here's what's actually confirmed, honestly, plus the roaming alternative.
Local visitor SIMs — e& (Etisalat) vs. du
Neither carrier's own marketing page lists a structured price table for its tourist/visitor SIM — e&'s Visitor Line page explicitly routes you to the e& app, a business centre, or *101# instead of showing numbers. We'd rather tell you that plainly than guess at a price and get it wrong.
| Provider | Plan | Price | Data | Validity | Calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| e& (Etisalat) Visitor Line | Visitor Line (28-day) | Check e& app / 101# | Unlimited data (fair-use) | 28 days | Flexi minutes + free WiFi |
| e& (Etisalat) Visitor Line | Visitor Line (30-day) | Check e& app / 101# | Unlimited data (fair-use) | Up to 30 days | Flexi minutes + free WiFi |
| du Tourist SIM | Tourist SIM packages | Check du app/store | Varies | Varies | Varies |
Prices last checked October 2026, from each provider's own published rates. Operators change plans often — confirm the exact price on the provider's site or app before you buy. Pardes SIM never processes payments; you always buy directly from the provider.
Indian operator roaming packs (valid in UAE)
These are Airtel's general international roaming packs, valid across the UAE and other Gulf destinations — not UAE-exclusive pricing. We're still confirming Jio's and Vi's exact UAE roaming rates; check their apps for current pricing in the meantime.
| Provider | Plan | Price | Data | Validity | Calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airtel IR | Short-trip roaming pack | ₹698 | 1GB | 1 day | 100 min incoming+outgoing (India+local), 10 SMS |
| Airtel IR | Short-trip roaming pack | ₹998 | 4GB | 5 days | 150 min incoming+outgoing, 20 SMS |
| Airtel IR | Short-trip roaming pack | ₹1,298 | 6GB | 10 days | 200 min incoming+outgoing, 20 SMS |
| Airtel IR | Long-trip roaming pack | ₹2,998 | 10GB | 30 days | 300 min incoming+outgoing, 20 SMS |
Prices last checked October 2026, from each provider's own published rates. Operators change plans often — confirm the exact price on the provider's site or app before you buy. Pardes SIM never processes payments; you always buy directly from the provider.
The honest trade-off
Unlike Jio, Vi and STC Sawa Ziyara (Saudi), e& and du don't publish tourist-SIM prices openly — so until we can verify exact figures from a source we trust, the safest comparison is: check the e& or du app before you land, and keep an Airtel/Jio/Vi roaming pack as a known-price fallback for the first day or two.
UAE SIM — common questions
Does Etisalat (e&) publish its Visitor Line prices online?
Not on its own marketing page — e&'s Visitor Line page advertises unlimited data, flexi minutes and free WiFi for 28–30 day validity, but routes you to the e& app, a business centre, or dialling *101# to see actual prices. We're not able to show exact e& pricing here until it's published somewhere we can verify directly — check the app before you fly.
Is du cheaper or more open about pricing than Etisalat?
We haven't been able to independently confirm du's tourist SIM pricing structure either — both major UAE carriers keep exact tourist-SIM rates off their public marketing pages. Compare both in-app or at an airport counter on arrival rather than relying on a quoted price in advance.
UAE gets the most Indian visitors of any country — why is pricing information so hard to find?
UAE had roughly 7.78 million Indian visitors in 2025, the highest of any country Indians travel to, and there's no shortage of "best Dubai SIM for Indians" blog content — but most of it is also quoting prices from the carrier apps rather than public pages, which is why this page stays cautious about exact figures until we can verify them directly.
Should I just use an Indian roaming pack in the UAE instead?
For a short trip of a few days, Airtel's roaming packs (₹698 for 1 day/1GB up to ₹1,298 for 10 days/6GB) avoid the hassle of a new SIM and registration. For a longer stay, a local e& or du visitor SIM is very likely cheaper per GB — but confirm the actual price in the app or at the airport counter before deciding, since we can't publish a verified number yet.