Vietnam eSIM or SIM Card for Tourists: Before You Fly or at the Airport

Most people switch their phone on before the bags even reach the carousel: a message to whoever is waiting outside, a ride to the hotel, a look at the map. Whether that works straight away or sends you looking for a SIM counter depends on what you set up at home.

eSIM before you fly or a SIM at the airport #

If your phone takes an eSIM, we suggest sorting it out at home on Wi-Fi, when you have time to read the instructions, and simply activating it on arrival. An airport counter makes more sense if your phone only has a SIM tray, or if you would rather have someone set it up for you.

MobiFone's free tourist eSIM

According to MobiFone's site (checked October 23, 2026), international visitors entering Vietnam can get one free eSIM per passport, with 10GB of data to use within 24 hours. Sign up at mobifone.vn/travel, through the link in your e-visa result email, or by scanning a QR code in the immigration area of some major international airports.

You upload a photo of your passport and a selfie, receive the eSIM QR code by email and install it before you leave, then call 900 to activate it once you have landed in Vietnam. If verification is still incomplete 24 hours after that call, the SIM is locked.

The free allowance is data only. For a longer stay, add FR10 (VND150,000 for 50GB and 70 minutes of domestic calls over 10 days) or FR30 (VND250,000 for 150GB and 200 minutes over 30 days), payable by international card. The sign-up form currently lists only Noi Bai (Nội Bài), Da Nang (Đà Nẵng) and Tan Son Nhat as first arrival airports, so if you are flying straight into Cam Ranh or Phu Quoc (Phú Quốc), check with MobiFone first.

Viettel eSIM for tourists

Viettel's portal for foreign visitors, tourist.viettel.vn, asks you to upload your passport photo page and a portrait photo and enter your email before you choose a SIM and a plan. Plans only appear after the upload step, so we have not listed prices; the hotline is 198.

Buying a SIM card at the airport

In January 2023, VnExpress International found dozens of SIM stalls just past baggage claim at Vietnam's international airports, Cam Ranh near Nha Trang included, and put a SIM with data at about VND150,000-350,000. Prices may have changed, so pick a counter with a carrier name on it, confirm the total before you pay and keep the receipt.

Registration: your passport, your face, your name #

Under Decree 163/2024/ND-CP (Article 17), foreign nationals register a mobile number with a passport that is valid for use in Vietnam under their visa, or for the maximum stay allowed under a visa exemption. Since April 15, 2026, Circular 08/2026/TT-BKHCN from the Ministry of Science and Technology has also required a face check, matched against the national immigration database or done at a carrier's store, and service starts only once verification is complete. The registered subscriber is legally responsible for the number, VietNamNet noted, citing the 2023 Telecommunications Law and Decree 163.

That is why we would pass on anyone outside the terminal or online offering a SIM that is already active. Within two hours of a SIM appearing in a different device, carriers must pause outgoing calls and texts until the registered owner repeats the face check (Article 8 of the circular, in force since June 15, 2026), and the seller will not be around to do it.

If you switch phones mid-trip

Your own SIM is covered by the same rule: while outgoing service is paused, you can still receive calls, texts and data. Verify again in the carrier's app or at a store; after 30 days the number is blocked both ways.

Viettel, VinaPhone or MobiFone? #

All three carriers support eSIM on iPhone, activated with a QR code or the carrier's app, according to Apple's list. We do not rank one as the best; for a holiday, what matters more is which sign-up route suits your flight and whether the plan includes enough call minutes.

For VinaPhone, we found no tourist plan page on its official sites as of October 23, 2026; visit a store with your passport or call 18001091 to ask.

Photo: Phan Minh Tuấn

Will your phone work with a Vietnam eSIM? #

Many iPhone XS, XS Max, XR and later models support eSIM, but availability varies by model and sales region, so check your exact model before you buy a plan. On iPhone, look for an Add eSIM option under Settings, then Cellular. On Samsung phones it sits under SIM manager, and on some OPPO models dialing *#06# shows an EID number if the phone has eSIM.

Phones bought on a carrier contract may be locked to that network. On an iPhone, go to Settings, General, About: if Carrier Lock shows "No SIM Restrictions," it will accept another carrier's SIM. If not, ask your carrier to unlock it before the trip.

Scan the eSIM QR code once, on the phone you are bringing. Viettel's codes stay valid for six months but can only be reinstalled on the same phone.

Photo: Bidouille82

Once 2G is switched off as scheduled, a 4G phone without VoLTE, or with it turned off, can still use data but may not make or receive ordinary calls. Look for a VoLTE or 4G Calling setting, especially on an older phone.

Roaming and keeping your home number #

Keeping your home SIM active may let you receive bank codes. Check that your carrier supports incoming SMS in Vietnam and whether receiving texts abroad costs anything. Some home carriers include international roaming in certain plans, while others charge by the day, so check the price before you fly.

For a one- or two-week trip, we suggest leaving your home SIM in the phone with data roaming turned off and letting the Vietnamese eSIM handle data and local calls; iPhones with a SIM tray can run a physical SIM and an eSIM side by side.

Ride-hailing, payments and topping up #

Ride-hailing apps need a phone number that can receive a verification code, so set up Grab or Green SM with your home number before you leave. A Vietnamese number also lets drivers call or text you at local rates.

A local SIM does not by itself enable QR payments. Check what your banking or payment app supports, and carry cash or a card as a backup. To top up, MobiFone's instructions list scratch cards (enter *100*card code# and press call) or a top-up from a friend through e-wallets such as MoMo and ZaloPay.

Vietnam SIM and eSIM: your questions #