English
An eSIM for the United Arab Emirates is a digital data plan for the phone you already own. There is no physical SIM card, no airport lines, and no passport needed. Your plan is ready on your SIMAREA account before you even leave home.
It works safely alongside your normal SIM. You keep your own number for calls and important text messages. Your data goes through the SIMAREA plan. Just turn off data roaming on your home SIM to avoid high bills.
Coverage comes from Du, the one network these plans use. Your phone connects to it when you arrive.
If you stay longer, top up your current plan with more data. You do not need to buy a new one.
What it is not: a local phone number. If you need a number for verification codes, see virtual numbers.
UAE eSIM: one plan for Dubai and the whole country
5GMobile data for the United Arab Emirates on Du, the network every plan here uses. It works in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other emirates, and almost every plan waits for your first connection in the UAE before counting days.
The unlimited plan is the day pass we feature for the United Arab Emirates: after its daily full-speed allowance it keeps you connected at a lower speed, and it is billed per day for the days you choose. Fixed plans are one price for the term shown. Nothing on this page is an estimate.
How to get mobile data in the United Arab Emirates
Install it at home before you go. Some plans here start counting at installation, so check the line under the price for the plan you pick.
Pick eSIM plan
Choose how long you are there. The day pass is billed per day, so the term is yours to set.
Pay, then scan
Charged from your balance, which you top up with crypto. Your QR code is in your dashboard once the order is paid.
Turn it on when you arrive
Turn on data roaming for your SIMAREA plan when you arrive, and it joins a partner network.
What to know about an eSIM for the United Arab Emirates
The specifics that decide whether a travel eSIM is useful once you're actually there.
Runs on Du
Plans for the United Arab Emirates connect to Du. Your phone joins it once data roaming is on for the eSIM.
Set up before you go
No SIM card store, no passport check. Install it at home, then turn on data roaming for it when you arrive.
Hotspot sharing
Share your internet with a laptop or a friend, if your plan and phone allow it.
Keep your own number
The eSIM is just for internet. Your normal SIM still receives calls and important bank codes. You can use both at once.
Keep using the same eSIM
Staying longer? Top up the same plan with more data from your dashboard. No need for a new QR code.
If it does not work
Not installed or connected yet? Ask for a refund within 30 days of buying it. Installed but not working on any of its networks? Support helps, and refunds you if it cannot be fixed.
eSIM for Dubai: the plan covers the whole UAE
There is no Dubai-only eSIM on this page, and you don't need one. Each plan lists one location, the United Arab Emirates, so the same plan works in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain, wherever Du has a signal. Visiting the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi or driving out to the east coast for a day doesn't call for a second plan.
That also makes the UAE plan the one for a stopover. A few hours at Dubai International or Abu Dhabi's airport count as being in the UAE, and a small plan covers messages, a ride into the city and a map while you're there.
Du, 5G and a European IP address
Every UAE plan on this page connects to a single network, Du. Du is listed with 5G and the plans allow 5G as well: 5G where Du has it, 4G/LTE elsewhere. Etisalat (e&), the country's other large network, isn't on any of these plans. If you want both networks on one eSIM, some Middle East plans list Etisalat and Du together, as the last section explains.
Traffic from every UAE plan leaves for the internet in Europe. The catalog names the region, not a country, so the exact address can't be predicted, but websites see a European IP rather than an Emirati one. Maps, ride-hailing and hotel apps don't depend on it. An Emirati bank or government app that checks where you connect from might, so if one matters to you, ask support before you buy; it answers 24/7.
UAE eSIM plans: from a layover to six months
Fixed plans give you one amount of data for a set number of days. The UAE sizes on sale on November 2, 2026:
- 7 days: 100 MB, 500 MB or 1 GB
- 15 days: 2 GB or 3 GB
- 30 days: 3, 5, 10 or 20 GB
- 60 days: 10 GB
- 180 days: 50 GB
A layover at DXB or AUH
Half a day between flights needs little data. The 500 MB plan for 7 days usually covers a stopover and doesn't start until you connect to Du. The 100 MB plan is smaller still, but its clock starts the moment you install it.
A week between Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Maps, bookings, photos and the metro add up over a city week. 1 GB for 7 days is the lightest choice; if you post a lot, a 15-day or 30-day plan, or the day pass below, leaves room.
Working or studying there for months
The 10 GB plan for 60 days and the 50 GB plan for 180 days are the ones sized for longer stays, and both take top-ups on the same eSIM.
Unlimited data in Dubai: how the UAE day pass works
Plans sold as unlimited for Dubai are usually day passes, and so is this one. You get 1 GB a day at full speed on Du. After that the connection runs at 1 Mbps until the day resets and full speed returns. You choose the number of days in the picker.
1 Mbps is enough for messages, maps and music, so a morning of uploads doesn't leave you offline by the afternoon. If you expect hours of video on mobile data, a fixed plan with a large pool, such as 20 GB for 30 days, fits better than a daily allowance.
The pass starts at your first connection in the UAE, and like every UAE plan here it can be topped up on the same eSIM.
Before the flight: install now, count from arrival
Install the eSIM over Wi-Fi at home or at your departure gate. Every UAE plan except the 100 MB plan for 7 days starts counting when your phone first connects to Du in the UAE, so a plan installed a week early loses nothing. The 100 MB plan counts from installation, so add it on the day you travel.
When data or days run short, top up the plan you have. Every UAE plan on this page accepts a top-up on the same eSIM, so there's no second QR code to scan. The line under the price shows when the selected plan's days start, and the Add more row under Plan details confirms the top-up.
The UAE with Oman, Qatar or Saudi Arabia
A UAE plan stops working when you leave the country. For a trip that continues into a neighbor, every plan on the Middle East eSIM page includes the UAE, and its country lists come in three shapes:
- Six Gulf countries: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq. In the UAE these plans list both Etisalat and Du, and traffic exits in the UK. The Middle East day pass is one of them: 1 GB a day, then 512 Kbps, so after its allowance it drops lower than the UAE pass does.
- Eleven or twelve countries: the UAE with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Israel and Turkey; the twelve also include Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, the eleven Armenia and Azerbaijan, and neither has Iraq. In the UAE they list Etisalat only, and traffic exits in the UK or Norway.
Oman isn't on the six-country plans. For a drive to Muscat or the Musandam peninsula, pick a Middle East plan whose Coverage row lists Oman, or add an Oman eSIM for those days. If most of the trip is in Saudi Arabia or Qatar, with only a stop in Dubai, a plan for that country plus a short UAE plan is the other way to do it.
When the UAE is one stop on a longer route, the Global 130 eSIM covers it too, on Etisalat, with its traffic exiting in the UK or Norway.
UAE and Dubai eSIM questions
Is a Dubai eSIM different from a UAE eSIM?
No. Dubai is one of the seven emirates, and no plan covers it alone. Searching for a Dubai eSIM brings you to the same UAE plans, which work across the country on Du.
Will I get a UAE phone number with +971?
No. The eSIM is data only and has no +971 number; your own SIM keeps your number for calls and SMS. SIMAREA doesn't rent UAE numbers today. The virtual numbers page lists the countries where it does.
Can I use Etisalat instead of Du?
Not with a UAE plan: all of them use Du. In the Middle East page's six-country plans, the UAE has both Etisalat and Du listed; its eleven- and twelve-country plans and the Global 130 eSIM list Etisalat only. The Coverage and Networks rows show the selected plan's details before you pay.
How many days can I put on the day pass?
As many as your stay needs: you set the days in the picker, and the full-speed 1 GB comes back each day. If your plans change after you arrive, top up the same pass rather than buying a new eSIM.
I've landed at DXB and the eSIM shows no data. What should I check?
First, that the SIMAREA eSIM is selected as your mobile data line and that data roaming is switched on for it. Then look at the network name: it should be Du. If the phone has picked something else, turn off automatic selection and choose Du. Still nothing? Contact support, which answers 24/7. If the eSIM can't be made to work on Du, support refunds it.
Can I buy and install the eSIM after I arrive?
Yes, if you can get online: installing needs a connection, so use the airport or hotel Wi-Fi, buy from your SIMAREA account and scan the QR code there. Installing before you fly is less fuss, and on every plan but the 100 MB one it doesn't start the days early.
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The SIMAREA app is on its way
Check your data, top up and manage every eSIM from your phone.
Have your UAE eSIM ready before you land
Pick a fixed plan or the day pass on Du, valid across the whole country. Continuing to Oman or Saudi Arabia? Compare the Middle East plans first.