Vietnam SIM Card for Tourists 2026: Prices, Passport Check and Blocked SIMs

Last updated on 10 October 2026

To get a Vietnamese SIM card you need a passport that is valid for your permitted stay, and since 15 April 2026 the operator must check your details against the national immigration database before the line works. The POVNOMAD Vietnam eSIM costs €1.90 for 1 GB over 7 days or €9.90 for 7 days of Unlimited Smart, you install it before the flight, and it needs no Vietnamese registration. As of 10 October 2026.

The local SIM costs less, and we say so: the last tourist prices published in the Vietnamese press were 100,000 dong (about €3.49) for 10 GB over 30 days at Viettel, against €12.90 for our 10 GB plan. What the eSIM saves you is the counter, the paperwork and the risk of a blocked line.

Local SIM, eSIM or roaming: what fits a trip to Vietnam?

As of 10 October 2026. Tourist SIM: VietnamPlus, 8 May 2023, and the registration rules quoted below. POVNOMAD: Vietnam product page, standard IP; Unlimited Smart gives 1 GB of high-speed data a day, then up to 1 Mbit/s. Dong converted at the Vietcombank transfer rate of 10 October 2026 (€1 = 28,617.90 dong).

How much does a tourist SIM cost in Vietnam?

Viettel, VinaPhone and MobiFone do not publish a tourist price list that we could read on 10 October 2026: Viettel’s tourist portal refused automated access, and the VinaPhone pages we found cover roaming for Vietnamese customers going abroad. The most recent figures from a news source are from the state news agency VietnamPlus:

Source: VietnamPlus, 8 May 2023. Prices may have changed since; euro amounts at the Vietcombank rate of 10 October 2026. VietnamPlus named no VinaPhone package.

According to the same report, Viettel needed a valid passport and visa and took the number back 60 days after activation. Travel guides from 2026 quote higher prices and say airport counters charge more than shops in town; the operators publish no airport prices, so we could not check either claim. Ask for the package name and compare it with the operator’s app before you pay.

What do you need to register a SIM card in Vietnam?

An original passport that is valid in Vietnam for the period of your visa or your visa-free stay. That is the document Decree 163/2024/ND-CP, in force since 24 December 2024, accepts from foreigners for a mobile number (Vietnam Lawyers magazine, 28 December 2024). Operators may only switch a line on once the registration is complete and verified.

Since 15 April 2026, Circular 08/2026/TT-BKHCN of the Ministry of Science and Technology sets out how that check works. For foreigners, the operator compares your details with the national immigration database, and a second SIM must be confirmed with a one-time code sent to the first one (LuatVietnam, 2 April 2026). For Vietnamese citizens the check includes facial biometrics; whether operators also scan foreigners’ faces was not stated in the sources we read.

A travel eSIM bought abroad skips this process. It joins MobiFone or Vietnamobile as a foreign roaming guest and has no Vietnamese number. You install it at home on Wi-Fi with our instructions for iPhone and Android; the validity starts with the first connection in Vietnam.

Why are so many Vietnamese SIM cards blocked?

Because Vietnam has been clearing out SIMs whose owner data do not match the official records. In 2023 the then Ministry of Information and Communications found 19.6 million subscribers whose details did not match the national population database, and operators removed 12.5 million SIMs registered to someone other than the user (SGGP, 6 September 2023).

The 2026 round follows a fixed sequence. Lines that are not verified lose outgoing calls and texts first; 60 days later they are blocked both ways; five days after that the contract ends and the number returns to the pool. On 15 June 2026 VinaPhone alone had suspended outgoing service for nearly 3 million subscribers (Ha Tinh provincial government, 23 June 2026). Numbers registered with a passport before 15 April 2026 had to be verified again within 60 days (Government portal, 16 June 2026).

For a tourist this means: a SIM registered at an operator counter in your own name passes the check. A SIM that someone hands you already working, without scanning your passport, is registered to another person, and that line can be blocked at any point in the sequence above. A travel eSIM from abroad has no Vietnamese number, so these rules do not touch it.

Is a local SIM cheaper than an eSIM in Vietnam?

Yes, for anything beyond a few days. Prices as of 10 October 2026, local SIM as reported in 2023:

Local SIM: VietnamPlus, 8 May 2023, at the Vietcombank rate of 10 October 2026. POVNOMAD (standard IP), airalo.com and esim.holafly.com read on 10.10.2026. After the daily allowance, Smart and Airalo continue at 1 Mbit/s.

For a month with around 10 GB, even a local price that had tripled since 2023 would still undercut our €12.90. The eSIM leads only on a short trip with little data and on convenience: it works the moment you land and cannot be caught in a verification round. The full price table is in our Vietnam eSIM provider comparison.

One more point is the network. A local SIM lets you pick Viettel, which Opensignal rated best for coverage in 2026. Our Vietnam eSIM uses MobiFone and Vietnamobile; our Southeast Asia eSIM names Viettel. How the networks compare from Ha Long Bay to the Mekong Delta is in our guide Vietnam north to south.

How do you buy a local SIM the right way?

1. Check before the trip that your phone has no SIM lock. If the Vietnamese SIM takes your only slot, your home number goes offline, and with it the text codes from your bank.
2. Buy at a Viettel, VinaPhone or MobiFone shop or at the operator’s airport counter, with your original passport. Let the staff register the SIM in your name.
3. Do not take a SIM that already works without your passport being checked. It belongs to someone else’s registration.
4. Test mobile data before you leave and note when the package ends.

If you pay in cash, our guide to ATM fees in Vietnam shows which bank charges nothing.

When is the eSIM the better choice, and when not?

The eSIM fits a short trip with a few gigabytes, an arrival where you want Grab running before the taxi queue, and travellers who would rather not deal with registration rules that changed twice in two years. It also fits a route through Cambodia or Laos, where our Southeast Asia eSIM keeps one profile across borders.

The local SIM is the better buy for two weeks or more, for heavy use, for a Vietnamese number that Grab drivers or hotels can call, and when you want the Viettel network in the mountains. If your phone cannot take an eSIM, it is the only option.

Frequently asked questions

As of 10 October 2026. Local SIM prices from VietnamPlus (May 2023), registration rules from the sources linked above, eSIM prices from povnomad.com, airalo.com and esim.holafly.com read on 10 October 2026; dong converted at the Vietcombank transfer rate of that day. Prices and rules can change at any time.