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Turkey restricted foreign eSIM sellers. Here is what still works.
The regulator's order knocked several international brands offline for travellers. What changed, who is affected, and how to stay connected legally.
If your travel eSIM stopped working on landing in Istanbul, you are not alone. Turkey's telecom regulator moved against international eSIM sellers operating without a local licence, and travellers found several well-known brands had gone dark on arrival.
The order targets how a seller connects, not eSIM technology itself. Plans that connect through licensed Turkish network agreements keep working exactly as before. Plans routed through unlicensed foreign arrangements are the ones travellers found blocked mid-trip.
What it means in practice: check that your provider states licensed Turkcell or Vodafone TR connectivity before you buy, install the eSIM over Wi-Fi before you fly, and expect the airport counters to quote steep prices to stranded arrivals who did neither.
SimFuse Turkey plans connect through licensed local network agreements and are not affected. Install before departure and the eSIM connects at the gate, with your home number still live on WhatsApp.
Staying longer than a holiday? Turkey separately blocks unregistered foreign phones after 120 days in the country. Tourists and family visits under four months are unaffected; longer stays need an IMEI registration, which we explain on the Turkey page.
Germans search for a Turkey eSIM more than 22,000 times a month, the highest of any destination we track (Semrush, August 2026).
Planes de Turquía en este momento
En directo desde el catálogo de SimFuse, en tu moneda. Precios comprobados el 2 de noviembre de 2026.
Ver todos los planes de TurquíaPonlo en marcha
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