Middle East eSIM

This eSIM covers Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Israel and Iraq on one line, using STC in Saudi Arabia, Ooredoo in Qatar and Kuwait, four Israeli networks and Asiacell in Iraq. It does not cover the United Arab Emirates, so a Dubai stopover on the way to Umrah needs a UAE eSIM or the Global plan.

What 10 days in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait costs

A typical Gulf trip: 10 days across Riyadh or Jeddah, Doha and Kuwait City. Prices checked on 2–3 November 2026. Daily passes charge each day you use the phone abroad, per phone.

For a couple on Verizon, that's $240 for the 10 days. The local SIMs cost less, but you queue and register three times, and in a single-SIM phone your home number is out of the phone the whole trip.

Landing at Jeddah, Doha, Kuwait, Tel Aviv or Baghdad

Switch the kimsim line on as the plane taxis to the gate, with Data Roaming on for that line only. Do the visa forms at home on Wi-Fi.

• Jeddah (JED) and Madinah (MED): most pilgrims land at Jeddah, which has its own Hajj Terminal; the Haramain railway station is at Terminal 1. British citizens need a visa, such as the tourist e-visa, and Hajj needs its own.
• Doha (DOH): on a layover you don't need data. The terminal has free #HIAQatar Wi-Fi for up to four hours at a time, so keep the eSIM off until your real destination. If you're staying, the Doha Metro Red Line starts at Terminal 1.
• Kuwait (KWI): 15.5 km south of Kuwait City. The UK Foreign Office says flights currently use Terminals 4 and 5, with Terminal 1 closed. British citizens can get a visa on arrival or online, and need an onward ticket and a hotel booking.
• Tel Aviv (TLV): get Israel's Electronic Travel Authorisation online before you fly. Ben Gurion gives you an entry card instead of a passport stamp; keep it with your passport. The station under Terminal 3 has trains to Tel Aviv in 15–20 minutes and to Jerusalem in under 25.
• Baghdad (BGW) and Erbil (EBL): Iraq no longer gives visit visas on arrival. Apply on the government e-visa portal at least 24 hours ahead; the Kurdistan Region has its own e-visa, valid there only. Baghdad's airport is about 16 km west of the city.

The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to the Kurdistan Region and much of Iraq, against all travel to some areas of Iraq and Israel, and warns that airspace across the region can close at short notice. Check its advice and your insurance before you book, and keep your airline's app working, because rebooking messages arrive there first.

Networks and coverage

This plan uses one network in most of its countries: STC in Saudi Arabia, Ooredoo in Qatar, Ooredoo in Kuwait and Asia Cell, also written Asiacell, in Iraq. Israel has four: Partner, Hot Mobile, Pelephone and Cellcom. Your phone shows that operator's name, not kimsim.

Some names have changed. Ooredoo Kuwait was called Wataniya, and Partner traded as Orange in Israel until 2016. Kuwait's other networks, Zain and stc, and Iraq's Zain and Korek aren't used by this plan. Kuwait and Iraq run on 4G here; the other three have 5G.

Israel switched off its 2G and 3G networks at the end of 2025, so phones there need 4G with VoLTE calling. Your data is 4G or 5G anyway, but an older phone may struggle to make normal calls on your home line.

Coverage is generally strong in the cities and thins in open desert, such as Saudi Arabia's Empty Quarter, Qatar's Inland Sea and Israel's Negev.

The Foreign Office says Israel's Home Front Command website is available in Israel only, so use the Home Front Command app instead.

The networks your plan uses are listed above.

Country by country

• Saudi Arabia: for Hajj 2026 the regulator reported more than 6,000 towers serving Makkah, Madinah and the holy sites. Data still slows around the two mosques at prayer times, so open your Nusuk permit at the hotel.
• Qatar: Doha, Lusail and the main highways are well covered. Download an offline map before a dune trip to the Inland Sea.
• Kuwait: Kuwait City and the coast are compact and city-covered, all on one 4G network.
• Israel: Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa are well covered on four networks. For desert trips, the Foreign Office advises going with others and taking a mobile phone.
• Iraq: Asiacell started in Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan Region and has held a nationwide licence since 2005. On Arbaeen, millions of pilgrims walk from Najaf to Karbala, so expect very slow data on the route. The Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to both provinces, and warns of curfews around pilgrimages.
• Not on this plan: the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan and Egypt. Add a UAE eSIM, Bahrain eSIM, Jordan eSIM or Egypt eSIM, or check the Global plan, which covers the UAE, Oman, Jordan and Egypt but not Iraq or Bahrain.

This is general guidance, not a coverage map. If your signal is weak, check your network settings.

Trains, borders and causeways

• Saudi Arabia: the Haramain High Speed Railway links Makkah and Madinah via Jeddah in about two hours. The Riyadh Metro has run all six lines since January 2025.
• Saudi Arabia to Qatar by road: the crossing is at Abu Samra, and both sides are on this plan.
• Saudi Arabia to Bahrain: the 25 km King Fahd Causeway from Khobar takes you off the plan.
• Israel to Jordan or Egypt: the Allenby, Jordan River and Wadi Araba crossings lead to Jordan, and Taba near Eilat to Egypt. Petra and Sinai are off the plan.
• Israel by train: check times in Moovit. Some lines, including Nahariya, don't run from Friday evening to Saturday evening.
• Kuwait to Iraq by road: the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to Basra province, including the Safwan crossing. Most visitors fly.

Apps worth having

• Nusuk: Umrah permits and Rawdah slots. Create the account at home.
• Rides: Careem works in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq, but not Qatar or Israel. Uber covers Riyadh and Doha. In Israel, Gett books taxis and Moovit plans buses and trains. Israeli buses use the Rav-Kav smart card.
• Food: Talabat delivers in Kuwait and Qatar.
• Israel Home Front Command: the official alerts app, in English, warns you by location, and tells you alerts won't arrive while you're offline. The Foreign Office says to follow Home Front Command instructions. Install it before you fly and keep your data on.
• Sign up for these at home, because most send a text code to your usual number.

Calling apps, country by country

• Saudi Arabia: FaceTime, Skype and several other apps have worked since September 2017, but WhatsApp calls were left out. Users reported them working from February 2025, with no official announcement. Treat them as unreliable, with FaceTime as the backup.
• Qatar: the regulator's VoIP policy lets anyone use internet calls for their own use, and it has warned about scam calls arriving on WhatsApp, so those calls do connect.
• Kuwait: we found no official ban. A September 2023 report said Kuwait planned to block WhatsApp calls, and we found no announcement that it happened.
• Israel and Iraq: we found no rule restricting calling apps. In Iraq the bigger problem is the exam-day shutdowns: on 2 June 2026 the internet went off nationwide from 6:00 to 7:30. The second round, to 12 September, cut it for about 50 minutes each morning.

We haven't tested calling apps on our plans in these countries. Your eSIM is data only, with no phone number, so keep your home line on for normal calls and texts. Keep your WhatsApp number working abroad

SIM rules in five countries

A local SIM in each country is a new number registered to you, and the checks differ. In Saudi Arabia, stc says you must visit a branch on arrival to activate a visitor line, and visitor SIMs have needed your passport, visa and fingerprints. In Qatar, expect a passport scan and a live selfie. In Kuwait, Israel and Iraq, expect to show your passport too.

A kimsim eSIM is a foreign line roaming as a visitor, so none of these counters apply, and your home SIM stays in the phone.

Common mistakes

• Assuming Dubai is included. The UAE isn't on this plan, nor are Bahrain and Oman. How regional plans work
• Starting the plan on a Doha layover. Qatar is on this plan, so it starts there if it connects. Keep it off until you land where your trip begins. If your plan started early
• Leaving Data Roaming on for your home line. That's where daily charges like those in the table start, and Iraq isn't on many home carriers' passes at all. Why roaming goes on for the kimsim line only
• Booking Umrah in the Hajj pause. In 2026, Umrah permits were suspended from 18 April to 31 May.
• No way to call for help. Emergency numbers are 911 in Saudi Arabia, 999 in Qatar, 112 in Kuwait, 100 for police and 101 for an ambulance in Israel, and 911 for police and 122 for an ambulance in Iraq. A data-only eSIM can't dial them, so use your home line or a local phone.

More on the Middle East

• How much data do I need for a week abroad?
• eSIM vs roaming: which is cheaper for your trip?
• Does WhatsApp work with a travel eSIM? Keep your number

How we put this page together

We checked carriers' roaming price pages, operators' visitor SIM pages, the UK Foreign Office's advice for each country, regulators' statements, shutdown records and the other sources noted above on 1–3 November 2026, many of them first gathered for our Saudi Arabia and Qatar pages. The country list and networks come from the plan itself. We haven't measured speeds or coverage ourselves, and we haven't tested calling apps or Iraq's shutdowns on our plans, so coverage notes are general guidance, not a map. kimsim sells the eSIMs on this page.