Expect an identity check for an Afghan SIM
Afghanistan's communications ministry describes a system under which SIMs are sold inactive and activated after the operator receives registration records. That ministry notice is old, so it should not be used as a complete description of today's paperwork. A later ministry statement says the sale of unregistered SIMs is unacceptable. Allow time for an operator to record your documents and test the activated number before leaving its shop.
For a foreign visitor, carry the original passport and ask the intended operator exactly what identity evidence it requires. The accessible ministry notice establishes registration, but does not give a current foreign-visitor document list, fees or an airport-counter guarantee. Do not buy an apparently active card from an unofficial street seller on the assumption that somebody else's registration will be acceptable. Keep the assigned number and the shop's support route after purchase.
The ministry's operator directory has a historical entry for Etisalat, but it is not a real-time network or shop list. Roshan's own site gives a separate current purchase route. Compare a usable voice line with a data-only option if local calls or SMS are needed for a host or driver.
Read Roshan's bundle period and allowance separately
Roshan's internet-plan catalogue lists monthly bundles from 900 MB to 50 GB and also presents shorter-term offers on its home page. The home page highlights a 9.5 GB monthly bundle, a 4.5 GB daily bundle and a 1.5 GB hourly bundle at the time of checking. Those are very different clocks: an hourly bundle does not cover a multi-day journey, while a month-long allowance may be unnecessary for a short stay in Kabul. Inspect the plan details and activation confirmation for its exact validity and any special conditions before buying.
The catalogue shows numeric prices beside the monthly volumes (for example 90 for 900 MB and 1799 for 50 GB), but the listing does not label the currency on each row. Do not treat a bare number as a final price without checking the current purchase screen or asking Roshan. The operator promotes its My Roshan app for buying bundles, topping up and checking live usage. Download it and create any required account while a trusted connection is available; keep another method to recharge if an app login cannot be completed.
Roshan's contact page lists 333 as its domestic customer-care number. A new local line should be tested for a call, an SMS and a small data transfer before relying on the app's data balance. Save the number and the support contact offline for a later top-up or a lost profile.
Confirm how Roshan issues a local eSIM
Roshan displays an eSIM promotion on its own site and states a fee of 110 AFN for issuing a new eSIM and 60 AFN for converting an existing SIM to an eSIM. The accessible panel did not explain a foreign visitor's verification path or name outlets with immediate stock. Confirm with Roshan whether it can issue a new local number to a visitor, along with the identity check and collection method, before making eSIM the only arrival plan.
A phone must support eSIM and be free of a carrier lock to use a different network. Apple's international eSIM advice explains how to check an iPhone's carrier-lock setting and choose which of two lines handles data. Install a profile with reliable internet, retain the QR code or operator instructions, and test calls and data before moving away from the issuing point. A data-only travel eSIM should not be assumed to give an Afghan number or ordinary calling service.
If keeping a home number active for authentication messages, select the Afghan line for mobile data and review the home line's roaming charges. The phone setting matters as much as the purchased allowance when crossing from another country: a home SIM may otherwise resume chargeable data roaming.
Do not infer district coverage from Kabul
The ministry's Etisalat directory entry describes a footprint in provinces and districts, but its figures are historical company information rather than current independent measurements. It does not establish reception at an address in Bamiyan, Ghor or another mountain district. Ask the operator and a host which network currently works at the exact property, including inside the building, rather than treating a provincial capital as a coverage promise.
UK travel advice describes hazardous road travel, volatile border crossings and possible winter snowfall or avalanches. These conditions affect whether a phone can be recharged or a data package topped up during a long move. Ask about the next road segment and agreed arrival contact before departing Kabul or a regional centre. A shop or customer-care number at the starting point may be easier to use than an unknown counter after dark.
Where communications are critical, download maps, addresses and tickets ahead of each move. Retain a voice-capable number that has been tested at the next stop, and agree on a fallback meeting point if messaging fails. A second network can help only where that network has service and the phone supports its SIM format.
UK travel advice also says the Taliban have blocked, significantly slowed or shut down landline, internet and mobile services without warning in the past, nationwide or in particular areas. It advises travellers not to rely on mobile data, non-Afghan mobile apps or international calls for personal safety, and to keep an alternative means of communication and navigation.
Check roaming and border arrangements before movement
A foreign home line may connect through a roaming partner, but its provider controls the price and included services. Confirm Afghanistan by name with that provider, including partner network, allowance, validity and whether incoming calls cost extra. Keep data roaming off on a costly home line until its terms are clear. A network name appearing in a phone's search list does not establish that the home subscription can use it.
UK travel advice says border crossings can close at short notice and advises against all travel in Afghanistan. A mobile plan cannot solve a closed crossing or replace current route advice. Download key documents and contact numbers before approaching a border, and do not depend on being able to buy or activate a SIM immediately after crossing. If a foreign eSIM has a regional label, verify that Afghanistan itself appears in its destination list.
For a British passport holder, the UK entry page says a visa is required and that the Afghan embassy in London is closed. Travellers of other nationalities should use their own authoritative entry source. Keep travel-document and phone-registration questions separate: a valid visa does not activate a SIM.
Keep emergency calling independent of data
UK government guidance lists 119 for police in Afghanistan. Its health page lists 102 for the ambulance service in Kabul and says each province has a separate emergency number. It also warns that public ambulance services are limited. Save the appropriate provincial contact, the accommodation address and an insurer or medical provider number before leaving an area with a working connection.
An eSIM sold for data alone does not establish ordinary voice calling or a reachable Afghan number. Keep a working voice line and check a non-emergency call on the actual handset. Do not place a test call to an emergency service. In Kabul, save the 102 number alongside the address rather than assuming a data app will dispatch medical help. Outside Kabul, ask a local host or practitioner which direct number and transport are available.
The UK government has no in-country embassy operation and says its ability to help British nationals is severely limited. This makes offline copies of contacts and an agreed communication plan especially useful. Our Afghanistan plan page can be compared as a data option, with voice arrangements checked separately.
Networks our Afghanistan plans use
These are the operators named on our plans for Afghanistan, taken from the plan data, so the list follows the catalogue.
- Afghan Wireless Communication Company (AWCC)4G
- AWCC4G
- Roshan4G