eSIM and SIM cards in Botswana

Bring the passport to the counter

• BOCRA has required the operators to register every SIM card in Botswana. The registration is done by the network, not by the regulator, so it happens at the shop where you buy the card.
• For a foreign national the passport is the only accepted document. Orange Botswana says so on its own support page: a national ID for locals, a passport for foreigners, and nothing else.
• Until you have proved your identity the SIM does nothing. No calls in or out, no data. This is not the usual "activate within 24 hours" nudge.
• An unregistered line is suspended after 14 days and cancelled after 30. A card handed to you already working belongs to whoever registered it.

Which network, and where

• Three networks: Mascom, Orange and beMobile (BTC). All the major towns are covered, along with stretches of the national highway. Away from the tar in the Delta and the Kalahari, expect nothing.
• Cards are sold in supermarkets and at service stations, but buy from an operator's own shop if you want the registration done there and then rather than being told to come back with a passport.

eSIM

• Orange Botswana sells an eSIM, requested online or in a shop and delivered as a QR or activation code. It is the fastest route if your handset supports it, though the identity check is the same.

One rule that costs money

• Using a phone in your hand while driving carries a P300 fine. Hands-free only, which matters because navigating between towns is exactly when you will want the handset.