eSIM and SIM cards in Cyprus

If you have an EU plan, stop reading

• Roam-like-at-home applies. A SIM from any EU or EEA country works here at your domestic rates, with your domestic allowance. Buying anything local is money wasted.
• UK plans are not covered any more. Several UK networks reintroduced EU roaming charges after Brexit - check yours before you land rather than after.

The northern roaming trap

• The Republic of Cyprus is in the EU, so roam-like-at-home applies in the south.
• The north is not, and phones there connect to Turkish Cypriot or Turkish networks at non-EU roaming rates.
• This happens automatically near the buffer zone, including in parts of Nicosia, where your phone can pick up a northern mast without you crossing anywhere.
• Turn off data roaming before you go near the Green Line, or cap it - this is one of the more expensive surprises available in Europe.

Local prepaid SIM

• Cyta and Epic cover the south and coverage is complete.
• Prepaid packs are sold at the airports and in every town.
• Bring your passport.

eSIM

• An eSIM is live before you land and skips the shop entirely, which on a short trip is the whole argument for it.
• Check your phone takes one. Most flagship phones since 2019 do; most budget models do not.

Practical points

• Keep your home number reachable for two-factor codes. If you swap in a local SIM as your only card, bank apps that text a code to your home number stop working at the worst possible moment. A dual-SIM phone, or an eSIM alongside your home SIM, solves it.
• Wi-fi is widespread in cafes, hotels and stations.