A physical passport is legally required to buy any Italian SIM under the 2005 Pisanu anti-terrorism law. Vodafone's tourist tiers start at €14.95/month and TIM's 200GB Tourist plan is €14.99 plus a €10 SIM fee, per the operators' own sites; WindTre and Iliad's tourist pricing changes often enough to check directly rather than quote a fixed figure.
- A physical passport is legally required to buy any Italian SIM. Digital scans and photocopies are not sufficient under the 2005 anti-terrorism law.
- Vodafone's Dolce Vita 200 is the best local value at €14.95 for 200 GB over 30 days with no separate SIM fee - TIM and WindTre add €10.00 or €11.00 for the card.
- Iliad's automated Simboxes scan your passport and dispense a SIM in ten minutes, which avoids the counter queue entirely.
- Buy from corporate-branded stores, not third-party stalls, which resell the same packages with activation markups of €5.00 to €15.00.
- Under 7 days and no need for a local number? A Saily eSIM at $12.99 for 5 GB bypasses the passport check and works on landing.
SIM and eSIM: what to buy immediately after arrival
Under Italy's Pisanu Law (Anti-Terrorism Decree of 2005), buying and activating any local mobile connection requires identity verification against a physical, valid passport - a digital scan or photocopy is not sufficient. A pre-activated international eSIM bypasses this check and works the moment you land, but it is data-only, has no local number, and usually costs more per gigabyte than a local SIM.
What the operators actually sell (checked directly on their own sites)
- Vodafone - the "Dolce Vita" tourist range on Vodafone's own site lists tiers starting at €14.95/month, rising to €19.95 and €24.95 for larger allowances; confirm the current GB figure for each tier when you buy, since Vodafone revises the range periodically.
- TIM - "TIM Tourist" is €14.99 for 200 GB in 5G, valid 30 days, plus a €10.00 SIM card fee, per TIM's own tourist-offer page.
- WindTre - WindTre's own tourist-offer page currently advertises a base tourist SIM at a low monthly access fee with pay-per-GB top-ups, alongside higher fixed-data bundles; the exact current tier and price change often enough that it is worth checking windtre.it directly rather than trusting a fixed figure here.
- Iliad - sold via automated in-store "Simboxes" that scan a passport and dispense a SIM in minutes; Iliad does not run a separate "tourist" product, so you buy whatever its standard plan lineup currently offers - check iliad.it for the live price and data allowance.
- International eSIM (e.g. Saily, Holafly) - data-only, no passport check, works on landing; useful for short trips or as a backup, generally worse value per GB than a local SIM for anything beyond about a week.
Where exactly to buy
At Rome Fiumicino, official TIM and Vodafone retail outlets sit in the Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 arrivals halls. At Milan Malpensa, official operator kiosks are in the Terminal 1 arrivals hall. Buy from these corporate-branded stores or from Iliad's automated Simboxes rather than third-party multi-brand stalls, which resell the same packages with an activation markup.
Brief verdict
Under a week and don't need a local number: an eSIM bought before departure avoids any queue. Longer stays or heavy data use: a local SIM from an official Vodafone, TIM or WindTre store, or an Iliad Simbox, is better value - compare the operators' own current tourist pages before buying, since prices and data allowances change over the year.
Comments
No comments yet. Share the first one.
Share a tip
Sign in to continue.