SIM cards & mobile phones for new arrivals in the UK
A UK number is one of the first things you need: for your bank’s verification texts, your landlord and your first job. Compare no-contract and Pay As You Go SIMs that need no credit check, eSIMs you can set up before you fly, cheap calls home and refurbished phones.
Browse providersSIM cards, eSIMs and phones for new arrivals
Every provider listed here has been reviewed by our editorial team before being featured on this page. All of them serve the whole of the UK.
8 providers listed
Built for staying in touch with family abroad. Lebara runs on the Vodafone network, every plan includes international minutes, from 100 to 500 a month depending on the plan. EU roaming is included up to 30GB, there is no credit check, and 30-day plans start at 5GB for £5 a month, with 10% off if you take a 12-month plan.
The cheapest option if you use your phone lightly. On pay as you go, 1pMobile charges 1p per MB of data, per UK minute and per UK text, or you can choose a 30-day bundle from 5GB for £5 with unlimited UK calls and texts. It runs on the EE network with 5G and roaming in 46 European destinations included, and there is no contract; you need to spend £10 every 90 days to keep your number.
Runs on the O2 network with one-month rolling plans from £6 a month, no long-term contract and no credit check. giffgaff posts SIMs to UK addresses only, but you can set up an eSIM in the giffgaff app on an unlocked phone as soon as you land. EU roaming is included up to 5GB a month, and refurbished phones are sold with a 12 to 24-month warranty.
The quickest way to be connected the moment you land. Sim Local has stores across Heathrow’s Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5 and an eSIM kiosk at Stansted, and sells UK eSIMs online that you can install before you fly. A good bridge for your first days before you choose a longer-term plan.
Vodafone’s SIM-only brand, popular with students and younger arrivals. Every plan includes endless data on social media and messaging apps, and plans from £15 a month add endless video. Plans start at £10 a month and can be changed, paused or cancelled. EU roaming is an add-on pass rather than included.
The mobile service of the Co-op, running on the EE network. SIM-only plans are 30-day rolling with no minimum term, and roaming in Europe is included, with a roaming allowance that depends on the size of your plan. A good fit if you want EE coverage and travel home to the EU regularly.
Now part of Currys and trading online, Carphone Warehouse sells new, SIM-free and refurbished phones. Refurbished handsets are listed by condition, such as Good or Excellent, so you can buy an unlocked phone outright and pair it with any no-contract SIM.
A Currys-owned phone retailer selling contract phones, SIM-only, SIM-free, refurbished and Pay As You Go. Refurbished phones are graded and come with a 12-month warranty, and cashback deals reduce the cost of contracts once you have a UK credit history.
No providers match your current filters.
Clear filters to see every provider, or
suggest a provider →
Every provider and service on this page is editorially reviewed and independently chosen by our team — in some cases a listed provider may have chosen to pay a listing fee, but that never determines who appears or how we describe them. We vet all providers carefully before listing any service or company on our platform.
Your first UK SIM: what matters when you arrive
Most people moving to the UK plan their visa, housing and bank account, and leave the SIM card until last. Then they land without signal and cannot call the letting agent or receive the verification text the new bank has just sent. A UK number is part of the basic set-up for life here, so it is worth sorting before you travel or on the day you arrive.
Three companies own the UK’s mobile networks: EE, Virgin Media O2 and VodafoneThree, which runs the Vodafone and Three networks. Most other providers, including Lebara, 1pMobile, giffgaff, VOXI and Your Co-op Mobile, rent space on one of those networks. Lebara and VOXI use Vodafone, 1pMobile and Your Co-op Mobile use EE, and giffgaff uses O2. So when you compare them, you are mostly choosing on price, flexibility and extras such as international minutes or roaming.
The most important thing to know as a new arrival is that contracts need a UK credit check, and you may well fail one in your first months. That is not because of bad credit but because you have no UK credit history yet. Start with Pay As You Go or a one-month rolling plan, which usually need no credit check; our guide to the cheapest SIM card deals in the UK compares the current no-contract options. Once you have a UK bank account, a fixed address and some months of history, a contract becomes easier to get.
Which network has the best coverage?
EE was rated the best UK network overall by RootMetrics in the first half of 2026, and it leads on 5G availability. Opensignal, which measures coverage from users’ phones, gave O2 its coverage experience award in January 2026. In London, Manchester, Birmingham and other major cities, the difference between networks is small in day-to-day use. If you are moving somewhere rural, use each network’s online coverage checker with your new postcode before you choose.
Arriving from Nigeria
Phones bought on a deal with MTN, Airtel, Glo or T2 (the network called 9mobile until August 2025) may be locked to that network, so check before you travel and ask the operator to unlock it if needed. Most modern smartphones support the bands UK networks use for 4G, including 800, 1800, 2100 and 2600 MHz. Older or very basic phones without the 800 MHz band can struggle indoors and in rural areas. For calls home, compare international rates carefully: Nigeria is not among Lebara’s included destinations, so apps such as WhatsApp over data are usually the cheapest option.
Arriving from Italy or Romania
For many people from the EU, the question is less which SIM to buy than how to keep the number from home. If your phone supports dual SIM or eSIM, you can run both: your home number stays live for family and your bank’s verification texts, and the UK SIM handles local calls and data. Lebara includes international minutes on every plan and roaming in Europe up to 30GB, which makes it a strong fit if you call home often; check its list of included countries before you buy. giffgaff is cheaper if you mainly use data, and includes EU roaming up to 5GB a month for trips back. Your Co-op Mobile, on the EE network, also includes roaming in Europe on its 30-day plans.
Arriving from India or Poland
Most phones from India and Poland work in the UK once unlocked. Lebara includes international minutes on every plan, so check its list of included countries for the one you call most. Lebara and giffgaff both include roaming in Europe, which covers trips to Poland, but roaming in India needs an add-on on most UK plans. Wherever home is, roaming rules vary widely between providers: VOXI, for example, sells a roaming pass rather than including it, so check before you travel.
eSIM: the fastest way to get connected
An eSIM is a digital SIM built into your phone, so there is no card to post or insert. You can buy a UK eSIM from Sim Local online and install it before you leave home, or set one up with giffgaff in its app. iPhones from the XR and XS onwards support eSIM, as do most recent Android flagships, but phones sold in mainland China usually do not. On a dual-SIM phone, an eSIM is also the simplest way to run a home number and a UK number side by side. Our guide to the best eSIM for the UK compares the international eSIMs you can use from the day you land.
Buying a phone on arrival
You do not need a contract to get a good phone. Refurbished handsets are inspected, graded and sold with a warranty: giffgaff offers 12 to 24 months depending on the phone, and Mobiles.co.uk offers 12 months. Carphone Warehouse, now part of Currys and trading online, also sells refurbished and SIM-free phones. If you buy second-hand from eBay, Facebook Marketplace or CeX, run an IMEI check first; a CheckMEND check costs £1.99 and shows whether a phone has been reported lost, stolen or blocked.
After six to twelve months in the UK, with a bank account and a registered address, you will usually start to qualify for contracts, which can bring a new phone and more data for a lower monthly cost. There is no need to rush. Rolling monthly and Pay As You Go SIMs are good products in their own right, and many people stay on them long after they have settled in.
More help with your first weeks in the UK
SIM & eSIM guides
Before you move
More services for life in the UK
View all categories →SIM Cards & Mobile Phones — FAQs
For most new arrivals the best first SIM is a one-month rolling or Pay As You Go plan with no credit check. giffgaff is a popular choice because it runs on O2, needs no credit check, has plans from £6 a month and lets you set up an eSIM in its app. If you call family overseas a lot, Lebara includes international minutes on every plan. You can switch to a longer contract later, once you have a UK credit history.
Yes, if your phone supports eSIM: you can buy a UK eSIM online from Sim Local and install it before you fly, and giffgaff lets you set up an eSIM in its app. giffgaff only posts physical SIMs to UK addresses, so order one in advance only if someone in the UK can receive it. Your phone needs to be unlocked for a UK SIM or eSIM to work.
Most Pay As You Go and one-month rolling SIMs do not need a credit check. giffgaff, for example, does not credit check. Contracts, and some SIM-only plans sold through retailers, do involve a credit check. New arrivals often fail these at first simply because they have no UK credit history yet, so a no-contract SIM is the usual starting point.
An eSIM is a digital SIM built into your phone, so there is no physical card to post or insert. iPhones from the XR and XS onwards support eSIM, as do most recent Android flagships, but phones sold in mainland China usually do not. giffgaff sets up eSIMs through its app, and Sim Local sells UK eSIMs you can install before you travel. Your phone must be unlocked.
Most modern smartphones will work in the UK as long as they are unlocked. If your phone was bought on a deal with MTN, Airtel, Glo or T2 (the network formerly called 9mobile), check that it is unlocked before you travel. UK 4G uses several frequency bands, including 800, 1800, 2100 and 2600 MHz. Older or very basic phones that lack the 800 MHz band can struggle indoors and in rural areas.
Yes. If your phone supports dual SIM or eSIM, you can keep your Italian SIM active alongside a UK one. Your Italian number stays live for family and for your Italian bank’s verification texts, while the UK SIM handles local calls and data. Check your Italian operator’s roaming charges for using that SIM in the UK. Lebara includes international minutes on every plan, and giffgaff includes EU roaming up to 5GB for trips back.
Lebara is a strong fit for regular calls home, because every plan includes international minutes and roaming in Europe up to 30GB for trips back; check its list of included countries for Romania. giffgaff is a cheaper option if you mainly use data, with EU roaming included up to 5GB a month. For calls over Wi-Fi or mobile data, WhatsApp and similar apps cost nothing beyond your data allowance.
giffgaff sells refurbished phones graded from Good to Like new with a 12 to 24-month warranty. Carphone Warehouse, now part of Currys, and Mobiles.co.uk both sell refurbished phones online, and Mobiles.co.uk includes a 12-month warranty. If you buy second-hand from eBay, Facebook Marketplace or CeX, run an IMEI check first: a CheckMEND check costs £1.99 and shows whether a phone has been reported lost, stolen or blocked.
Pay As You Go (PAYG) means paying in advance for your calls, texts and data, usually as a 30-day bundle with no contract. You can renew the same bundle, change it or stop at any time. Most PAYG SIMs need no credit check. A month typically costs somewhere between £4 and £20, depending on how much data you need.
It depends on your provider. Since Brexit, UK networks no longer have to include free roaming in the EU, and many charge a daily fee. giffgaff includes EU roaming up to 5GB a month, Lebara includes roaming in Europe up to 30GB, and Your Co-op Mobile includes roaming in Europe with an allowance that depends on your plan. VOXI, by contrast, sells a European Roaming Pass from £2.60 a day. Outside Europe, most plans charge for roaming, so check before you travel.
Three companies own the UK’s mobile networks: EE, Virgin Media O2 and VodafoneThree, which runs the Vodafone and Three networks. EE was rated the best UK network overall by RootMetrics in the first half of 2026, while Opensignal gave O2 its coverage experience award in January 2026. In major cities the difference is small. If you are moving somewhere rural, check the coverage checker of each network for your postcode.
Most phones from India and Poland work in the UK once unlocked, so check this before you travel. For calls home, Lebara includes international minutes on every plan, from 100 to 500 a month, so check its list of included countries for Poland or India. Lebara and giffgaff both include roaming in Europe, which covers trips to Poland; roaming in India needs an add-on on most UK plans.
List your service in our Living directory
Networks, SIM-only providers, eSIM specialists and phone retailers that serve new arrivals in the UK are welcome to apply.
Apply for a listingThis page was last updated on 26 October 2026.