eSIM for Myanmar

No. We have no plan for Myanmar at the moment, and none of our regional or global plans includes it. The UK Foreign Office also says foreign mobile SIM cards do not reliably work in Myanmar, so roaming on your home plan may let you down as well.

Check official travel advice before booking anything. In its August 2026 update, the UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to large parts of the country, including Rakhine, Chin, Kachin and Sagaing. It advises against all but essential travel to most of Mandalay Region. The list also covers Kayah, Kayin, Mon and Magway, among others.

There are four national carriers. MPT is the state operator. ATOM is the former Telenor Myanmar, renamed in June 2022 after Telenor sold it, and U9 is the former Ooredoo Myanmar, renamed in September 2025. Mytel launched in 2018 and is part owned by Vietnam's Viettel and a company linked to the military.

The UK Foreign Office describes mobile coverage as good in urban areas and some rural areas, but open to disruption because the authorities have influence over the networks. Freedom House reports frequent local shutdowns, often linked to armed attacks.

Your phone itself needs registering if you stay long. The UK Foreign Office says visitors get a 30 day grace period once a device first connects to a local SIM network. After that, the IMEI must be registered on the Central Equipment Identity Register portal, or the phone is blocked from local networks. You can find your IMEI by dialling *#06#.

Since we have no plan there, a local SIM from one of the four carriers is the realistic way to get mobile data. Whatever SIM you use, it runs on the same national networks and faces the same blocks and shutdowns.

Plan as if you could lose the connection at any time. The UK Foreign Office says wifi is widely available in Yangon, in hotels and malls, but that the authorities control internet access and periodically cut it off entirely. Download maps, tickets and translation packs before you travel. Wifi is no way around this, since the control covers internet access as a whole.

Some services are blocked, including Facebook and WhatsApp, the Foreign Office says. Freedom House reports that Signal and major VPNs were blocked in mid 2024, and that a Cybersecurity Law adopted in January 2025 limits VPN providers. Set up a backup way to reach family, such as email, before you go. Payment and ride apps stop working when the connection does, so carry enough cash for a few days.

Save offline copies of your visa, bookings, hotel addresses and emergency numbers, because access can be cut off. Tell someone at home your route and when you expect to check in, and agree what they should do if they don't hear from you. Share a copy of your passport and visa with them too. The general emergency number is 999, with 199 for police, 192 for an ambulance and 191 for fire.