How to get UK SIM card for international students?

With Remigos, you can easily order a pay-as-you-go Lebara UK SIM card in India . The pricing plans start from 10 GBP per month. At Remigos, you will get the best SIM UK for data use. There are many SIM cards in UK that come with unlimited 4G and 5G coverage.

Which SIM is best for students in the UK?

GiffGaff This is definitely the best SIM card in UK as with unlimited calls, one can be in touch with their peers as and when they want. GiffGaff is also the best SIM card in UK for students, with data of 35GB at just a cost of £15.

Can I buy a UK SIM card in the US?

Buy a UK SIM card in the USA. Even if you are in the USA, buying a UK prepaid SIM card is possible before you arrive in the country . You can find online providers such as Amazon, Simify, My UK SIM card, and Simcorner, which sell UK SIM cards from local carriers but with delivery in the USA.

Can foreigners buy SIM card in UK?

Expats arriving in the United Kingdom have a choice when it comes to phones. They can choose either a prepaid SIM card or a mobile phone contract . If your phone is unlocked and compatible with the local network, you have the freedom to choose an operator.

Is EE or Vodafone better?

In terms of 5G, a 2022 study by RootMetrics found EE to be the fastest network in the UK . In fact, EE consistently comes out as one of the speediest 5G networks, along with Three. Vodafone is no slacker, either. In the same tests carried out by RootMetrics, it finished second behind EE for 5G speeds.

What's better, Vodafone or O2?

O2 wins out in our head to head, but only narrowly . The phones available and perks that are on offer are broadly comparable, but O2 edges things when it comes to price and, crucially, roaming. While O2 still offers inclusive roaming to 49 EU destinations, Vodafone only does so for those on premium plans.

Can international students get a phone contract UK?

In order to set up a contract, you will need to have a UK bank account registered to your UK address . Often you will need to show proof of your UK address - usually in the form of a bank statement, credit card statement or utility bill (electricity, gas, water, telephone).

How much does an UK SIM card cost?

How much is a UK sim card? Prices for UK sim cards vary depending on the operator and the type of plan. You can find prepaid 30 day sim cards with limited data for just £5 . However, some 30 day pay monthly plans with unlimited data from major mobile networks can cost as much as £47 a month⁴.

Can international students get UK student bank account?

Do UK banks offer accounts specifically for international students? Yes, some banks do offer accounts especially designed for the needs of international students , but these normally come with a monthly operating fee.

How do I get a SIM card at the UK airport?

You'll collect your SIM from the WeKnow welcome desks located in every arrivals terminal at Heathrow and our friendly staff will set up and activate your SIM card for you to make sure you're connected from the get go.

The best SIM plans for students in the UK this January (2024)

Image: Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

If you’re a student, you’re unlikely to have loads of money to spare.

Spending a significant chunk of your disposable income on a phone contract certainly isn’t ideal, but luckily there’s an alternative.

Provided you can afford the cost of the device itself (consider opting for a budget or mid-range phone rather than a flagship), you can save a lot of money on your phone bill with a SIM-only deal. What’s more, being at university makes you eligible for special discounts from a whole host of phone retailers and networks.

There are currently some great SIM deals available, which offer a lot of data for not much money and often include additional perks.

If you’re a parent looking for a SIM-only plan for your child, see the best SIM-only plans for kids.

If you spend your time glued to your social media feed, you’ll want a SIM plan that can keep up. We recommend the following:

If you’re a big social media user, Voxi’s plans are hands-down the best option for you. Its Unlimited Social, Unlimited Music and Unlimited Video benefits allow access to a variety of services without eating into data allowances.

Best student SIM-only deals with lots of data

If you want a more generous data plan instead, Three has some of the most competitive data deals.

Best plan right now: Right now, students (with an ac.uk email address) can get unlimited data on a 24-month contract for just £20 per month. The 12-month plan is only slightly more expensive at £21.60 per month, while the one-month version costs £24 per month.

Anyone can also get up to £80 in cash by referring a friend to Three.

Smarty, which uses the Three network is offering unlimited data for just £20 per month for anyone.This includes unrestricted mobile hotspot, if you’d like to use your mobile data as a Wi-Fi replacement.

Smarty’s other benefit, unlike Three, is you can cancel at any time – all are one-month rolling plans.

Another thing which sets Smarty apart from rivals is that its Data Discount Plans give you money towards your next month’s bill for any unused data at the end of the month.

Best cheap SIM plans for students

You may not really care about having a large data plan, especially if you spend more time using Wi-Fi. In fact, a few GB per month might be just enough to get you through when away from home. If this sounds like you, there are a few affordable SIM plans we’d recommend:

Tesco Mobile (O2) has a range of affordable SIM deals, starting at £7.50 per month for 2GB of data. Tesco’s SIM-only plans allow you to collect extra Clubcard Points too, where every 150 points add up to £1.50 vouchers to spend on groceries and more, so it’s perfect for students.

Best plan right now: Get 100GB data for £16 per month with a Clubcard (24-month contract), plus free £30 Clubcard voucher

Lebara Mobile (Vodafone) has some of the most affordable SIM plans around. 30-day plans start £5 per month for 5GB of data, or £4.50 per month if you’re willing to commit to a 24-month contract. You also get at least 100 international minutes to countries outside the EU, making it ideal for international students in the UK, while roaming is free in India and Europe.

Best plan right now: Get 20GB of data for £5 per month for three months, then £10 per month

The best SIM plans for students in the UK this January (9)

Giffgaff (O2) offers various low-cost data plans. Its cheapest plan has 2GB of data for £6 on a monthly rolling contract.

But if you’re willing to commit to an 18-month contract, there’s even better value for money. You can currently get 500GB of data for £20 for the first six months of your contract, after which it’s 120GB.

1pMobile operates somewhat differently from other contract providers. The service runs on EE’s network and, as the name suggests, it only charges 1p for your usage per minute, per text or per MBs of data with 5G connectivity. Start with a £10 top-up for 25GB of data on a 30-day plan, and cancel anytime.

Best phone & contract discounts for university students

EE student discount

EE offers a 20% student discount along with a 500MB safety net each month. That’s half a GB of free data every month just to keep you from going over your data plan, and 20% off your monthly tariff, every month.

You can also get six months of Apple Music for free. This deal is available to new and existing customers. You’ll need a voucher code fromStudent Beans to get the offer.

If you’re an EE customer you’ll just need to log in, see your upgrade options, and enter your student discount code at check out. New customers can just pick a phone or SIM deal and use the student discount code you receive at the checkout.

O2 student discount

Like EE,O2’s student program gives you a 20% discount on your plan. The catch is that the discount only applies to the Airtime plan, which includes your calls, texts and data – not your Device Plan. The latter is the monthly cost of your device (O2’s monthly plans are a total combination of these two bills).

But the 20% discount also applies to accessories.

To get the O2 student discount, you’ll have to sign into Unidays or Totum to get your discount code. Then buy the phone specifically on the O2 Refresh tariff and add your discount code. If you forget to add your code, sign in to UNiDAYS, get a ‘stores code’ and text it to 61202.

You can find all the info on the student mobile phone deals on the O2 website, including how to redeem your discount in-store.

Vodafone student discounts

Vodafone’s student discount program gets you 10% off monthly airtime plans, tablet plans and SIM-only plans. However, you’ll need to make sure that you’re attending a participating university – see the full list.

After you buy aVodafone monthly plan, fill out the onlinediscount form to apply for the student discount.

Three student discounts

Three is straight to the point with itsstudent contract deals. You can get up to 20% off selected phones, laptops and tablets, or unlimited data for £20 per month (for 24 months). See Three’s student plans.

Looking for more general advice? See our guides to the best SIM-only deals and best UK phone networks.