Uzbekistan plans a free tourist eSIM, but it is not ready to buy yet

August 7, 2026. Uzbekistan's Tourism Committee and mobile operator Mobiuz have agreed to add a tourist eSIM with a complimentary internet package to the country's Unified National Tourism Platform. The stated goal is useful: let an international visitor arrange mobile data before entering Uzbekistan and get online soon after arrival.

The service is not presented as a live product yet. Neither party has published an order page, launch date, data allowance, validity period, price after the free package, phone-number details, hotspot rule or device list. Mobiuz says the partners will work through the technical details and implement the projects in stages.

The practical answer: do not plan an imminent trip around the free tourist eSIM yet. It is a confirmed government-operator project, not a checkout-ready offer. A current Uzbekistan Roaming eSIM is the more dependable pre-arrival choice when you need disclosed data, validity, price and network details before departure.

What Uzbekistan and Mobiuz actually announced

The Tourism Committee announcement, published on July 8, says the committee and Mobiuz agreed to provide an eSIM with a free internet package to foreign tourists through the national tourism platform. The parties also signed a memorandum and said implementation and technical work would proceed in stages.

Mobiuz published its corresponding announcement on July 9. It adds one important point: travelers are expected to be able to obtain the eSIM through the platform before arriving in Uzbekistan. Mobiuz gives maps, taxi booking and reservations as examples of what that arrival connection could support.

This is part of a wider tourism digitization plan rather than an isolated mobile promotion. A presidential decree published in November 2025 describes a national tourism platform and app intended to combine a tourist eSIM, temporary-stay registration, itinerary planning, transport booking, attraction tickets and digital guides.

The July agreement confirms Mobiuz as the operator working on the eSIM component. It does not confirm that the whole platform, or this eSIM feature, is currently available to every foreign visitor.

Is Uzbekistan's free tourist eSIM available now?

There is no verifiable public purchase path as of August 7. The two July announcements use future-facing language and describe technical implementation as ongoing. They do not link to a tourist eSIM checkout, app screen, terms page or redemption process.

Mobiuz's current online eSIM connection page does not fill that gap. It says the online connection service is available only to citizens of Uzbekistan and requires the desktop version of the site. That is a different service from the planned foreign-tourist offer.

Search results also surface a Mobiuz Tourist SIM page. It sits in the operator's archive and describes an office-based passport process, 100MB for seven days and paid add-ons. An archived tariff is not proof that the new platform eSIM is live or that it will use the same allowance.

Before relying on the free offer, look for all three of these on an official Mobiuz or Tourism Committee page:

1. A working foreign-tourist order or redemption link.
2. Published terms covering data, validity, activation and identity checks.
3. Confirmation that your phone and itinerary qualify.

If any of the three is missing, carry a separate data plan and save the hotel address, first transfer and booking details offline.

What remains unknown about the Mobiuz tourist offer

"Free internet package" is the only allowance description in the announcement. It does not answer the questions that determine whether the offer can cover a real trip.

The absence of those details does not make the project unreliable. It means travelers cannot yet compare it fairly with a live plan.

Planned Mobiuz tourist eSIM vs Roaming eSIM today

The useful comparison is not "free versus paid." There is no published free allowance to value yet. The current choice is between waiting for an unfinished public service and buying a plan whose terms can be checked now.

🏆 Roaming eSIM wins for a trip happening now: it can be selected before departure, its package terms are visible, and it offers a country plan plus regional choices for a wider Central Asia route. The planned Mobiuz offer could become the better value for an eligible Uzbekistan-only visitor once the free allowance and full terms are published.

This is an availability and transparency advantage, not a claim that Roaming eSIM will always be cheaper or faster. Mobiuz may eventually provide a local number or a useful free allowance. Those benefits cannot be credited before the operator publishes them.

For a single-country trip, start with the Uzbekistan Roaming eSIM. If the route continues into Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan or another neighboring country, compare the included destinations on the Central Asia 4 Areas, Central Asia 5 Areas and Asia 20 Areas cards. Similar names do not guarantee the same country list.

How the tourism platform could handle identity and IMEI rules

The broader government plan says the tourism platform may connect a tourist eSIM and temporary-stay registration by integrating information collected at the border, with the visitor's consent. The July Mobiuz announcement does not explain what a traveler will have to scan, upload or approve.

That distinction matters because Uzbekistan separates the SIM account from the phone's IMEI registration. The current UZIMEI guidance says a device using a local operator's SIM must be registered within 30 calendar days of the first local-network event. It separately lists foreign-SIM roaming use as free of the registration charge. The site also says registration is tied to the device and remains valid when the SIM changes.

The new platform offer may automate part of that process, but the public terms do not yet say whether the tourist profile will be treated as a local Mobiuz subscription, a roaming profile or another arrangement. Travelers should not infer an exemption from the word "eSIM."

For a short visit, check the latest UZIMEI rule and the final tourist product terms before paying any registration fee. For a longer stay or a return with the same phone, keep the import and registration records. If a seller asks for a passport, use an official operator or government channel rather than sending identity documents to an unverified intermediary.

What travelers should do before a 2026 Uzbekistan trip

If you are leaving soon

Choose a connection that can be installed and checked before the flight. Confirm that the phone is unlocked and supports eSIM, then read the selected package's activation rule. Our phone compatibility checker and installation timing guide cover those two checks.

Keep enough Wi-Fi or home-network access to complete installation. Save the hotel address, airport transfer, first train ticket and a map of the arrival area offline. A live plan can still fail because of a device setting, local coverage or a delayed network registration.

If your trip is later in 2026

Recheck the Tourism Committee and Mobiuz announcements for a linked order page and terms. Do not rely on a social post or search ad that uses the phrase "free Uzbekistan eSIM" without linking back to an official service. A legitimate launch should explain eligibility, allowance, expiry, identity checks, support and what happens after the free data is used.

If you need an Uzbek phone number

Wait for the Mobiuz product terms or buy a verified local tourist SIM that explicitly includes a number. A data-only Roaming eSIM supports internet-based calls and messages, but it does not replace a local number for services that insist on Uzbek SMS. The calls and SMS guide explains how to keep the usual SIM active alongside a data line.

If you are crossing Central Asia

Do not choose an Uzbekistan-only offer solely because the first allowance is free. Compare the full route. One regional Roaming eSIM can be simpler than installing a separate profile at each border, provided every destination is listed on the selected card. Our country versus regional eSIM guide explains when that tradeoff makes sense.

Questions travelers are asking about the Uzbekistan tourist eSIM

Is the free Mobiuz tourist eSIM available now?

No public foreign-tourist order path or terms page was available when this story was checked on August 7, 2026. The official announcements describe a staged implementation.

How much free data will visitors receive?

The Tourism Committee and Mobiuz say only that the eSIM will include a complimentary internet package. They have not published the allowance or validity.

Will I be able to install it before arriving in Uzbekistan?

That is the stated plan. Mobiuz says the future eSIM can be obtained through the national tourism platform before arrival, but the actual installation and activation steps are not live.

Will the eSIM include an Uzbek phone number?

The announcement does not say. Do not assume it includes carrier calls, SMS or a local number until the terms explicitly list them.

Will I need a passport or border-data check?

The wider tourism-platform policy refers to border information and visitor consent. The exact foreign-tourist identity flow has not been published.

Do tourists need to register their phone's IMEI?

The answer depends on how the SIM profile is classified and how long it is used. UZIMEI currently distinguishes local-operator SIM use from foreign-SIM roaming. Check its current guidance and the final Mobiuz terms.

Can I use hotspot with the free package?

Hotspot and tethering are not mentioned. Treat them as unsupported until the product terms confirm otherwise.

Will it work in Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva?

The announcement makes no route-level coverage promise. Check the final network terms and Mobiuz coverage map, and download maps before rural, desert or mountain travel.

What if my phone does not support eSIM?

The planned service will not add eSIM hardware to a phone. Use a physical local tourist SIM or your home carrier's roaming if the device is incompatible or locked.

Is Roaming eSIM better than waiting for the free offer?

For an imminent trip, yes on the facts available today: Roaming eSIM has a live purchase path, disclosed plan sizes and validity, country and regional choices, and published 24/7 support. Recompare once Mobiuz publishes the free allowance and complete terms.

Sources and updates

The agreement, complimentary package and pre-arrival intention were checked against the separate Tourism Committee and Mobiuz announcements. The platform scope was checked against the presidential decree. IMEI wording was checked against UZIMEI. Roaming eSIM plan details came from the public package endpoint at 12:11 UTC on August 7, 2026.

We will update this page when an official tourist checkout launches or when Mobiuz publishes the allowance, validity, price, number, calls, SMS, hotspot, device, identity, coverage, support or top-up terms. Until then, the article will continue to label the service as planned rather than available.