Europe + UK eSIM with a phone number

No, and neither can anyone else selling travel eSIMs. We rent numbers in the United States and Canada only, so there is no Europe + UK number to give you. What follows is what actually works instead, why you probably need less than you think, and what it costs.

01Your own number

It keeps working. That is the answer

This is the part that goes unsaid and it settles the question for most people. A data eSIM adds a second connection to your phone. It does not replace your SIM and it does not take your number away, so calls and texts to the number your family, your bank and your airline already have keep arriving in Europe exactly as they do at home.

Turn data roaming off on your own line so it cannot quietly bill you, and leave the line itself switched on. You then have your usual number for anything that needs to reach you, and the eSIM carrying everything that needs data.

02Why people ask, in Europe + UK

What a local number is actually for here

There is no such thing as a European number, so the question really means a number in whichever of the thirty-one countries you happen to be standing in.

That is the strongest argument for not chasing one at all: a number tied to one country stops being local the moment you cross a border, while the data plan does not.

03A number that rings anywhere

Rent a US or Canadian number instead

If what you need is a number people can call you on, rather than that number being local to Europe specifically, this is the thing that works. It rings in your browser wherever you are, including in Europe, and it stays yours between trips.

$5.00 a month, drawn from the same balance as the data. You can hand it back whenever you like.

How the rented numbers work

04Calling Europe + UK

Ring Europe over the data you just bought

The balance that buys the data also places calls, from the browser, with no app. Rates are published in full for every country the plan covers.

The full published card

05What this is not

  • No Europe + UK number, and no way around it

    Numbers in Europe are issued by operators there, usually against local documents in person. We rent in the United States and Canada and that list has not moved since it shipped.

  • Not a number for bank or app verification codes

    Banks and most large platforms reject numbers like these on purpose, whoever you buy them from. If the reason you want a number is to receive a code, this will not do it and we would rather say so now than take the money.

  • The data plan itself carries no number at all

    It is data, the same as every travel eSIM sold by anybody. The number is a separate thing you rent, and the two are only related in that one balance pays for both.

  • No emergency calling

    Emergency numbers are blocked rather than quietly failing. In Europe you dial the local emergency number on your own SIM, which works with no credit and no signal on your own network.

06Questions

Can I get a Europe + UK phone number with an eSIM?

Not from us, and not from any of the international eSIM sellers either. We rent numbers in the United States and Canada only. A Europe + UK number is issued by a Europe + UK operator, usually against local identity documents at a counter, which is an errand nobody can do for you from abroad. What we can do is give you a number people can reach you on and a way to call Europe + UK numbers cheaply, which is what the rest of this page is about.

Will my own number still work while I use the eSIM?

Yes, and this is the part most people do not realise until they try it. A data eSIM adds a second connection to the phone and leaves your existing SIM in place, so calls and texts to the number your family and your bank already have keep arriving exactly as they do at home. You turn data roaming off on your own line so it does not quietly bill you, and leave the line itself switched on.

How do I call a Europe + UK number while I am there?

Over the data you just bought. The same balance that pays for the eSIM calls any phone number in the world at published per-minute rates, from the browser, with no app to install. That is the half of this that the data-only sellers do not have, and it is why the rates are printed further up this page rather than hidden behind a signup.

Does the eSIM come with a number for texts?

No. It is a data plan, so it carries internet and nothing else, and that is true of every travel eSIM sold by anybody. Your own SIM keeps receiving your texts. A rented number can receive texts, and it is a the United States and Canada number rather than a Europe + UK one.

Data for Europe + UK, from $3.90

Pick a plan and install it before you fly. Add a number whenever you want one.