Does eSIM Work in Russia, Cuba, or North Korea?

No, not for all three, and not for the same reason. Russia allows a foreign eSIM but blocks its data for the first 24 hours under a 2025 rule. Cuba's sole carrier barely permits international roaming. North Korea has no roaming agreements at all. co:sim sells Russia eSIM plans, not Cuba or North Korea ones.

#Why doesn't an eSIM work in Cuba or North Korea?

Both countries are missing the same underlying requirement a foreign eSIM needs: a roaming agreement between your eSIM's network and a carrier physically operating in the country you're visiting. Without one, your phone can see local towers but is never allowed to register on them, regardless of which eSIM app or brand you're using.

#Cuba

Cuba's telecommunications market is a state monopoly: ETECSA is the only carrier, operating under the brand Cubacel, and it doesn't issue eSIM profiles of its own, only a physical SIM (Roamless, 2026). Sources genuinely disagree on how well a foreign travel eSIM works around that: some providers advertise Cuba coverage through a direct Cubacel partnership, while independent testing of several of those same providers found connections that frequently showed "no service" or registered without any data actually flowing, and speeds where they did connect running well under 1 Mbps (EarthSims, 2026).

Cubacel's roaming deals skew toward a small number of Spanish, French, and German carriers with pre-internet-era relationships, and major US carriers have no Cuba roaming agreement at all. co:sim does not currently sell a Cuba eSIM. Travelers who need reliable data in Cuba typically buy a physical ETECSA tourist SIM in person after landing, or rely on hotel Wi-Fi and prepaid Nauta internet cards.

#North Korea

North Korea has no roaming agreements with any foreign mobile network, for any carrier, which is a policy choice rather than a technical gap: "no foreign SIM cards will have roaming capability inside North Korea" (Uri Tours). The one network foreign visitors can access, Koryolink, requires an in-country SIM purchased in person, historically around $200 with a small amount of preloaded data, arranged at the airport or in Pyongyang rather than in advance. Recent reporting from tour operators indicates that option has narrowed mostly to business travelers and residents rather than general tourists (Young Pioneer Tours). co:sim does not sell a North Korea eSIM, and no major international eSIM provider does either, because there's no roaming infrastructure to sell access to.

#Does an eSIM work in Russia in 2026?

Yes, but expect a mandatory 24-hour data blackout the first time it connects. Since October 6, 2025, Russian operators have been required to block mobile data and SMS, though not voice calls, for any foreign-registered SIM or eSIM for 24 hours after its first connection to a Russian network, and the block repeats if the same card sits inactive for three days (The Moscow Times). co:sim currently sells Russia eSIM plans running on Tele2 and Beeline.

Russia is the one country in this comparison where co:sim actually sells a plan, which is why the blackout rule matters in practice rather than academically. The block was introduced as a security measure the Russian government has linked to preventing devices from being used for drone navigation, and it applies uniformly regardless of which country issued the eSIM. Some Russian carriers now let travelers clear the block early by verifying identity through a link sent by SMS, but the safest planning assumption is still that data won't work for the first day.

Buying a local Russian SIM as an alternative is now harder for foreigners than it used to be: since January 2025, it requires a Russian SNILS number, a verified government services account, and in-person biometric registration, requirements a short-term visitor typically can't meet. That's part of why a pre-purchased eSIM remains the practical option despite the blackout.

#What about Iran, Myanmar, or Venezuela?

These three sit in a genuinely different category from Russia, Cuba, or North Korea: none face a comprehensive embargo, but each carries targeted sanctions that make foreign carrier roaming unreliable rather than flatly impossible. co:sim does not currently sell eSIMs for any of the three.

Iran faces the most friction: broad US sanctions restrict dealings with Iranian telecom infrastructure, though specific licensing carve-outs exist for internet connectivity and access to informational materials, and separately, most Western social and messaging apps are blocked inside the country regardless of connectivity, so many travelers pair any working data connection with a VPN.

Myanmar and Venezuela fall under narrower, sector-specific sanctions programs rather than a blanket embargo: Venezuela's sanctions specifically license certain telecommunications transactions even while targeting the country's defense, security, and oil sectors, meaning some foreign eSIM and roaming services can function for general consumer use even though telecom-sector investment and dealings with specific designated entities remain restricted. In practice, coverage and reliability for all three vary by provider and can change with little notice as sanctions programs are updated, so if your itinerary includes any of them, check directly with whichever provider you're considering rather than assuming a plan sold for a neighboring country will work.

#FAQ

#Will my co:sim eSIM work if I have a layover in Russia, Cuba, or North Korea?

It depends entirely on which of the three. A co:sim Russia eSIM will connect, but only after the mandatory 24-hour data and SMS blackout that applies to every foreign SIM or eSIM on first connection to a Russian network, so a short layover likely means no working data at all during your time in the country. co:sim does not sell Cuba or North Korea eSIMs, and neither destination is realistic to plan around for a layover: Cuba's sole carrier has only limited international roaming agreements that exclude most travel eSIMs, and North Korea has no roaming agreements with any foreign network whatsoever. For any layover in these three countries, assume no working mobile data on your existing eSIM and plan around airport Wi-Fi instead.

#Can I buy a local SIM card in Cuba or North Korea instead?

In Cuba, yes: a physical tourist SIM from ETECSA's Cubacel brand is the standard option, typically bought in person at an airport or ETECSA office after landing, since ETECSA doesn't sell eSIM profiles at all. In North Korea, options are far more restricted: the foreign-visitor network, Koryolink, has historically sold tourist SIM cards at Pyongyang's airport, but recent reporting indicates this has narrowed mostly to business travelers and residents rather than general tourists, and setup costs and per-megabyte data charges are both high. In both countries, a purchased local SIM only provides connectivity within that country; it won't help before you arrive or after you leave, unlike an eSIM installed and ready before departure for destinations where one is actually sold.

#Why does Russia specifically block foreign SIMs and eSIMs for 24 hours?

Russian officials have publicly linked the rule, in effect since October 2025, to preventing foreign-registered SIMs and eSIMs from being used to help navigate drones, alongside broader stated goals around monitoring foreign communications. The block applies automatically to data and SMS the first time any foreign-issued card connects to a Russian network, regardless of which country issued it or which app you're using, while voice calls continue to work throughout. It resets and reapplies if the same card then sits unused on the network for three days. This is a network-level restriction applied uniformly, not something specific to one eSIM brand or plan, so it affects a co:sim Russia eSIM exactly the same way it affects any other foreign SIM or eSIM entering the country.

#Does an eSIM work in other heavily sanctioned or restricted countries?

It depends on whether the country faces a comprehensive embargo or narrower, sector-specific sanctions. Cuba and North Korea, alongside Iran, sit under the most comprehensive restrictions, which is why foreign eSIM and roaming access is effectively unavailable or entirely absent in each. Countries like Myanmar and Venezuela face narrower, sector-specific sanctions that restrict dealings with particular entities or industries rather than blocking general consumer telecom access outright, so foreign eSIM and roaming can often still function there, with reliability varying by provider. Sanctions programs change with limited notice, so the practical answer for any specific country is to check current coverage directly with your eSIM provider rather than assuming a market's status from a year or even a few months ago still holds today.

A co:sim eSIM works normally throughout the 190+ destinations it actually sells, Russia included, with the plan page for each destination stating the network and any relevant install details upfront.