Which countries block foreign phones? IMEI rules
About 20 countries cut off phones missing from a national IMEI register, including Türkiye, Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Chile and Peru. Most rules bite only when a local SIM goes in. A visitor roaming on a foreign SIM or travel eSIM is usually left out, except on long data-only stays in Türkiye and under drafts in Pakistan and Armenia.
Contents
- What an IMEI is, and why countries register them
- The rule that decides it: whose SIM is in the phone
- Country by country
- Türkiye: 120 days, counted from the border
- Pakistan: the draft that would reach roamers
- Latin America: days, not months
- Myanmar, Armenia, and the rules still being written
- If you do buy a local SIM
- Not IMEI blocking, but close
- Before you go: the checklist
Buy a SIM card at the airport in Lahore, Lima or Tashkent and your phone gets a deadline along with it. A text message arrives, often in a language you can't read, telling you to register the phone within days or weeks or lose service. It is not a scam and not a fault. A growing number of governments keep a register of every handset allowed on their networks, mostly to collect import tax on phones and to keep counterfeit and stolen ones off the air.
This guide covers which countries do it, how long a visitor gets, what registering costs, and the detail that decides whether any of it applies to you: whose SIM is in the phone.
What an IMEI is, and why countries register them
Every phone has an IMEI, a 15-digit serial number that the network sees each time the phone connects. Phones with two SIMs, including any phone with an eSIM, usually have two IMEIs. Type *#06# in the dialler to see them, or look in Settings > General > About on an iPhone. Our guide to EID, ICCID and IMEI explains how the three numbers differ.
Most countries use IMEIs for a blacklist only: when a phone is reported stolen, operators share its number and block it everywhere. The countries in this guide go further and run a whitelist. A phone has to be on the national register to use local networks, and a phone bought abroad gets onto it by being declared, and often taxed. Pakistan calls its system DIRBS, Türkiye's is the MCKS, Peru's is RENTESEG and Chile's goes by Multibanda.
A phone that is not on the list usually gets a grace period first: two working days after the operator's text in Peru, about three days in Bolivia, 30 in Chile, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, 90 in Egypt, 120 in Türkiye. When it runs out, the phone shows No Service on every local network until it is registered. Wi-Fi keeps working.
The rule that decides it: whose SIM is in the phone
These registers are run through the local operators, and the check happens when a phone uses one of their SIM cards. A visitor's phone on its home SIM looks different to the network: it arrives as a roamer, billed by a foreign operator. Where the rules spell out who they cover, roamers are left out. Chile's regulator puts it in one line.
If you use your phone only in roaming mode or on Wi-Fi, you do not need to do this registration.
Others say the same. Indonesian customs states that visitors using a foreign SIM (inbound roamers) do not need to register their IMEI. Colombia's decree on mobile phones excludes phones that are in international roaming from its scope, and Bolivia's rules carve out roaming in almost the same words. Kazakhstan's officials say the same, and Uzbekistan exempts roamers only if the phone has never been on a local network. Peru's telecoms regulator tells tourists that if they use international roaming with their foreign operator's SIM, they don't need to do anything.
A travel eSIM connects the same way. It is issued by an operator outside the country you are visiting and joins local networks as a roamer, so these countdowns never start. No law we found names eSIMs specifically, so this is how the roaming exemptions apply to them, not a line written for them. A country can also change its rules, and two are drafting changes now (below).
The flip side is that a local SIM, even for a single day, puts the phone in the system. In Uzbekistan the roaming exemption only covers a phone that has never connected to an Uzbek network, so after a single day on a local card the phone counts against the 60-day allowance even when it later roams, on this trip and later ones.
Country by country
We checked each rule on 16 October 2026 against the regulator, customs or government text where one is published, and against official statements reported in the press where it is not. Grace periods count from the first time the phone connects with a local SIM unless the table says otherwise.
| Country | With a local SIM | Roaming on a foreign SIM or travel eSIM | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Türkiye | 120 days from entering the country, then registration on e-Devlet for a fee (54,258 lira in 2026) | Outside the rule, unless used for data only for more than 90 of any 120 days | BTK, fee: Teknoblog |
| Egypt | 90 days from activating the Egyptian SIM, then customs fees in the Telephony app | Not affected | Apple |
| Pakistan | One phone registered tax-free for 120 days, applied for within 60 days of arrival | Not affected today; a draft rule would change that | Gulf News |
| Uzbekistan | 60 days per calendar year for non-residents, then paid registration | Not affected, unless the phone has used an Uzbek SIM | Resolution 778 |
| Kazakhstan | 30 days, then free verification through eGov | Not affected, according to officials | Astana Times, bes.media |
| Kyrgyzstan | 30 days, then registration | Not affected | Economist.kg |
| Indonesia | Register at the operator for stays up to 90 days, or at customs on arrival for longer | Not affected | Bea Cukai |
| Nepal | 15 days from entry, then free online registration with passport and visa (enforcement has been patchy) | Not affected | Nepali Times |
| Sri Lanka | Registration required since January 2025 | No written exemption; the regulator has said tourists' own phones are not affected | Newswire |
| Myanmar | Declare at the airport, then register and pay tax within 30 days | No exemption published | DFDL |
| Chile | 30 days, then blocked until registered (free online) | Not affected | Multibanda |
| Peru | Register in person at the operator within 2 working days of its text message, or the phone is blocked | Not affected | OSIPTEL |
| Colombia | 20 days after the operator's text message | Not affected | CRC |
| Bolivia | About 72 hours, then register in a shop | Not affected | ATT |
| Ecuador | Register with the operator within 60 days | Not stated | ARCOTEL |
| Brazil | Only tampered, cloned, uncertified or stolen phones are blocked, 60 days after a warning | Visitors' own phones are allowed | Anatel |
Several more run similar systems with less published detail. Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Iran give a phone on a local SIM about 30 days. Tunisia blocks unregistered imported phones on local SIMs after a month and is reported to exempt roamers. Cameroon set 1 September 2026 as the date to start blocking unregistered devices, and says tourists on roaming are exempt. Kenya's customs declaration for phones leaves out tourists, and its tax authority has said phones on foreign numbers need no declaration.
Three are switching on now. Nigeria began rolling out its device register in September 2026, and in October started texting users that unverified phones can be disconnected after 30 days. Bangladesh launched its register in January 2026 without blocking and plans to switch blocking on from 1 January 2027. Cambodia launched its register in July 2026 with no blocking date yet, and its 2023 sub-decree exempts tourists staying up to 60 days.
Many popular destinations have no such rule that we could find. India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman only block phones reported stolen or carrying a fake IMEI. Costa Rica's regulator says it plainly: a phone bought abroad will not be blocked as long as it has a valid IMEI.
Türkiye: 120 days, counted from the border
Türkiye is the rule visitors ask about most, and the one most often explained wrongly. BTK, the telecoms regulator, says on its consumer page that a phone brought from abroad can be used without registration for 120 days from the date of entry, and is cut off after that. Registering means an e-Devlet application against a fee that rises every year, 54,258 lira for 2026, and the right to register belongs to the person who carried the phone in.
The regulation behind that page is narrower than the summary. Its scope covers devices served over a Turkish operator's own SIM cards, plus something it calls permanent data roaming: a foreign SIM that spends more than 90 days in any 120 without making or receiving a voice call. A phone visiting on a foreign SIM or travel eSIM is outside the first group, and an ordinary trip never reaches the second. The amendment of 2 July 2026 tightened that test, so text messages no longer count as voice use.
Staying in Türkiye more than three months? A data-only line that never carries a voice call is exactly what the permanent-roaming test describes, so for a long stay plan on a Turkish line and registering the phone. For a holiday none of this applies. Our Türkiye guide covers the rest of a visitor's setup, and plans are on the Türkiye page.
Pakistan: the draft that would reach roamers
Pakistan's DIRBS blocks phones that are not on its register when they run a Pakistani SIM. Since mid-2025, visitors and overseas Pakistanis can register one phone tax-free for up to 120 days per visit, applying through the regulator's DIRBS portal within 60 days of arrival. Phones on foreign SIMs in roaming have been exempt since the system began.
That may change. In October 2026 the regulator, the PTA, published draft International Roaming (Inbound) Regulations for comment until 10 November 2026. As reported by Pakistan Observer, the draft would have operators verify the identity of visitors on foreign SIMs and eSIMs, treat 90 days of roaming in any 180 as permanent roaming, and require travel eSIM sellers to register with the PTA. The same report adds that the count would follow the phone's IMEI as well as the SIM, so swapping eSIMs would not reset it.
It is a draft, not a rule, and nothing changes for travellers until a final version is published. For a normal trip today, a travel eSIM in Pakistan needs nothing registered. Our Pakistan guide has the rest.
Latin America: days, not months
South America's rules are the strictest on time and the friendliest to roamers. Chile, Peru, Colombia and Bolivia all say in their own texts that a phone in roaming needs nothing. With a local SIM, the clocks are short.
- Chile: the phone works for 30 days on a Chilean SIM, then is blocked on every network until registered. Registration is online through an accredited company, free for one phone per person per year.
- Peru: the operator sends a text, and you have about two working days to register in person at its shop, with your passport and a signed statement that the phone is yours. It is free, up to five phones a year. In 2026 the regulator has been blocking, in waves, unregistered phones linked to tampered IMEIs, more than a million of them by May.
- Colombia: the phone is marked unregistered 20 days after the operator's text. Register through the operator's shop, website or helpline, with the SIM in the phone. Our Colombia guide covers the local SIM option.
- Bolivia: an unregistered phone on a local SIM can be blocked within about three days of first connecting, so register it in the operator's shop with your passport straight away. See the Bolivia guide.
Brazil is different. Anatel's Celular Legal programme blocks tampered, cloned and uncertified phones as well as stolen ones, and its rules let visitors in transit use their own phones certified abroad. A genuine phone from a major brand is not affected.
Myanmar, Armenia, and the rules still being written
Myanmar added the strictest visitor rule of the year. Since July 2026, travellers arriving at Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay airports declare unregistered phones on a customs form, then have 30 days to register them and pay import taxes, with a limit of two phones a year. A law firm's reading of the notice points out that it does not exempt short stays, roaming or eSIM use (in Japanese), so check the current rule before you fly.
Armenia's government approved a draft law in June 2026 that would make operators refuse service to phones not on a national register, and unlike most such rules it reaches roamers too: a phone roaming on a foreign SIM or travel eSIM would be cut off 30 days after entry unless its IMEI is registered. The government is aiming for 1 January 2027, but the bill still needs parliament, and the prime minister has said it won't go ahead without data-protection guarantees.
If you do buy a local SIM
A local SIM still makes sense for a long stay or when you need a local number for a bank or a ride app. Then registration is part of the price, and a few habits make it painless.
- Note both IMEIs before you go, with *#06#. You won't always know which one the local SIM will use.
- Keep your passport's entry stamp page and your boarding pass. Indonesia registers phones at airport customs, Myanmar has you declare them there before registering, and online systems in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan check your border record.
- Register early. Most systems count from the first connection or from your arrival, and the ones that count from the operator's text (Peru, Colombia) give you as little as two working days. Some messages only come in the local language.
- Expect to pay in Türkiye, Egypt (after 90 days), Pakistan (after the 120 days), Uzbekistan and Myanmar, and in Indonesia if you register late or the phone is worth more than USD 500. Chile, Peru, Colombia, Nepal and Kazakhstan register visitors' phones for free.
If a phone does get blocked, it keeps working on Wi-Fi, so registration apps and websites still load. Our comparison of eSIM, local SIM and roaming weighs whether the local number is worth the paperwork, and which countries make you register a SIM covers the passport and face checks at the counter.
Not IMEI blocking, but close
Two other rules can leave a working phone without service, and they are easy to confuse with registration.
- Network switch-offs. Vietnam was due to switch off 2G from 15 September 2026, so a phone that cannot call over 4G (VoLTE) may lose calls on a Vietnamese SIM wherever 3G is no longer available, while data still works. Australia blocks phones that cannot call its emergency number over 4G, which our Australia guide explains.
- Carrier locks. A phone locked to your home carrier refuses another carrier's SIM or eSIM wherever you are. That is a setting at home, not a rule abroad, and checking whether your phone is unlocked takes a minute.
Before you go: the checklist
- Check the table for your destination, and the date you checked it. These rules change every year.
- Use a travel eSIM or your home SIM in roaming for a normal trip. Neither starts a registration clock in the countries that say who they cover.
- In Uzbekistan, keep your phone on roaming rather than a local SIM if you might ever come back with it.
- Planning more than three months in Türkiye? Budget for a Turkish line and registering the phone.
- Write down your IMEIs and keep your entry stamp handy in case you do buy a local SIM.
- Install your eSIM at home on Wi-Fi, so it is ready when you land.
Will my phone be blocked if I use a travel eSIM?
Not in the countries whose rules say who they cover. Those registers act on phones using a local operator's SIM. A travel eSIM connects as a roamer, the case that Chile, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Indonesia exempt in their own texts, and that Egypt and Kazakhstan say is exempt. Uzbekistan exempts it only if the phone has never used an Uzbek SIM. Myanmar has published no exemption, and Pakistan and Armenia are drafting rules that would reach roamers.
How do I find my phone's IMEI?
Dial *#06#. On an iPhone you can also open Settings > General > About, and on Android Settings > About phone. Phones with an eSIM usually have two IMEIs, one for each line.
Do I have to register my phone in Türkiye for a holiday?
No. BTK allows a phone from abroad 120 days from your entry date, and the regulation covers phones on Turkish SIMs. A phone on a foreign SIM or travel eSIM is outside it, unless it stays more than 90 days in any 120 without a single voice call.
What happens when the grace period runs out?
The phone shows No Service on every local network until it is registered, and in some countries that applies even if you switch to a foreign SIM. Wi-Fi, apps and the camera keep working, and the block lifts once the phone is on the register: Chile says within an hour or two.
Can I register my phone before I travel?
Usually not. Registration is tied to your entry into the country, and in most systems to the phone's first connection to a local network, so it happens after you land. Pakistan and Uzbekistan take applications online, while Indonesia registers phones at airport customs and Myanmar has you declare them there first.
Does an unregistered phone still work on Wi-Fi?
Yes. The block is on mobile networks only. WhatsApp, maps and email keep working on hotel or café Wi-Fi, which is also how you reach the registration site.
Which countries charge to register a visitor's phone?
Türkiye (54,258 lira in 2026), Egypt after 90 days, Uzbekistan, Myanmar and Pakistan after its free 120 days charge for it, and Indonesia does if you register late or the phone is worth more than USD 500. Chile, Peru, Colombia, Nepal and Kazakhstan register visitors' phones free.
