Tourists in Dubai can enjoy a free Sim card, complete with complimentary talk time and data, on their arrival at the airport, officials said on Sunday.

Tourists above 18 years can get the free du Sim card, thanks to a new initiative by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai.

Major General Mohammad Al Marri, director-general of GDRFA, said the Sim card is valid for one month with three minutes talk time and 20mb data free.

“The initiative is the first of its kind in the world. Dubai is the first destination in the world to provide free Sim cards to visitors,” Major General Al Marri said.

Tourists will get the Sim card from the passport control officer on arrival.

GDRFA, in cooperation with Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), launched the pilot phase of the Connect with Happiness project on May 28, to allow travellers with transit visa, visit visa, visa on arrival and GCC citizens arriving at Dubai International Airport to take advantage of the complimentary service.

“We already distributed 10,000 free Sim cards to travellers to ensure they enjoy a safe, happy and fulfilled stay and they liked the idea. The project aims to help achieve the Dubai Happiness Agenda which is being implemented by the Smart Dubai Office to make Dubai the happiest city on earth,” Major General Al Marri added.

The initiative is the first of its kind in the world. Dubai is the first destination in the world to provide free Sim cards to visitors.

Dr Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, Director General of Smart Dubai Office, said, “We work to achieve Dubai Happiness Agenda which focuses on people’s happiness. Providing free Sim cards for Dubai visitors will enable them to capture their moments of happiness in Dubai as they tour the city and share their moments with beloved ones around the world.”

Fahad Al Hassawi, Deputy CEO – Telco Services at Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), said in recent days, du had provided 3,000 Sim cards per day for visitors.

“We are proud to be delivering the immense benefits of the du experience to even more customers as well as offer superb convenience to GCC visitors as they embark on their stay in Dubai,” Al Hassawi said.

How the free Sim card works

Visitors above 18 can access the Tourist Sim package, which comes preloaded with a free Sim card, three flexi minutes, 20mb data and one-month validity.

Tourists can add more calling minutes or data via three recharge options by du:

1. Pay Dh25 and get 150 MB data – 10 flexible minutes, three-day validity

2. Pay Dh55 and get 500 MB data - 20 flexible minutes, seven-day validity

3. Pay Dh110 and get 2 GB data – 40 flexible minutes and 14-day validity

To activate the complimentary SIM, the tourist needs to insert the Sim card in their phone, dial *122# and follow instructions.

First published in the Gulf News June 16, 2019