Short answer for an expat: the moment you land in Singapore on a passport, buy a S$12 prepaid SIM card from Singtel, StarHub or M1. Each gives you a large local data pool for 14 to 30 days depending on the operator, which is more than enough to set up your life. The thing most guides skip is the rule that costs newcomers money. A SIM registered on a foreign passport is suspended after 30 days, with no refund, unless you re-register it in person with a Singapore-issued IC or work pass. So the real game is not which SIM is cheapest on day one. It is bridging the gap between landing and getting your residency documents, then moving to a S$10 to S$13 a month no-contract plan once you can register properly. This guide has the current 2026 prices, the registration rules straight from the regulator, where to buy, and the point at which prepaid stops being the cheap option and a SIM-only plan takes over.
Your situation as an expat is different from a tourist's, even though you both start with a passport. A tourist needs data for a week or two and leaves. You need a number that survives until your Employment Pass, S Pass, Dependant's Pass or PR card arrives, then a cheap plan you keep for years. The cost trap is buying the wrong thing for that timeline.
Here is the order that saves you money. Buy a cheap prepaid tourist SIM the moment you land so you can summon a ride, message your landlord and verify Singpass-linked apps later. Use it while your pass is processed. Once you hold a Singapore IC or work pass, either re-register that prepaid SIM in person or, better, port your number to a no-contract SIM-only plan that costs about the same per month but renews indefinitely.
Prepaid prices in Singapore start low and the data numbers are deliberately huge. A tourist SIM advertised at 100GB or even 500GB of local data is using a number you will never finish, because home and office Wi-Fi cover most of your usage. Treat the headline gigabytes as marketing and pay attention to the price and validity instead.
The three network operators each sell a near-identical entry tourist SIM. Singtel's hi! Tourist plan starts at S$12 for 30 days, StarHub's 4G Tourist SIM is S$12 for 30 days while its data-only Traveler eSIM is S$12 for 14 days with 100GB, and M1's all-in-one tourist SIM is S$12 for 100GB over 15 days. All three include local calls and SMS, plus a few gigabytes of regional roaming to nearby countries.
There is a cheaper option the operators do not advertise at arrivals. SIMBA, an MVNO that runs its own 5G network, sells a prepaid plan at S$10 for 30 days with 400GB of local data, unlimited local mobile calls and regional roaming, and it supports eSIM. The catch for a fresh arrival is that SIMBA is not sold at Changi Airport, so you grab a S$12 operator SIM on landing and only switch to SIMBA once you can get to a store or order online. For most newcomers the S$10 to S$15 band covers the entire first month, and the larger 30-day plans (M1's S$14, StarHub's S$15 5G, Singtel's S$15 5G) only make sense if you roam heavily back to your home region.
| Operator | Plan | Price | Validity | Local data | Calls / SMS | Roaming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SIMBA (own 5G) | Prepaid 30-day | S$10 | 30 days | 400GB (5G) | Unlimited local mobile, 100 SMS | 12GB APAC + 3GB intl (not at airport) |
| Singtel hi! | $12 hi! Tourist | S$12 | 30 days | Large pool (5G) | Unlimited local* | 12GB APAC + 3GB worldwide |
| Singtel hi! | $15 hi! Tourist | S$15 | 30 days | Large pool (5G+) | Unlimited local* | 18GB APAC + 8GB worldwide |
| StarHub | 4G Tourist SIM | S$12 | 30 days | 300GB + 200GB SEA | Unlimited local | 15GB APAC (9 destinations) |
| StarHub | Traveler eSIM (data only) | S$12 | 14 days | 100GB (5G) | No calls/SMS | 3GB (20 destinations) |
| M1 | 100GB Tourist SIM / eSIM | S$12 | 15 days | 100GB (5G) | 500 local + 30 intl mins, 100 SMS | 3GB (5 destinations) |
| M1 | 500GB 30-day | S$14 | 30 days | Large pool | 500 outgoing mins, 50 SMS | 18GB APAC + 8GB intl |
This is the single most expensive thing newcomers get wrong, and it comes straight from the regulator, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). Since 15 July 2024, a prepaid SIM registered on a foreign passport is only valid for 30 days. After that, the line is suspended without notice and there is no refund on whatever value is left.
To keep the same number past 30 days, you have to re-register the SIM in person at the operator's shop or an authorised retailer using a valid Singapore-issued identity document: your IC for citizens and PRs, or your work pass for pass holders. A passport on its own does not get you past the 30-day mark. So if your Employment Pass is still processing on day 28, you either re-register the instant your pass is issued or you accept that the line dies.
There is also a hard cap on how many prepaid SIMs you can hold. Each person can register a maximum of three prepaid SIM cards in total across all operators, counted by your identity document, not per telco. Buying a fourth to dodge the 30-day rule does not work because the limit follows you, not the SIM.
One 2026 update worth knowing, because the news around it confuses people: from 28 February 2026 IMDA cut the postpaid limit to ten SIMs per person across all telcos to fight scam syndicates. That change is about postpaid lines. The prepaid cap of three, in place since 2015, did not move. So as a newcomer relying on prepaid, your ceiling is still three, and a normal expat never gets close to it.
The practical move: do not over-top-up a passport-registered prepaid SIM in your first month, because you cannot get unused value back if it lapses before you re-register. Keep the balance lean until you hold your IC or work pass.
The fastest place to get connected is Changi Airport. Per Changi Airport's own SIM-purchase guide, all four terminals sell SIM cards through Changi Recommends and Cheers outlets in the arrival and departure halls, 7-Eleven in the transit areas, money changers, and StarHub counters, so a late landing is not a problem. The standard operator tourist SIMs are sold at the same S$12 and up entry prices you see online, so you are not paying an airport premium for the Singtel, StarHub and M1 plans.
The trade-off is choice, not markup. The airport sells the operator tourist SIMs at list price, but it does not stock SIMBA's cheaper S$10 prepaid, and you may see repackaged travel SIMs at money changers priced above what the telco charges. The money move is simple: grab a S$12 operator SIM on arrival if you need data immediately, then decide in town whether SIMBA's S$10 plan or a SIM-only switch saves you more. Do not pay a third-party vendor more than S$15 for a first SIM when the telcos sell theirs at S$12.
Off the airport, prepaid SIMs are sold at Singtel, StarHub, M1 and SIMBA shops in most malls, and at 7-Eleven and Cheers convenience stores island-wide. Bring your passport, because registration is mandatory and done at the point of sale. If you already hold your IC or work pass, bring that instead and you skip the 30-day passport limit from the start.
An eSIM is the cleaner option if your phone supports it, because you can buy and activate it online before you even land, scan a QR code and have data the moment you switch off airplane mode. One caveat for expats: many data-only eSIM products are exactly that, data only, with no local number for calls and SMS. If you need a Singapore number to receive OTPs and verification codes, choose a plan that includes a voice line, not a data-only eSIM.
There are two different eSIM worlds and newcomers mix them up. The first is the local operators' own eSIMs, where Singtel, StarHub, M1 and SIMBA give you a real Singapore number and the same plans as their physical SIMs. The second is travel eSIM apps like Airalo and Holafly that sell short data passes riding a local network. For an expat settling in, the local-operator eSIM is almost always the right call, because it gives you a Singapore number for banking, Singpass and OTPs that a travel eSIM usually does not.
A travel eSIM earns its place only in two cases. One, you land late, want data in two minutes without finding a counter, and you will sort out a proper SIM the next day. Two, you fly in and out of the region constantly and want a single app that works across countries. For day-to-day life here, a data-only pass with no local number will block you the first time a bank or government service tries to text you a code.
Whatever you buy, topping up is easy and does not need a shop visit. Each operator has an app or website where you scan or key in your number, pay by card, and extend validity or add data; SIMBA and the telco prepaid lines all auto-renew if you leave a balance. The one thing a top-up does not fix is the 30-day passport ceiling. Adding value to a passport-registered SIM does not extend it past 30 days. Only re-registering in person with your IC or work pass does that, so keep top-ups small until your pass is in hand. If you find yourself rebuying data every few weeks, that is the signal to move to a no-contract SIM-only plan instead.
Prepaid is the right tool for the first few weeks and the wrong tool for month three. A S$12 tourist SIM works out to a high cost per day if you keep rebuying it, and the 30-day passport ceiling makes it fragile. Once you can register with an IC or work pass, a no-contract SIM-only plan is cheaper per month and renews automatically with no shop visits.
The maths is straightforward. Rebuying a S$12 to S$15 prepaid SIM monthly costs roughly the same as a SIM-only plan, but the SIM-only plan gives you a stable number, autopay, app-based management and a proper roaming pool. SIM-only plans from GOMO (on Singtel's network), Circles.Life (on M1), giga (on StarHub) and SIMBA sit around S$10 to S$13 a month for far more data than most people use.
Pick the SIM-only plan by the network behind the brand, not the logo. GOMO rides Singtel, Circles.Life rides M1, giga rides StarHub, and SIMBA runs its own network. If a particular operator gets the best signal in your flat or office, choose the cheap brand that rides that network. Work out your real monthly data first; most people on home and office Wi-Fi use well under 50GB, so a mid-tier plan is plenty.
Whatever you switch to, you can usually keep your prepaid number by porting it when you sign up, so you do not have to re-share a new number with banks, your employer and government services. That alone is worth doing before, not after, you start linking the number to Singpass and bank apps.
Many expats want to keep their home number alive for banks and family while using a Singapore line day to day. A dual-SIM phone or an eSIM plus physical SIM combo handles this: put the Singapore SIM as your primary data and voice line, and keep the home SIM on standby for the occasional code. Watch the roaming charges on your home SIM, because passive roaming fees while it sits idle can be a quiet drain.
If you travel back to your home region often, the tourist SIMs already bundle a few gigabytes of regional roaming, and the operators' larger plans add bigger APAC pools. For a one-off trip it is usually cheaper to buy a destination eSIM than to lean on a Singapore plan's roaming add-on. Compare the per-GB roaming cost against a local SIM at your destination before you travel.
One money note that catches new arrivals: any spending you do in foreign currency on a card, including topping up an overseas SIM, can carry a foreign transaction fee of around 3% plus a markup. If you do this often, a multi-currency card is worth a look before you optimise your SIM. The SIM itself is rarely the biggest line in your cross-border spending.
Yes. Registration is mandatory at the point of sale and a foreign passport is accepted. The catch is that a passport-registered prepaid SIM is only valid for 30 days under IMDA rules effective 15 July 2024. To keep it longer you must re-register in person with a Singapore IC or work pass within those 30 days, or the line is suspended with no refund.
The entry tourist SIM from Singtel, StarHub and M1 is S$12, giving roughly 100GB of local data for 14 to 30 days depending on the operator, plus some local calls, SMS and a few gigabytes of regional roaming. Longer 30-day plans run about S$14 to S$15. You can spend more for bigger roaming pools, but most newcomers do not need to.
Three. IMDA caps each person at a maximum of three registered prepaid SIM cards in total across all operators, counted against your identity document rather than per telco. Buying a fourth to get around the 30-day passport rule does not work because the limit follows you.
Use prepaid only for the first weeks before your IC or work pass arrives. Once you can register with a Singapore identity document, switch to a no-contract SIM-only plan around S$10 to S$13 a month. It costs about the same as rebuying prepaid but renews automatically and gives you a stable number, autopay and a proper roaming allowance.
All four terminals sell SIM cards through Changi Recommends and Cheers in the arrival and departure halls, 7-Eleven in the transit areas, money changers and StarHub counters, according to Changi Airport's SIM-purchase guide. The standard tourist SIMs sell at the same entry prices you see online (from S$12), so there is no airport markup on them. Bring your passport for the mandatory registration, or your IC or work pass if you already have one.
Usually yes. When you sign up for a SIM-only or postpaid plan you can port your existing prepaid number across, so you do not have to re-share a new number with your bank, employer and Singpass-linked apps. Do this before you link the number to those services to save the hassle of updating them later.
Not always. Many prepaid eSIM products are data-only with no voice line, which means no local number for receiving OTPs and verification codes. If you need a Singapore number for banking and Singpass-linked services, pick a plan that explicitly includes calls and SMS rather than a data-only eSIM.
SIMBA's prepaid plan is the cheapest from a network operator at S$10 for 30 days, with 400GB of local data, unlimited local mobile calls and 5G, and it supports eSIM. The one drawback for a fresh arrival is that SIMBA is not sold at Changi Airport, so you typically buy a S$12 Singtel, StarHub or M1 tourist SIM on landing, then switch to SIMBA in town or via its eSIM once you have a moment.
For settling in, choose a local-operator SIM or eSIM from Singtel, StarHub, M1 or SIMBA, because it gives you a real Singapore number for banking, Singpass and OTPs. Travel eSIM apps such as Airalo or Holafly are data-only with no local number, so they work as a stopgap for your first hours or for someone constantly hopping between countries, but they will block you the first time a local service tries to text you a verification code.
Use the operator's app or website, key in your number, pay by card and add data or extend validity; no shop visit is needed and SIMBA and the telco prepaid lines auto-renew if you leave a balance. One caveat for newcomers: topping up does not extend a passport-registered SIM past the 30-day limit. Only re-registering in person with a Singapore IC or work pass does that, so keep top-ups small until your pass arrives.
The standard Singtel, StarHub and M1 tourist SIMs sell at the same S$12 list price at Changi as in town, so there is no airport premium on them. The catch is choice: the airport does not stock SIMBA's cheaper S$10 prepaid, and some money changers repackage travel SIMs above the telco price. Buy a S$12 operator SIM on arrival if you need data straight away, then switch to SIMBA or a SIM-only plan in town if you want to pay less.
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