Saving up for a trip to St Petersburg? The rules around roaming in Russia have recently changed.
As of October 2025, the Russian government has introduced new restrictions that may make staying connected a little trickier for tourists or anyone else looking to visit the country.
As a result, Aussies – or anyone – who attempt to connect to a mobile network in Russia using either a foreign SIM or an international eSIM are subjected to a number of restrictions. The biggest one is that your data and SMS services will be blocked for the first 24 hours after attempting to connect. You should still be able to make and receive calls but texting or checking TikTok are out of the question without a WiFi connection.
Past that initial period of time, you should begin to receive normal service akin to how international roaming works across the rest of Europe. However, these restrictions can reapply if your SIM connection crosses a regional border or changes to a different mobile network within Russia.
Inactivity can also cause the data and texting restrictions to return, so if you aren’t making use of your roaming regularly, you may have to sit through another 24 hours without texts or mobile data.
Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone all have similar messaging explaining the situation on their websites, and an Optus spokesperson told WhistleOut that customers should look for updated details before travelling or something
According to reporting by LRT.It, the measures were introduced by Russia as a way of protecting itself against drone incursions or other cybercrime enabled via foreign SIMs and eSIMs.
Buying a local Russian SIM card is the obvious option for those looking to stay connected and ahead of these restrictions, but this process is a little more complicated than you might expect.
As per new rules introduced earlier this year, signing up for a SIM in Russia requires visitors to register via a government services portal (called Gosuslugi), apply for a personal insurance number (called a SNILS), submit biometric data to a Russian bank and then sign a contract in person via a retail outlet for their telco of choice.
That’s a whole lot more complicated than the experience of signing up for a SIM card in Australia. It’s little wonder that tourists have fallen from accounting for 20% of new Russian SIM cards in 2024 to less than 1% in 2025, according to The Moscow Times.
Still, if you’re undeterred and planning to visit Russia anytime soon, it may be worth checking the website of your mobile provider beforehand in case the situation changes.
Fergus Halliday
Digital Content Editor
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