URL: https://esimworld.co.uk/help/buy-esim-for-someone-else/
Source: eSIM World (esimworld.co.uk)
Author: Nadezhda Semenova, entrepreneur, co-founder of the Trippy travel service, https://esimworld.co.uk/author/
Updated: 26 October 2026

# Buying a travel eSIM for someone else: partners, children and parents

Yes, you can buy an eSIM for someone else. One order is one eSIM with one QR code: our checkout has no quantity box, so three travellers mean three orders, three QR codes and three e-mails. Add each traveller's e-mail to their own order and the eSIM reaches them directly.

You may not need to buy anything. If the traveller's own UK plan already includes roaming where they are going, check that first on [the network's roaming page](https://esimworld.co.uk/roaming/). Most of our plans are data only; a few local plans add minutes and texts, so check the calls and SMS shown on the plan you choose. None of them carries the traveller's own UK number, so calls and texts to that number still go to their UK SIM.

## Can I buy an eSIM for someone else?

Yes. Enter your own e-mail at the checkout, then choose "For someone else" just under it, before the pay button. A "Their e-mail" field opens for the traveller's address. The e-mail with the eSIM goes to both of you, per our [terms](https://esimworld.co.uk/terms/).

Our [privacy policy](https://esimworld.co.uk/privacy/) asks you to make sure the traveller knows you have given us their e-mail.

Check the phone before you pay. It must take an eSIM and be unlocked. Apple UK says an eSIM works on "an iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR or later", with exceptions for models sold in China mainland, Hong Kong and Macao (checked on 26 October 2026, [Apple](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/118669)). The model name alone is not proof, above all for an iPhone bought abroad: ask the traveller to dial *#06# and look for an EID, and to look for **Add eSIM** under **Settings → Mobile Service** (on some iPhones: **Mobile Data**). An unlocked iPhone shows "No SIM Restrictions" next to Network Provider Lock under Settings → General → About (checked on 24 October 2026, [Apple](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/118227)); on a Samsung or a Pixel, ask the network that sold the phone. Google says "Pixel 4 and later: All phones work with eSIM" ([Google](https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/7086887?hl=en-GB)). Other models and the full check are on [the compatible phones list](https://esimworld.co.uk/esim-compatible-phones/).

## Several people: one QR code each

Each order is one plan for one phone, so a family of three places three orders. A paid order cannot be split afterwards; the order page's "One more eSIM" card opens the checkout for the same plan again.

| What you want | What you do |
|---|---|
| eSIM for one person | One order, their e-mail added |
| Same plan for three people | Three orders, one per phone, each with its traveller's e-mail |
| Different countries | One order per plan |

Order the same plan again from your e-mail within an hour of paying and the checkout stops to ask: "You paid for this same plan a few minutes ago." For the next traveller, tap its button "I need a second eSIM". The warning guards against paying twice by mistake, not against buying for a second person.

With two or more paid orders on your e-mail, the order page lists them as "eSIM 1", "eSIM 2" and so on. It shows one QR code only; each eSIM opens from the link in its own e-mail. The order number is in each e-mail's subject line. Note whose is whose, so Dad's eSIM does not end up on Mum's phone.

## Sending the QR to the traveller

The safest way is to let the checkout send it: put the traveller's e-mail in the second field and nobody forwards anything. Our terms say "A QR code installs once and on one phone only: don't share it or scan it on another device." O2 gives the same advice for its own eSIMs: "Never share your QR code with anyone and keep it somewhere safe" ([O2](https://www.o2.co.uk/help/phones-and-devices/sims-and-numbers/esim)).

The order page opens only from the link in the order e-mail, which carries a private key. Without the key, the page shows "Open the order from the link in your e-mail" instead of the QR code. The link is as good as the QR code. Never post it in a group chat or a public thread; send it to the traveller alone.

Lost the link? Tap "E-mail me the links" on the order page, or use [the find-your-order form](https://esimworld.co.uk/order/find/). Both e-mail the links to all your orders, and only to the address you paid with, so a traveller who lost their copy asks you.

## Setting it up for a parent or child

Install the eSIM before the trip, on Wi-Fi, on the phone it is for. On most of our plans the days start only when the eSIM first connects to a network at the destination, so installing a week early costs no days on those plans; a few start on installation, so check the activation rule shown on the plan before you install. Almost all our plans give 365 days to install; the order page shows the last install date where the plan sets one.

| Phone | Steps, per the maker's own pages |
|---|---|
| iPhone | Camera app, scan the QR code, tap Mobile Plan Detected, **Continue**, **Add Mobile Plan** ([Apple](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/118669)). If the QR is on the same phone: iOS 17.4 or later, tap and hold it, then **Add eSIM** |
| Samsung | **Settings → Connections → SIM manager → Add eSIM → Scan QR code** ([Samsung](https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/galaxy-esim-and-supported-network-carriers/), 16 September 2026). Its guide of 22 January 2025 says **SIM card manager** → **Add mobile plan** |
| Pixel | **Settings → Network and Internet → SIMs → Add SIM → Set up an eSIM** ([Google](https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/16115470?hl=en-GB)) |

Menus differ by model and software version. The full walk-through is in [how to install an eSIM](https://esimworld.co.uk/how-to-install-esim/).

Setting up a phone in person? Open the e-mail on your laptop or your own phone and scan the QR code from that screen with theirs. Then set Data Roaming as the order e-mail says.

For a child or a parent who will keep their UK SIM for calls and texts, the eSIM sits beside it as a second line: [keeping your UK number](https://esimworld.co.uk/help/keep-your-uk-number/). Tell them which line to choose for mobile data, because the phone uses one data line at a time.

## Refunds if it isn't used

The rule applies to each order on its own, so one unused eSIM does not hold up the others. Our rule: "Full refund within 30 days of purchase as long as the eSIM hasn't connected to a network; we refund within 14 days of your request". You also have 14 days to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. Whichever is better for you applies. Details: [refund policy](https://esimworld.co.uk/refund-policy/).

Before you pay, the checkout asks you to tick a box: "I want my eSIM now and understand that I lose my 14-day right to cancel once the eSIM is delivered". Ticking it does not touch the 30-day refund for an eSIM that has not connected. If an eSIM does not work and it is not the phone's fault, we refund whether or not it was installed.

You are the buyer, so you ask. Use [the cancel form](https://esimworld.co.uk/cancel/) with the e-mail you paid with and the order number from that traveller's e-mail. Refunds are not automatic: we check the order and whether the eSIM connected to a network. The money goes back to the card that paid, in pounds; how it shows on your statement is on [how to pay](https://esimworld.co.uk/how-to-pay/).

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I buy two eSIMs in one order?

No. The checkout has no quantity box: one order is one plan and one eSIM with one QR code. For two travellers, order twice; each order is refunded on its own.

### I ordered for three people. Why is there one QR code?

Because one order is one eSIM. Place one order per traveller and each gets its own QR code; if the checkout asks about a repeat purchase, tap "I need a second eSIM".

### Will the other person get the QR code too?

Yes, if you add their address. Under your e-mail at the checkout, choose "For someone else" and enter theirs. The e-mail with the eSIM then goes to both of you.

### Can I forward the QR code to my mum?

Add her e-mail when you order and you do not need to. If you forward it later, send the e-mail to her alone. A QR code installs once and on one phone only, so never post it or scan it on a second device.

### Can I get a refund for one traveller only?

Yes. Each traveller has their own order, so you ask for the refund on that order only. It is a full refund within 30 days of purchase if the eSIM has not connected to a network.

### Will the card statement show eSIM World?

No, it shows JET SHARING. That is the seller, registered in the United States. You pay by card in pounds, and your bank may apply its own rules to a payment to a seller abroad.

*Sources are linked in the text; reviewed by Nadezhda Semenova. For the terms of your own order, see our refund policy and terms.*