In short: an eSIM for business travel allows each employee to land with internet at their destination without roaming, without searching for a local SIM, and without surprise bills. It's purchased online, activated via QR before departure, and the digital invoice serves to justify the expense to Finance. It's cheaper than carrier roaming and quicker to manage than a physical SIM.
If someone at your company has returned from a trip with a roaming bill for several hundred euros, you already know why more and more IT and Finance departments are changing their policies. It's not a technological whim: it's a way to stop overpaying for something as basic as having mobile data outside of Spain.
What is an eSIM for business travel?
An eSIM is a digital SIM card integrated into the phone, tablet, or computer with a mobile connection. There's no plastic to insert: it's activated by scanning a QR code or installing a profile that the provider sends by email after purchase. For a traveling employee, this means they can purchase connectivity for the destination country even before boarding the plane, and have it ready to use as soon as they land.
In a corporate context, this translates into something very specific: the employee no longer relies on their Spanish carrier's roaming (with its data limits and rates outside the EU) and instead uses a local or regional data plan contracted specifically for that trip, with a predefined duration and data volume.
Why companies are abandoning traditional roaming
Spanish carrier roaming works reasonably well within the European Union, where "roaming like at home" regulations oblige operators not to overcharge when traveling within the bloc. The problem arises outside the EU: the United States, the United Kingdom, Latin America, Asia, or any destination where there's a trade show, a client meeting, or a sales tour. There, roaming can skyrocket the cost per megabyte to figures that easily exceed several euros per day, and many corporate bills arrive without anyone having been able to foresee or approve them in advance.
The usual result is one of these three scenarios, and you probably recognize one: the employee turns off data and works blindly until they find Wi-Fi, buys a physical SIM at the airport (with the queue, the language barrier, and the risk of losing their Spanish number during the trip), or activates roaming and hopes the bill won't be too high. None of the three is a company policy; they are makeshift solutions that each person improvises as best they can.
The eSIM solves the problem at its root because it separates data connectivity from the phone number. The employee keeps their Spanish SIM active for calls and WhatsApp with their usual number, and uses the eSIM only for data at the destination. No roaming, no surprises, no reliance on hotel or airport Wi-Fi coverage.
How it works in practice: activation and MDM compatibility
The process, from the employee's perspective, has three steps. First, the purchase: choose the plan according to destination and travel days, usually from the company phone, and pay with a corporate card. Second, the installation: receive a QR by email to scan from the phone settings, a process that takes a couple of minutes if done before leaving home (better not to leave it until the last minute). And third, activation at the destination: the eSIM activates itself upon detecting the country's network, without touching anything else.
If your company has never installed an eSIM and wants to test the step-by-step process before generalizing it, it's worth reviewing how to install an eSIM with real process screenshots first, to resolve any technical doubts for the team before the first trip.
One point that companies with managed mobile fleets forget to ask until they are already at the airport: if phones are under an MDM (Mobile Device Management) system, the device's security policy may restrict the installation of new data profiles, including eSIMs. This is not an eSIM provider problem; it's a configuration decided by the company's own IT department. The solution is simple but needs to be anticipated: ask IT to add the eSIM provider to the list of allowed profiles, or pre-install the eSIM in the IT department itself before handing the device to the traveling employee.
How much your company can save
The savings depend on the volume of travel, but the logic is always the same: roaming outside the EU is charged per megabyte or via expensive bundles designed for occasional use, while a travel eSIM is contracted for a specific destination and exact duration, without added margin for "not knowing how much you're going to spend." As an indicative reference, here's how potential savings are distributed based on the size of the traveling workforce:
| Company size | Employees traveling per year | Where savings are noticeable |
|---|---|---|
| Startup (5–20 people) | 3–5 employees | Eliminates unforeseen roaming expenses outside the EU for each business trip |
| SME (20–100 people) | 10–20 employees | Predictable communications budget, approved per trip before departure |
| Medium-sized company (100–500 people) | 30–80 employees | The aggregated volume of avoided roaming bills becomes significant for Finance |
The really important data is not an exact figure—every operator and tariff plan is different, so any fixed number would be more marketing than useful information—but the structural comparison: roaming is paid by consumption without prior control, and the eSIM is paid in advance, with a known cap from minute one. That's what truly allows for budgeting.
How to design a travel communications policy with eSIM
Companies that have already gone through this don't leave the decision to each employee's discretion when booking flights. They formalize four simple steps:
Before the trip
The employee purchases the destination eSIM in advance—ideally 48 hours before departure, to allow for technical queries if any arise—from the provider designated by the company. The earlier it's purchased, the less stress on the day of the flight.
Authorized cost
An indicative cap per day or per destination is defined in advance, similar to how travel allowances are managed. A complicated process isn't necessary: a simple table by destination type (see the next section) that the employee consults before purchasing is sufficient.
Simplified reimbursement
The digital invoice received after purchase serves directly as proof of communication expense, without the need for paper receipts or waiting to return to the office to submit it.
Backup with the Spanish SIM
The physical SIM from the Spanish operator remains active (with data roaming deactivated, to avoid accidental charges) for emergency calls and SMS, and as a reference contact number for the office.
Which plan to choose based on the type of trip
Not all business trips require the same thing, and over-provisioning is as inefficient as running short halfway through a trade show. Here's the logic that usually works best:
| Type of trip | What plan to look for | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 day meeting in Europe | Regional European plan, few GB | 1–2 days |
| 3–5 day event or trade show in Europe | Regional plan with more data, for email, video calls, and document sharing | Event duration + margin |
| One-week trip to the USA or Latin America | Specific regional plan, with enough data for browsing and work apps | Approx. 7 days |
| Two-week sales tour in Asia | Higher data volume plan, designed for multiple countries if the tour includes more than one | Approx. 14 days |
| Expatriation or long project (1 month or more) | Longer duration or renewable plan, evaluating if a local line at the destination is worthwhile | 30 days or more |
For trips within Europe, a data plan for Europe usually covers several countries without having to buy a different eSIM for each stop, which is common on sales tours across the continent. For the United States specifically, it's worth directly looking at a data plan for the United States, as roaming rates there from Spain tend to be among the most expensive. And if the employee themselves also wants to maintain backup connectivity while in Spain before or after the trip, there's the option of an eSIM for Spain as an additional data line.
Centralized management for IT and Finance
What convinces Finance most is not just savings, but control. With a well-defined eSIM policy:
- Orderly digital invoicing: each purchase generates an invoice that can be filed with other travel expenses, without paper receipts getting lost in luggage.
- Pre-expense approval: if a plan and an indicative cap per destination type are defined, the employee knows in advance what they can buy without having to ask for permission every time.
- Nothing physical to manage: being digital, there are no SIM cards to order, wait for by mail, lose, or return after the trip.
- Traceability per trip: each purchase is associated with a specific date and destination, which facilitates reconciling the expense with the trip itself in the company's expense management system.
If your company is still unclear on the difference between roaming and data itinerancy for billing purposes, it's advisable for whoever is managing the policy to first review what data itinerancy is and also eSIM versus roaming, as these are the two concepts that generate the most confusion when explaining the new policy to the team for the first time.
Security in business travel with eSIM
Connectivity is only half the equation: business travelers handle sensitive information, from corporate email to client documents. Some practices to include in the policy:
- Combine the eSIM with a corporate VPN to encrypt traffic, especially on public hotel and airport Wi-Fi networks.
- In destinations with known network restrictions, install and test the VPN before leaving Spain; some VPN apps are difficult or impossible to download once inside the country.
- Deactivate data roaming on the physical Spanish SIM as soon as you land, to avoid accidental charges if the phone changes network unnoticed.
- Use the phone itself as a Wi-Fi hotspot for the laptop instead of connecting to the hotel's public Wi-Fi, which is much less controlled.
Regarding how to maximize your data plan without running out halfway through your trip, we have a practical guide with tips to save data with eSIM that applies equally well to a business trip or a leisure trip, and another specific one on how to use eSIM and VPN together if your company's security policy requires encryption on any network.
Common mistakes and what almost no one tells you
After seeing how different companies implement (or try to implement) their eSIM policy, there are a handful of details that almost never appear in generic guides:
- Buying the eSIM in the taxi to the airport is too late. Not because of the purchase process itself, but because if there's any doubt about device compatibility or an issue with the activation email, there's no time left to resolve it. Buy it at least one day in advance.
- Not all old company phones are compatible. Models older than four or five years, especially mid-range Android phones, may not support eSIM. Before generalizing the policy, check which models the company's fleet actually has.
- Only one active eSIM profile at a time, but several installed. This is key for tours with multiple countries: eSIMs for each destination can be pre-installed before leaving for the trip, and simply activate the corresponding one upon landing in each country, without having to buy or install anything during the tour.
- In-flight Wi-Fi does not replace eSIM at the destination. It seems obvious, but many company policies assume that "hotel Wi-Fi is enough," and the employee ends up without data between the airport, taxi, and check-in, precisely when they need it most to get around.
- Two employees on the same trip do not mean a single plan. Each device needs its own active eSIM; a single eSIM cannot be shared between two phones as if it were a pocket router.
- Coverage is not identical across the entire country. In destinations with rural or mountainous areas, data coverage may be more limited than in the main city. If the trip includes travel outside major cities, it's advisable to check this before leaving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the company purchase eSIMs in bulk for multiple employees at once?
It depends on the provider. Some offer accounts or panels designed for managing multiple devices; in other cases, like PuraSIM currently, each eSIM is purchased per device, and centralized management is resolved with the digital invoice for each purchase, which serves as proof of expense for Finance.
Is the eSIM compatible with company phones managed by MDM?
It depends on the security policy configured in the company's MDM (Mobile Device Management) system. Some profiles restrict the installation of new eSIMs from the device itself. The safest approach is to consult with IT before the trip, or ask them to pre-install the eSIM directly.
What happens if the employee changes destination mid-trip?
They can install and activate the eSIM for the new destination without issue. Modern phones allow multiple eSIMs to be installed at once (although only one can be active at a time), so for tours with multiple countries, it's good practice to pre-install all of them before leaving home.
Are eSIM travel expenses tax-deductible in Spain?
Yes. They are communication expenses linked to professional activity, deductible in both the personal income tax (IRPF) for freelancers and corporate tax for companies, provided the corresponding invoice is kept and the expense is justified as part of a business trip.
How much does a business travel eSIM cost compared to carrier roaming?
There is no single valid figure for all cases because it depends on the operator, destination, and contracted data volume. What is constant, however, is the logic: roaming outside the EU is charged by consumption without a clear cap from the start, while an eSIM is purchased with a known price and data volume in advance, which makes it easier to compare and budget.
Does the eSIM work in all countries where employees travel?
PuraSIM covers over 190 countries. For destinations with known peculiarities, such as China, South Korea, or some African countries, it's advisable to check coverage and specific conditions before traveling.
Do I need to uninstall the eSIM when returning from the trip?
It's not mandatory, but it's good practice to avoid accumulating expired profiles on the phone. Most devices allow you to remove the eSIM profile from the same settings where it was installed, leaving the phone ready for the next trip.
