Before you start

Physical passport, or carte de séjour
For postpaid: a residence document and a Tunisian bank account
An unlocked or eSIM-capable handset

Step-by-step

1
Buy in an operator shop with the passport
Registration requires the identity document. Tunisie Telecom, Ooredoo and Orange all have shops in the centre, at Lac 1 and 2, and in La Marsa. A card sold ready-to-use elsewhere is registered to someone else.
In personWho: YouDay 1–2
2
Start prepaid
Prepaid data bundles are inexpensive and need only the registered SIM. Postpaid contracts want a residence document and a Tunisian account for direct debit.
In personWho: You
3
Check fixed broadband by building before you sign a lease
Fibre coverage in Greater Tunis is uneven. Lac 1, Lac 2, parts of La Marsa and the newer Ariana developments are generally good; the older centre and parts of the medina are not. Ask a neighbour what they actually get rather than relying on a coverage map.
In personWho: You
4
Plan for a backup connection if you work from home
Outages and speed variability are more common here than in western Europe. A fixed line plus a generous mobile data plan on a different operator is what most remote workers in Tunis settle on, and it is not paranoia.
OnlineWho: You
5
Note that Tunisia does not change its clocks
Tunisia stays on GMT+1 all year. Europe moves twice a year, so your offset to Paris, Berlin or London changes in spring and autumn without anything changing here. This quietly moves every recurring meeting you have with European colleagues.
OnlineWho: You
6
Use the coworking spaces as your fallback
Tunis has a real coworking scene around the lake, in the centre and in La Marsa, with business-grade connections. Even if you work at home, keeping a paid relationship with one is your answer when the line drops before a client call.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Physical passport
Carte de séjour, for postpaid
Tunisian bank details, for direct debit
Proof of address, for fixed-line installation

Things most newcomers don’t know

Tunisia does not observe daylight saving, so your distance from Europe moves twice a year.

The country stays on GMT+1 permanently. When Europe springs forward, Paris and Berlin become an hour ahead of Tunis; when it falls back in autumn, they align again. Nothing changes locally, which is precisely why it goes unnoticed — recurring calendar invites created by European colleagues silently shift relative to your day, twice a year, in opposite directions. Anyone with standing European meetings should re-check them at both changeovers.

Source: community-reported

Broadband quality in Tunis is a district-level question, not a national one.

The newer developments — Lac 1 and 2, parts of La Marsa, the Ariana expansions — have materially better fixed infrastructure than the older centre and the medina. For a remote worker this is a housing decision disguised as a utility decision, and the operator's coverage map does not resolve to the building. Ask a neighbour what speed they actually see at eight in the evening.

Source: community-reported

The SIM is the fastest thing to complete and several other things depend on it.

Tunisian banks and services want a local number for verification codes, and the SIM needs only a passport while the bank account needs a residence document and the residence document needs an address. Doing it on arrival day removes a dependency from a chain that otherwise stalls.

Source: community-reported

Registered SIMs mean a kiosk card will eventually stop working.

SIMs are registered against identity documents. A card bought ready-activated is in a stranger's name, which is fine until it is deactivated or until you need to prove ownership of the number to a bank or an employer. Since the operator shops are numerous and the process takes ten minutes, there is no upside to the shortcut.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Buying a pre-registered SIM rather than one in your own name.
Signing a lease in the older centre without checking what broadband the building actually gets.
Running client-facing work on a single connection with no fallback.
Assuming your offset to Europe is fixed when Tunisia does not change its clocks.
Trying for a postpaid contract before you hold a residence document.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.