Tifosi

Has anyone had recent experience in purchasing a pre-paid eSIM from Airtel, specifically at Delhi airport? Based on this link it seems that Airtel does allow pre-paid customers to purchase eSIMs (unlike most other carriers), but aside from those instructions I can't find any definitive information.

sgopal2

Hello - I'm bumping this thread back up. I am having problems getting a SIM card in India as a foreigner and was wondering if anyone has any advice?

I went into a Vodafone showroom last week with all of the necessary paperwork (Passport, OCI card, photos, etc) and had my application rejected twice. The first time the guy got confused because my current passport didn't have an Indian visa page in it. I tried to explain that the government did away with Indian visas for OCI, but he didn't seem to understand. Fortunately I had a copy of my old passport with the U-visa page. This caused confusion because the expiration date said "LIFELONG". The Vodafone people took pictures of everything and sent it in for activation, but it was rejected. Apparently foreigners can get the SIM activated on Vodafone but their system requires that a valid end date of a visa be entered. OCI cards do not have an expiration date, so the system seems to reject them. Instead of trying to work with me, they rejected my application twice. After spending nearly 6 hours with these idiots I just gave up. They kept asking for me to provide Indian ID to activate the SIM.

Any OCIs have experience in getting SIM activated while in India?

IAN-UK

A Mumbai acquaintance describes this as a typical Indian snowball of bureaucracy. A relatively simple process gathers layers of complexity as it rolls through the system, until participants lose sight of the goal.

There may, or may not be some truth in that observation. But even those visitors who would like to follow regulations find themselves asking friends to get a SIM for them, or finding a phone repair shop that will do pretty much he same thing..

oliver2002

Visitors will not easily get a SIM from the stores of the majors who follow the protocol. Since they simplified the process for residents via the Aadhar card all they ask for is the card and have no clue how to handle the exceptions. Don't bother and ask a resident friend to help out.

GMOChicken

Get an aadhaar card (if you do not already have one) and show that. There is no need to even mention that you are an OCI, or show your visa/passport. The call center folks are just following a script and get hopelessly confused when asked to veer off that script.

oliver2002

If you are not resident in India you should not get an aadhar card...!

GUWonder

OCI Cardholders who stay in India for over 182 days in the 12 months immediately preceding the date of application for Aadhaar and have an Indian address can also enroll for an Aadhaar Card in India. But others shouldn't be doing so. That said, there are lots of Indian-residential-property-owning OCIs in the US and Europe who have gotten Aadhaar despite not formally meeting such kind of 182-days-in-12-months Indian residency qualification at any points since Aadhaar came into existence.

OCIs shouldn't need Aadhaar to be able to sign up for or retain mobile service in India, but perhaps there are still retail outlets around that aren't familiar with how the Indian Department of Telecom has formally approved an exemption/alternative for OCIs/PIOs and NRIs a few years back.

sgopal2

I did look into getting Aadhar. Need to show formal proof of address. I have relatives who could help, but the regulations state that Aadhar is only for those who are residents of India. I'm an OCI and although I visit frequently, I'm not a resident.

Shameful that they make it so difficult to get a simple SIM card in India.

outbackcountry

NY India embassy has this posted on their website. This one pager has general information about Aadhaar card for OCI/NRIs and the below paragraph relating to mobile connection. There is a hyper link to the "placed here" that takes you to the actual DOT communication to the service providers for verification for OCI/NRIs relating to mobile connection transaction. Since I just opened my Flyer talk account I cannot post a link to the external websites. It is available on the indiainnewyork dot gov dot in website; you can also Google search it. Dont know how much this will help but thought of posting this here. Maybe carrying a printout could help??Overseas Indians Don’t Need Aadhaar for Mobile Connections

Department of Telecom (DoT), Government of India has exempted overseas Indians from linking Aadhaar with their Indian mobile connections and has issued suitable advisory to telecom service providers. DoT has issued a letter dated 01.12.2017 to all mobile phone service licensees to use alternative method to re-verify existing customers belonging to certain categories including foreigners (covering PIOs and OCI cardholders) and NRIs. Procedure and format for this purpose has been prescribed. A copy of DoT letter No.800-26/2016-AS.II dated 01.12.2017 is placed here.

outbackcountry

NY India embassy has this posted on their website. This one pager has general information about Aadhaar card for OCI/NRIs and the below paragraph relating to mobile connection. There is a hyper link to the "placed here" that takes you to the actual DOT communication to the service providers for verification for OCI/NRIs relating to mobile connection transaction. Since I just opened my Flyer talk account I cannot post a link to the external websites. It is available on the indiainnewyork dot gov dot in website; you can also Google search it. Dont know how much this will help but thought of posting this here. Maybe carrying a printout could help??

Overseas Indians Don’t Need Aadhaar for Mobile Connections
Department of Telecom (DoT), Government of India has exempted overseas Indians from linking Aadhaar with their Indian mobile connections and has issued suitable advisory to telecom service providers. DoT has issued a letter dated 01.12.2017 to all mobile phone service licensees to use alternative method to re-verify existing customers belonging to certain categories including foreigners (covering PIOs and OCI cardholders) and NRIs. Procedure and format for this purpose has been prescribed. A copy of DoT letter No.800-26/2016-AS.II dated 01.12.2017 is placed here.

puchong

Has any non-Indian, with or without an OCI card, had any recent experience of signing up for a new SIM card and mobile phone number after arriving at the International terminal in DEL? If so, how long did the process take and the steepest hurdles that you had to face? Was the SIM activated then and there? If not, how long did the activation take?

emcampbe

I know I have seen articles saying you can get a pre-paid SIM on arrival at DEL and BOM airports - is there the ability to get this on arrival in Chennai (MAA) as well? Flying from SIN, if that makes a difference.

also, if available, are there multiple or just a single vendor for this. Where we are going (village in S. India), BNSL is really the most reliable carrier, so hoping we can get a SIM from there. Apparently Airtel is available in the area too, but less as reliable, so that could be an option as well.

puchong

I do not know about Chennai, but will relate my experience after arrival in DEL. The arrivals area AirTel shop (run by a franchisee no doubt) demanded Rs 660 for a 28-day connection. Luckily I smelt a rat and walked away; got a prepaid taxi at the airport to my hotel (the yellow Delhi Police prepaid taxi counter 30 feet away across the road from the exit door) was substantially cheaper than the two prepaid taxi counters) and then got a SIM from town for about Rs 280, activated in a couple of hours!

oliver2002

Do they still do the aadhar drama?

puchong

No, I did not face the Aadhar fuss - but I did have an OCI card. However, I have a feeling it would have been OK even without the OCI.