Restrictions on Purchasing SIMs in India?
 

I'm going to India next week. I was wondering if anyone knew whether prepaids were wide open there or whether there were ID requirements...

Late last year I purchased an AirTel Mumbai SIM pack and all they asked for was copies of my passport and photoID from my local office.

I was told you can also buy these packs from non-corporate stores without providing an ID on the spot but are expected to contact AirTel within 15 days to provide such documentation.

2 year ago my ex girlfriend (american as you) bought in Bangalore a Hutch simcard simply showing her passport :)

It used to be really easy... As mentioned, you had 15 days to fill out a lengthy form and show ID at an office. Now new regulations have made things harder. The last time I was there you needed to submit a photocopy of ID to the operator (but not neccessarily at the purchase point) and then it could take anything upto 5 days for this to be put onto the system and for it to be approved whilst your SIM stayed locked! Not good for travellers.

Ugh. I have a wallet full of sims but nothing that doesn't roam and at least Euro1 a minute. I didn't appreciate just how new these rules are. I've looked at the Hutch and Orange forms and it is not entirely clear that I am legally entitled to purchase a SIM. I have a 10 year multiple entry visa into India which permits me to stay six months at a time. I'm going to try and get through it with this. I e-mailed Hutch tonight and will see if I can get a favorable response. I've prepared Orange and Hutch forms. I will also prepare a form for Airtel. I will bring pictures of myself, a pritt glue stick, and will pray, but I think I'm screwed.

I bought a Hutch sim card in the Gujarat area of India.

The store let me buy the sim card and it was activated within a few minutes. He did however tell me I had to come back with a photo of myself as well as my passport.

Check out Hutch's site for what information they require: http://www.hutch.in/prepaid/download_prepaid_forms.asp

However despite submitting my documents to the retailer, I recieved a SMS message from Hutch a few days later warning that my outgoing calls would be suspended until they had recieved my information.

I decided to ignore the SMS and it was only when I was in Mumbai airport, I noticed that the outgoing service was barred but it didn't matter as I was leaving that day.

What I would suggest is buying the sim card from the network's (Airtel / Hutch) own store therefore they may be able to assist better with the ID requirements to ensure you have no problems.