Restrictions on Purchasing SIMs in India?

Stu · 29-01-2007, 14:33

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.

EllasDevil · 30-01-2007, 14:38

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.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Switch to Linear Mode Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

	(#1)
Stu (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Guru Posts: 1,091 Join Date: 11 Feb 2004 Location: Detroit (formerly Dubai) Country:	29-01-2007, 14:33 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. Last edited by Stu; 29-01-2007 at 19:17..

	(#2)
EllasDevil (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Fan Posts: 147 Join Date: 05 May 2004 Location: Greece Country:	30-01-2007, 14:38 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.