The first thing we do when we arrive in a new city is to embark upon what we have come to call a “SIM Safari.” We both have unlocked iPhones and if it’s not too costly, we both get a SIM card so that we can use our smartphones just as we would at home. It’s usually easy, but getting a SIM card in India was a challenge.
There is no way we’d ever pay the international roaming charges of our local Canadian carrier and its travel packs are no great bargain either. A SIM with a pay-as-you-go plan is often reasonable.
Here’s what you need to do in India.
Before you hit a mobile store:
- Make sure you have an unlocked phone. If you don’t know, here’s how you find out.
- Get a letter from your hotel or hostel that states you are staying there and for how long. The hotel we stayed in knew exactly what we needed.
- Make a copy of the photo/identity page of your passport to include in the application.
- Make a copy of the Indian visa page in your passport.
- You will need two passport style photos to include with your SIM application.
- Take a photocopy (take a couple to be safe) of official identification with your home address on it.
In Bengaluru
We went to an Airtel mobile store on Brigade Road near the corner of MG Road. Can’t seem to find the address but by chance I took a photo of its location:
We should have come to India prepared with passport-style photos but we did not. We went to a studio near Brigade Road, which was very inexpensive and fairly quick:
G.K. Vale
Portrait Lounge. 28, Church Street Next to Bhimas, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560001, India
http://goo.gl/maps/h4bo7
You’re set!
Take all your stuff to the mobile store. They will fill out the application, which you sign in various places.
Once you install your SIM card it will take several hours to activate (It took about 4 for us).
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Perfect! I just bought a SIM card from that store, based on your advice.
To clarify: The shop I went to is down the little side street near the arrow. Next to “Hotel Brigade Royale” on Google Maps.
The guy asked me where I was from (Australia), then pulled out some SIM cards and tried a couple until they worked with my phone. No paperwork required. Loaded up some value on the Vodafone SIM to give me data immediately. It was all working by the time I walked away. Seemed a bit shifty to me, but real convenient!
While the official price seems to be Rs100 (US$1.50), I paid Rs600 (US$9) for the SIM, plus Rs297 for 2GB of data over 28 days. Worth it for the convenience of avoiding paperwork and waiting.
That’s interesting John. Certainly much easier than wading through all the paperwork. There is some risk, though, anytime one uses the black market. If the SIM stops working, for example, you may have no recourse. I’m pretty risk averse when it comes to any potential criminal involvement in a foreign country so this is not likely something I’d pursue. I’m glad it worked out for you!
[…] We always get SIM cards for our unlocked smartphones so as to avoid crazy international roaming fees. Here's how to do that in Bangalore. […]