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How to get a SIM card in India for calling and data?

India is a land of colours, cultures, calmness and chaos all in a vibrant and delicate balance that you’ll find nowhere else. It is diverse and beautiful. It is huge and welcoming. But while it’s all these great things, it is also a little difficult. Buying a SIM card in India can get a little tricky sometimes especially if you are a roaming foreign traveler. You need many documents and there are many steps to obtaining one. Even when you have the cheapest SIM card in India or the most expensive one, it might not work with your phone unless your phone is locked and the GSM bandwidths are compatible. Must Know These Facts About Buying a SIM Card in India Types of SIM cards: There are two types of Indian SIM cards available namely; postpaid and prepaid or pay as you go SIM. A postpaid SIM Card is the one where you are billed after having used the services like calling, data, texting. Postpaid plans cost more than prepaid plans generally whereas a prepaid sim card in india for foreigners or a pay as you go sim india is where you pay before hand to avail services like calling, data, texting. The plans on this one are comparatively cheaper. Validity of a tourist SIM card is for max 90 days. After that it will automatically get disabled. If you are here for longer than 90 days you will have to rely on an Indian resident to get you a card. Or you will have to get a new SIM card for a foreigner with a new number. In most of the parts of the world, mobile phones are locked to their telecom carriers and only they (your telecom carrier) can unlock the phones for you. You will not be able to insert another sim or use it with another carrier unless unlocked. To obtain an international/ travel SIM card in India, you need to present the following documents in original and photocopies: Passport Photographs Indian Visa Local Address Documents Home Address Proof and some more depending on your SIM card provider’s and seller’s requirement. Within 15 hours of your details being successfully verified, your SIM card to use in India should be active. Post that you can go back to the shop and top up or recharge your phone. You will have to make sure that you are in the same area as you bought the roaming SIM card for the activation to go through. For instance, if you bought the local SIM card in Delhi, you cannot complete the activation if you have travelled outside of Delhi. It has to be done within the same area it was issued. Indian government tried a scheme with free tourist BSNL SIM cards and international SIM cards being sold at airports. The free sim card in india for foreigners that BSNL used to provide, has now been discontinued. There is no such free sim card India that you can avail and we warn you to be careful from such fraudulent claims. Steps to Obtaining an Indian SIM CardStep 1: Local referenceFor a prepaid roaming SIM card you will need a local reference name and phone number (For instance you can’t apply for a SIM card in Delhi with a reference in Mumbai- it has to be a local number) It is not necessary that you will have a local reference but you will need one because your local reference will get a call from the network provider within 24 hours of submitting the documents. It is possible that only one phone call is made to the local reference and in case they miss that call, you may have to wait for a day or so get the call again. It is also possible that you may have to repeat the entire documentation process with a different number as your application may be rejected and then you’ll have to wait for another two days. Step 2: Final verification