KATHMANDU, Feb 20: Nepali citizens visiting India can now easily acquire Indian SIM cards with the Indian government simplifying the provision for Nepali nationals.
The Department of Telecommunications of the Indian government on Monday said that the citizens of Nepal and Bhutan coming from their respective origin countries, will be provided with the Indian SIM cards based on the valid official documents of the countries concerned.
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The official documents may include citizenship certificate or voter identification card issued by the Election Commission or valid photo-identity certificate issued by Nepalese Mission in India. Previously, Nepali nationals faced restrictions, necessitating them to use SIM cards registered under Indian citizens.
The validity of the issued mobile connections has been maintained for a maximum of three months at a time. The total time of the mobile connection cannot exceed the maximum time permitted to the visitors to stay in India. No international roaming shall be permitted on mobile connections provided to such visitors.
Nepal shares around 1,850 km of open border with its southern neighbor. On a daily basis, many Nepalese visit India to purchase daily essentials, to receive medical treatment and to visit holy places. However, they have been facing difficulties in many fronts for being unable to use mobile phones in India.
Nepal’s Ambassador to India Shankar Prasad Sharma confirmed about India easing the use of its mobile SIM cards to Nepali citizens. According to him, the Indian government approved the new provision in response to the request of the Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi. “Citizens of Nepal were denied a sim card earlier due to technical reasons,” Sharma wrote on his X account on Tuesday.
Here is the announcement made by Indian government authority:
