Registration Policies Per Country

Prepaid SIM cards used to be fairly straightforward to acquire in a lot of countries.  Buyers needed simply to walk up to any place that sells this from convenience stores to vending machines to branded mobile phone stops.  However for security reasons, an increasing number of countries have required some form of registration from mobile phone users.  In most countries, registration itself do not prohibit the direct sale of prepaid SIM cards to visitors but they may still be cumbersome. 

 This page shows a summary of countries that require registration, and if so where visitors should go to register their SIM cards, and what they need to bring.  Although some countries do not require registration but individual telcos do, this page focuses more on where compulsory SIM card registration is enshrined in national law or government regulations. In most cases, the registration happens on-site, meaning you will register the SIM at the same time you purchase it (and will thus require identification at that point) but in other cases, you may have to complete the registration yourself.  

Africa

COUNTRY	Registration Required?	Where to register	What to Bring	Maximum number of SIM cards	Other Notes
Egypt	NO	n/a
Morocco	NO	n/a
Kenya	YES	point-of-sale	Passport
Nigeria	NO	n/a
South Africa	YES	RICA-accredited agent (i.e., most point-of-sales)	Passport Accommodation address	-	-

Americas

COUNTRY	Registration Required?	Where to register	What to Bring	Maximum number of SIM cards	Other Notes
Argentina	YES	point-of-sale	ID card	-	procedure varies slightly per operator
Brazil	YES	point-of-sale	passports	-	-
Canada	NO	n/a
Colombia	YES	point-of-sale	ID card address details IMEI details of device with proof of purchase (especially if stay is longer than 30 days)
Chile	NO - for stays shorter than 30 days and using a device purchased overseas	online	copy of passport info about device manufacturer and model screenshot of IMEI device completed registration form	-
Mexico	NO
Peru	YES	point-of-sale	passport
USA	NO	n/a

Asia Pacific

COUNTRY	Registration Required?	Where to register	What to Bring	Maximum number of SIM cards	Other Notes
Australia	YES	online through telco's website	passport or driving licence should be presented to sales point Australian address (e.g. of accommodation)	-
China	YES	telco-branded store or service point	passport	-	* proper termination of mobile service before leaving the country by visiting a telco-branded service point is required
Hong Kong	NO	n/a
India	YES	point-of-sale	passport (original + copy) visa page (original + copy) passport photos proof of address	-
Indonesia	YES	telco-branded store	passport	-
Japan	YES - for voice-enable SIM cards	Japan does not permit the sale of most voice-enabled SIM cards to visitors.
Macau	NO
Malaysia	YES	point-of-sale		-
New Zealand	NO	n/a
Philippines	NO (legislation pending)	n/a			There is pending legislation to require IDs but it has not yet been passed.[1]
Singapore	YES	point-of-sale	Passport	3	-
South Korea	YES	point-of-sale	Passport	-	-
Taiwan	YES	point-of-sale	Passport	-
Thailand	YES	point-of-sale	Passport	-	-
Vietnam	YES	telco-branded store	Passport	-	-

Europe

COUNTRY	Registration Required?	Where to register	What to Bring	Maximum number of SIM cards	Other Notes
Austria	YES	telco-branded store partner shops post offices online verification (selected passport holders only)	passport extra money for activation surcharge (for doing so at some partner shops or post offices)	-	-
Belgium	YES	telco-branded store independent store where SIM was purchase (delays are possible)	passport	-	-
Croatia	NO	n/a
Czech Republic	NO	n/a
Denmark	NO	n/a
Estonia	NO	n/a
Finland	NO	n/a
France	YES	point-of-sale	passport or driving licence	-
Germany	YES	telco-branded store (for larger telcos like Vodafone, O2, or T-mobile) agency-appointed stores (for smaller telcos/MVNOs) independent mobile phone stores that sell SIM cards online video verification (for selected passport holders only)	passport or national ID card german address (accommodation's address will suffice)	-	Registration is not required when SIM card is purchased but required for activation and use. Most stores will only take requests to register SIM cards purchased from them. They may reject requests activating SIM cards for different stores or levy surcharges. Results of online verification may take days to process; in-store verification usually instant.
Greece	YES	point-of-sale	passport or national ID card	-
Hungary	YES	telco-branded store	passport	10	prepaid subscribers are required to have their subscriptions verified annually to keep prepaid SIMs active.
Iceland	NO	n/a
Ireland	NO	n/a
Italy	YES	point-of-sale	passport	-	-
Latvia	NO	n/a
Lithuania	NO	n/a
Netherlands	NO	n/a
Norway	YES	telco-branded store electronics stores that sell SIM cards	passport national ID card (EU/EEA citizens)	-	Supermarkets and non-electronics stores do not always activate SIM cards.
Poland	YES	telco-branded store Ruch kiosks post offices	passport national ID card (EU/EEA citizens)	-	Independent electronics stores may sell SIM cards but they won't register them and will hence remain deactivated.
Romania	NO	n/a
Russia	YES	telco-branded store	passport with VISA and stamp	-	-
Slovakia	YES	telco-branded store online	passport or other national ID card	-	-
Slovenia	NO	n/a
Spain	YES	for larger telcos like Movistar, Vodafone, Orage: branded store Smaller telcos/MVNOs: agent store or branded store whose network the MVNO uses	passport	-	-
Sweden	NO	n/a
Switzerland	YES	point-of-sale	passport or other national ID card	-	-
Turkey	YES	point-of-sale	IMEI details of phone	1	Only 1 SIM can be linked per device In practice, this concerns users who will stay longer than 120 days as there is a grace period. However, a user may encounter problems if he/she visits Turkey again in the future and wants to use the same device.
Ukraine	NO	n/a
United Kingdom	NO	n/a

Middle East

COUNTRY	Registration Required?	Where to register	What to Bring	Maximum number of SIM cards	Other notes
Israel	NO	n/a
Qatar	YES	point-of-sale	passport	-	-
Saudi Arabia	YES	telco-branded store	passport with visa stamp	2	-
UAE	YES	point-of-sale	Passport with visa stamp	-	-