Purchasing South African SIM Cards
 

Some advice - the SA authorities have introduced a scheme whereby all purchasers of SIM cards have to prove their identity (known as RICA).

So - when you go to purchase one, make sure that you have your passport with you - if you are purchasing directly from one of the major providers (particularly Vodacom), they will almost certainly ask for prrof of an SA address too - a letter from a hotel is deemed sufficient. If you don't have this, then a solution is to shop around some of the secondary providers (department stores, major fuel stations etc) - they don't seem too fussed so long as you have the passport.

We fell foul of this and wasted a full day getting two SIMs!

Airport
 

Works pretty easy on arrival at the airport. They know better how to deal with foreigners !

cheers

Bought mine from a lady on the street in a small town. She registered it for me (no idea in who's name) and it worked for 3 months etc.

Usually a way around these things ;-p

You are able to register in every shop with that RICA-Sign. The clerks sometimes just don't know how to do it.

Instead of trying to register it to a certain address they just need to select "Tourist" from the Drop-Down-List and just like magic you do not need a proof of residence anymore.

Cheers Peter