Country comparison – SIM cards

[molly]

With the age of the nanny states upon us, I think it would be interesting to see what countries or states around the world are enslaving it’s people and eroding their freedoms and which ones actually respect the rights of the citizens who are paying to keep them going.

Here you can list countries that force the citizens to hand over personal documents to what are otherwise are just “phone companies” selling access to poor slobs like you, who knows where the data ends up. This disrespect of privacy which these governments force the companies to do should be stopped but alas they getting away with it and have been for years. Also list any countries or states who are doing the right thing and NOT collecting this info.

Please only add countries or states where you have actually purchased a SIM card and know it to be true and do not add a list from some AI who is incorrect a lot of the time or info you got off some forum from a random stranger. Also list the year for future reference.

[molly]

UK-
I have purchased a sim card in the UK in 2025 and activated it and never handed over any personal documents. So not so bad there.

Australia-
I purchased a sim card in Australia in 2025 and attempted to activate it but there you need to hand over your personal documents. Be warned they took my money alright but you do not get connected with out documents.
I also found most of the criminals there just use other peoples documents without their knowledge, not surprising seeing that the personal info is floating around because of this government policy.

[moeloli]

I think that a lot of people would be reluctant to share their experience due to privacy reasons (not wanting to reveal what country they live in or have visited)...
I found this page. It's not an AI or a forum. It's only updated up to 2021, though.

As of early 2021, 157 governments required some form of proof of identity before a person could purchase a SIM card, but what form of ID and what other information may be required varies.

As of 2021, the following countries have mandatory SIM card registration laws: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, South Korea, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Svalbard, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timo-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

As of 2021, the following countries have mandatory biometric SIM registration laws: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Zambia

As of 2021, the following countries do not have mandatory SIM card registration laws: Bahamas, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Comoros, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Kiribati, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Moldova, Nauru, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Portugal, Romania, Samoa, Serbia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vanuatu.

Countries expected to implement mandatory SIM registration in 2022: Philippines, Mexico.

[molly]

I get that a lot of people on here are paranoids and I did think that would hold some back from replying, and thanks to your comment even more now....

but there are others that realize that if you are viewing this forum on 99% of web browsers your country location is already known by the boggy man watching you all the time because he has nothing better to do. After all you are a global terrorist and the number one priority of all LEO's around the world. lol.

I found this page.

Thanks for the link this is great info

[molly]

I noticed data only sim cards do not require any forms of ID's (only confirmed in the countries I have visited) they are given away with ISP routers for free in some cases. So you can use those with a sip provider or any other online phone service like simplex etc...
The phone SIM ID collection is simply a way to collect personal information and track average people.

[LoadingXML]

Algeria here, I bought a lot of SIM cards of the company Djezzy.

Basically they require ID and signature, the seller takes a picture of the ID in both sides than asks me to draw some signature in his phone (anything works really).

Once I gave a guy I trust my ID so he buys a card for himself, the seller refused to sell him unless I am present (he probably was afraid the guy stole my ID or something)


anyhow I do not see any problem with this because I am pro-state and this thing cuts a lot of terrorist communications, who would be easily indentified if they communicated using phone.


Bonus: if you are terrorist or simply hate gov taking your privacy then you probably better not using SIMs in first place.

Edited: corrected the SIM company name

[GenericKeyboard]

>Djizzy.
Diggy's DJ stage name.

[LoadingXML]

>Djizzy.
Diggy's DJ stage name.

Djezzy*

[BVLL]

Absolutely no issues buying one in Ukraine, just pay with cash, insert it and call a certain number to activate it

As of 2021, the following countries have mandatory SIM card registration laws: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, South Korea, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Svalbard, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timo-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The Ukraine part is false as of 2026, they required a passport to buy a sim card in 2020-21 but stopped after the full scale war began

[molly]

Algeria here, I bought a lot of SIM cards of the company Djezzy.

Basically they require ID and signature, the seller takes a picture of the ID in both sides than asks me to draw some signature in his phone (anything works really).

Once I gave a guy I trust my ID so he buys a card for himself, the seller refused to sell him unless I am present (he probably was afraid the guy stole my ID or something)


anyhow I do not see any problem with this because I am pro-state and this thing cuts a lot of terrorist communications, who would be easily indentified if they communicated using phone.


Bonus: if you are terrorist or simply hate gov taking your privacy then you probably better not using SIMs in first place.

Edited: corrected the SIM company name

I thought that Australia was bad, that sounds insane.
It is very dangerous giving anyone a picture of your ID. Who knows where it will end up.
Using your ID scammers can cause all sorts of issues for you, take out loans, put you in debt and give you a bad credit score. I know someone this happened to and it was a nightmare to set right again. Hopefully this does not happen to you.

[molly]

Absolutely no issues buying one in Ukraine, just pay with cash, insert it and call a certain number to activate it

As of 2021, the following countries have mandatory SIM card registration laws: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, South Korea, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Svalbard, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timo-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The Ukraine part is false as of 2026, they required a passport to buy a sim card in 2020-21 but stopped after the full scale war began

The only up side to war.

Absolutely no issues buying one in Ukraine, just pay with cash, insert it and call a certain number to activate it

↑The way it should be.↑

[LoadingXML]

I thought that Australia was bad, that sounds insane.
It is very dangerous giving anyone a picture of your ID. Who knows where it will end up.
Using your ID scammers can cause all sorts of issues for you, take out loans, put you in debt and give you a bad credit score. I know someone this happened to and it was a nightmare to set right again. Hopefully this does not happen to you.

Lol, they can't do anything with it really, even if I gave them the physical copy.

We dont have the credit system here (at least for the majority of people here) so they cant take loan or use card (I dont even have one iirc, my last card died, and you can't do anything with it)


So worry not, Algeria isnt like australia in these regards, nothing can happen when you give your ID.

[molly]

I thought that Australia was bad, that sounds insane.
It is very dangerous giving anyone a picture of your ID. Who knows where it will end up.
Using your ID scammers can cause all sorts of issues for you, take out loans, put you in debt and give you a bad credit score. I know someone this happened to and it was a nightmare to set right again. Hopefully this does not happen to you.

Lol, they can't do anything with it really, even if I gave them the physical copy.

We dont have the credit system here (at least for the majority of people here) so they cant take loan or use card (I dont even have one iirc, my last card died, and you can't do anything with it)


So worry not, Algeria isnt like australia in these regards, nothing can happen when you give your ID.

Well that's good, now if you can just PM me a photo of your license so I can register a few hundred SIM cards and distribute them among the people in Australia, we are in business. LOL......... Just kidding.

[LoadingXML]

Well that's good, now if you can just PM me a photo of your license so I can register a few hundred SIM cards and distribute them among the people in Australia, we are in business. LOL......... Just kidding.

SIM cards bought using my ID are extra monitored, just because of my terrorist like ID picture.


I dont know but ID pictures or the like, in many cases they look like your typical "we captured this guy" shown in TV.

You could look so nice be cant get that picture to look nice.

[TechLord]

References: Privacy International, Comparitech.

[TechLord]

UK-
I have purchased a sim card in the UK in 2025 and activated it and never handed over any personal documents. So not so bad there.

Against my expectations. After they introduced the Online Safety Act, one would expect it to be especially bad there.

It is very dangerous giving anyone a picture of your ID. Who knows where it will end up.
Using your ID scammers can cause all sorts of issues for you, take out loans, put you in debt and give you a bad credit score. I know someone this happened to and it was a nightmare to set right again. Hopefully this does not happen to you.

This is not the only reason I hate ID verification, but also the bureaucratic overhead it causes (same problem with GDPR, see also "operation choking point").

In Germany, they also used the terrorism argument, and "without this, people could sign up as Donald Duck!" (source: www[.]bmi[.]bund[.]de/SharedDocs/downloads/DE/veroeffentlichungen/themen/sicherheit/prepaidhintergrund-infoaustausch-terrorbek.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1) - so be it.

Now there is also a campaign lobbying for ID verification for social media (innn.it/keinhass) to fight "hate speech" (i.e. unwanted criticism). Something tells me they falsified the signature counts. The reality is, so-called "hate" is a healthy and logical reaction to harmful behaviour.