The Ministry of Digital Development maintains the possibility of selling SIM cards outside of stores

To do this, you will need to submit a contract application in advance to the operator’s personal account.

In the first version of the document, the possibility of selling SIM cards outside landline telephone stores was indicated only for banks with virtual operators (OMV, which provides communication services under its own brand, but operates on the infrastructure of another operator. ).

In later versions of the document, Forbes notes, the possibility of purchasing SIM cards remotely remained for both Russians and foreigners, and all telecom operators, not just banking ones, could sell them outside of communications stores. In the updated draft rules for the provision of telephone services, which the Ministry of Digital Development sent to operators on October 28, this option also remains, Forbes notes.

• On August 8, amendments to the Law “On Communications” were approved, which complicated the process of purchasing SIM cards. The passport data of each person must be checked through the State Services, the Unified Biometric System (SUB) or the system of the Ministry of the Interior. Foreigners must submit biometric data to the EBS before purchasing a SIM card.
• The provisions regarding the sale of SIM cards to foreign citizens will come into force on January 1, 2025, for Russians – from April 2025.
• At the end of October, telecom operators asked the government to postpone the new rules for the sale of SIM cards to foreigners for several months, as they did not have time to prepare their showrooms for the new requirements (connect them to the EBS and provide each seller’s workplace with video camera).