UK visitor coming to Canada, can I buy PAYGO?

[Granny Smith]

Hi all,
This is my first time in these forums and I'm hoping someone can help me.
My partner & I will be coming to Canada for 3weeks at Easter and we want to avoid paying the UK Roaming charges when we call eachother's mobile phones.
Can we purchase a Rogers (or Fido) Pay As You Go / Prepaid Sim card, or is this only available to Canadian residents?

We both have a GSM phone, so the SIM cards will work, but I don't know if it's possible for foreign visitors to buy them? Our other option is to purchase a 'Global Roaming' simcard from the UK which is cheaper than Roaming on our UK mobile accounts but this is still quite pricey and it means we would still have to pay to receive calls from eachother which seems daft if we're both going to be in Canada.

I hope someone can help.

Happy New Year by the way!!

 

[Dixie Cup]

Don't know why you can't Granny. Just bought my son one for Christmas and residency wasn't part of the package!

Cheers!

Happy New Year by the way!![/quote]

 

[Granny Smith]

Thanks Dixie.

Is it easy to buy a SIM card (i.e. without also buying a phone) over there in Canada?

Cheers

 

[Blackleaf]

It should be easy to buy SIM cards at any place they use mobile phones.

 

[snowles]

SIM cards for Rogers phones are available anywhere you see a big sign for them and cost $25.00. Additionally, you will have to purchase at least $20 of pay-as-you go time to get started as well. Most places will charge to program it for you (usually $50), or you can do it yourself for free over the internet or the phone (which is very annoying).

If you go into a specialized Rogers store, or in a smaller town a place like The Source, you can get it programmed and ready to use right there in store; just bring your phone and make sure to ask for a new SIM and a $20 (or whatever amount you want) for it.

A warning: get them to try with a 'store use' SIM card first, to make sure your phone is unlocked and can be used by their cards. Once sold, those SIM cards and the purchased time can't be returned.