If you need a mainland mobile number, begin at a telecom operator’s own service hall. The national working-and-living guide says foreign nationals can apply with a passport or Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card. It does not list a visa, address record, passport photocopy or specific payment method as a universal SIM application requirement.
Before the visit
- Take your original, valid passport. If you hold a Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card, ask whether that is preferable for your account.
- Use your chosen operator’s official app or customer-service line to locate a self-operated hall that handles foreign identity documents. Ask which additional documents, if any, that hall needs in your case.
- Ask whether your phone supports the network and the SIM format the operator will provide. Confirm the current plan price and terms from the operator’s own tariff notice.
Tianjin’s communications authority specifically directs foreign applicants to a self-operated hall, says they must attend in person with valid identification, and discusses 5G or VoLTE device compatibility. That is useful concrete local guidance, but it does not establish every other city’s counter procedure.
At the counter
Ask staff to confirm the identity document they will register, the exact account name, plan inclusions, renewal and cancellation terms, and how to check activation before leaving. If a document or device is rejected, ask which requirement applies and which official hall can resolve it. Do not assume a different visa, address document or paper copy is mandatory nationwide because one counter asks for it.
If registration stalls
Contact the operator through its published customer-service channel and ask for a self-operated hall that can handle your document. Keep the explanation of the failed attempt. If the operator points to a local rule, ask the local communications authority to identify that rule. Do not borrow somebody else’s registered SIM as a workaround.