Getting a Canadian phone number before you leave India
Short answer: order before you fly and your Canadian number is working 24 hours before you land. From India you have a choice most countries do not, a physical SIM posted to your address at home, or an eSIM by email. Postpaid newcomer plans also include 1,000 international minutes back to India.
About 36,915 people moved from India to Canada as permanent residents this year, more than from any other country and roughly a quarter of everyone admitted. The phone is the part almost all of them leave until last, and it is the part that holds up everything else in the first week.
See the plans that ship to India or read the detail first.
Why the number has to exist before you land
Your Canadian bank account, your rental application, your SIN appointment, your employer's onboarding portal and every verification code in between all want a Canadian mobile number. An Indian number will not receive most of them. Codes sent internationally cost the sender money and fail often enough that Canadian services stopped relying on them.
So the order matters. Number first, then the bank, then everything else. People who arrive without one spend their first week queueing rather than settling.
From India you can have the SIM in your hand before the flight
Canada ships to three countries and India is one of them. That is worth knowing, because most people leaving most countries have no physical option at all.
A physical SIM, posted to your address in India
Order at least a week before you travel. Delivery usually runs about five business days. You put the card in before you leave, and the line switches on 24 hours before your arrival date.
An eSIM, by email
The QR code arrives within 24 hours of ordering. Scan it with your camera, and the same 24-hour activation applies. Check your handset supports it first by dialling *#06# and looking for an EID number alongside the IMEI. Most recent iPhone, Samsung and Pixel models have one.
Airport pickup
If you would rather collect on arrival: Toronto Pearson Terminals 1 and 3, Ottawa, Halifax, Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg.
What it costs
Prepaid, no credit check, no contract and no setup fee. $40 CAD gives you 30 days and 95 GB. $75 CAD gives you 90 days and 75 GB of high-speed data. Both include a Canadian number, unlimited Canada-wide calling and unlimited local and international texting, so messages home are covered.
If you are staying longer than a few months, the newcomer postpaid plans start at $30 CAD a month and include 1,000 international long-distance minutes to India, which is the detail worth checking against anything else you are comparing. The $80 setup fee is waived when you order before arrival, and there is no credit check, which matters because a Canadian carrier will run one on you in-store and you will have no Canadian credit history on day one.
Everything is billed in Canadian dollars.
Pick your plan. If you are moving for study or work rather than visiting, the student and newcomer plans carry the international minutes.
The order to do things in
Order a week before the flight if you want the physical SIM, or any time before you fly for the eSIM. Give your arrival date at checkout, because that is what the activation is timed to. Put the new number on your bank pre-registration, your rental applications and your employer paperwork while you are still in India. Land with it already working.
Common questions
Will my Indian phone work in Canada?
If it is unlocked, yes. Canada runs on the same bands you already use. If your handset is locked to an Indian carrier, get it unlocked before you leave, it is far easier there than here.
Can I keep my Indian number too?
On a dual-SIM handset, yes. Keep the Indian line for messages from home and use the Canadian line for calls, data and anything that sends you a code.
What if my flight moves?
Tell us the new date before the line activates and it moves with you.
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