The Minister of Communications and Digitizations, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has revealed that the national SIM Cards re-registration exercise is commencing today, October 1, 2021. Starting from today, you can now register your sim card with your Ghana card using USSD shortcode *404# & follow the steps.
Although the national SIM Card re-registration exercise wasscheduled for June, the process was postponed due to the COVID-19 spike during the period.
According to the Ministry of Communication and Digitizations, the purpose of the SIM Card re-registration exercise is to reduce mobile phone-related crimes such as prank calls, cybercrime, mobile money fraud, and its related issues, as well as general security. Read: How to register Ghana Card Online
Any SIM which is not registered at the end of this exercise will be blocked, according to the Minister.
The nationwide sim registration exercise is expected to last for 6 months running from Today, 1st October 2021 to March 31, 2022. However, the deadline was extended to 31st July 2022.
Requirements to Register your SIM Card
According to the Minister of Communications and Digitizations, theonlydocument to support the re-registration of Sim cards is the Ghana card.
“Only the National ID card, the Ghana card, issued to an individual shall be used for registration of Sim cards of citizens, foreign residents in Ghana and foreigners staying in Ghana for more than 90 days”.
Foreigners who wish to stay in Ghana for less than 90 days will also be allowed to register their sim cards with their passports. Their sim cards will be deactivated after 30 days.
“Foreigners visiting Ghana can acquire a SIM card using the passport or travel card but they can only use the SIM card for 30 days after which it will be deactivated. Foreigners intending to use the SIM card for more than 30 days would have to obtain a non-citizen Ghana card to do so,” she added.
The Minister also stated that the NIA will open regional and district offices for Ghanaians to register and collect their Ghana cards for the SIM Card registration exercise.
“The NIA is opening Regional and District Offices to enable Ghanaians who have not registered for their Ghana Card to be able to do so and we encourage all Ghanaians and Foreigners resident in Ghana to ensure that they have their Ghana Cards and Non-Citizen Ghana Card ready”.
“In addition, those who have registered but have not picked up their Ghana Cards should be able to do so from the various NIA offices,” she added.
How to Register your SIM Card with Ghana Card & USSD Short code
Time needed:1 minute
Stage one of the National SIM card registration or re-registration exercise requires mobile users to dial USSD Shortcode *404# (All networks) in other to link their Ghana Cards to their SIM Cards. Here is how to Register your SIM Card with Ghana with USSD in 5 simple steps ;
- Dial USSD Shortcode *404# on all Networks.
- You will be required to Enter your Ghana Card PIN and confirm.
- Proceed by Entering your Surname followed by your FirstName.
- Enter Your Date of Birth(DD/MM/YY).
- Select Gender and send.
- Confirm the details you provided and submit them after confirmation.
NB: You will get a confirmation message if SIM Card Registration is successful, this code should be sent to your service provider’s nearest office to finish with the last details of the registration.
NB: If SIM card Registration is unsuccessful after three (3) attempts, you will be asked to answer some security questions.
NB: If SIM card Registration is unsuccessful as a result of Ghana Card verification Issues, Kindly visit the nearest NIA office for assistance.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful stated that Government has set the minimum age to register sim cards at 15. Meanwhile, the Government has limited the number of SIM cards that individuals can register to 10 across all networks.
How to register your MTN SIM Card online by yourself
- Visit https://simregistrationportal.mtn.com.gh/
- Enter your Sim card number and confirm with the OTP code
- Enter your Ghana card Number, your name, DOB, Gender, and choose Next
- Upload front and back pictures of your Ghana card.
- Click confirm to proceed.
How to register your Vodafone SIM Card online
- Visit https://vodafone.com.gh/sim/
- Enter your Sim card number verify
- Enter your Ghana card Number, your name, DOB, and Gender, and choose Next
How to check if your sim is registered with a Ghana card
To know if your SIM card has been registered with your Ghana card
- Dial *400# on all networks to start the verification process
- Or send a blank text message to 400
- Your Sim registration details will be displayed or sent to you via text.
- If it matches your details, that’s all
- if it doesn’t kindly visit the nearest registration point to link your SIM Card again
Implications of the registration exercise
The SIM Cards registration exercise is intended to reduce criminal activities and also provide accurate information for the National Communications Authority (NCA).
“When undertaken correctly, as we intend to do, it will reduce or limit fraudulent or criminal activities, help authorities ascertain the correct number of valid and accurate Sims on the networks. Enable operators to build better demographics of their customer base and help them develop products and services to suit the various groupings.
“NCA will also get more accurate data to regulate the industry even better.”
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Please we are staying abroad so what do we do
Hello Edmond,
so far news concerning how Ghanaians living abroad can register for Ghana card isn’t out yet. We will duely alert you when we have any information on that.
Sir, I’ve lost my Ghana Card how can i get new one? And also i can’t change my details i want to use the old one’s
Kindly visit the nearest NIA district office to reregister your Ghana Card.
Please if you linked your cousin’s Ghana card to yours and you did only the first step to gain a unique code but now you have your own Ghana card , can you redo the process to gain another verification code.
Hello Deborah,
Kindly visit the nearest office of your network provider. They can help rectify the issue for you. Thank you