Skip to main content
TheSkylane
Post a role →
Layover guideJohannesburg · JNB

Staying connected in Johannesburg

A South African SIM does nothing until it is registered under RICA, and a passport is the document that does it.

Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
All of Johannesburg

RICA is a South African legal requirement that all SIM cards, prepaid, contract, physical and eSIM, are registered with verified personal details before they can be used. A foreign national registers on a valid passport.

Vodacom states that proof of address may be required depending on the registration type. It does not publish which documents it accepts, so ask before you queue rather than after.

Vodacom's self-registration runs off a photograph or scan of the new prepaid SIM and your passport, plus a video recorded with a unique PIN as proof that you are the one requesting it. The details are verified using approved systems and trusted data sources, including the Department of Home Affairs.

Vodacom says you will receive an SMS confirming that your SIM has been successfully RICA registered and activated. That message, not the sale, is the point at which the SIM works.

  1. Vodacom: RICA help · checked 2026-09-03
  2. Vodacom: the self-RICA process · checked 2026-09-03

The rest of Johannesburg

The whole guide
Getting out of the airportA dedicated airport train runs from the terminal to Sandton, and the trap is the last one.Ride-hailingBook in the app, get in the car the app names, and expect to walk to the driver rather than the other way round.Local laws that catch crew outCarry a passport copy, declare your money online before you fly, and do not eat on the train.WeatherHigh and bright, with storms common in Gauteng and winter nights that can reach freezing.Eating near the crew hotelsCards work nearly everywhere, the service charge only appears for a table of more than six, and everything else you leave is the tip.What to buyThe 15% VAT is reclaimable at OR Tambo, but only if you show the goods to Customs before you fly.TippingTipping is commonplace in South Africa and the tourism authority publishes the numbers, so there is little to guess at.