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1 yr stay in France – Orange prepaid SIMs block VoIP + VPN?

Posted by on

Hello! I have all but sorted out the mechanics of holding on to a US phone # while in France (w/ some EU travel) for 1+ yr while having a local number at the same time. Wife and I will be bringing unlocked iPhones (VZW & AT&T). The original plan was to port US numbers to Google pre-departure but it appears doing so after arrival may be best due to 48-hr activation time on Orange SIMs. I’m aware a Holiday SIM card can be obtained online prior but it doesn’t suit our long term needs. Here’s where things get a little murky and I haven’t been able to confirm:

  1. Without a French bank account, a standard Orange SIM is not an option.
  2. Prepaid Orange SIMs are incompatible with VoIP and VPN.

Can anyone confirm/deny? Suggestions for an alternative?

Many thanks for your input.

Posted by
23626 posts

Once you have your answer to the above question please come back and describe the hoops that you may have jumped through to obtain you long-stay visa. Some are interested in doing what you are doing but don't know how to obtain the proper visa. Please share your experience.

Posted by
2 posts

Frank - I'm not sure I can offer guidance on visas, in fact, we're still waiting on ours and dealing with renowned bureaucracy and the maddening incompetence of VFS, the overseas contractor many 1st world countries have outsourced visa application processing to. I've applied for a tourist long-stay to join my wife who's traveling on a student long-stay visa - she'll be doing a program there '19-'20. As much as I consider myself a citizen of the world (I'm naturalized US citizen), so far, the whole experience (not just the visa) has been a complete turn-off. From what I know, unless you have a damn good/logical/legit reason to request a long-stay, it's no walk in the park. Sound like you're already aware :) But back SIM cards..

Posted by
13 posts

I don't know what you mean by a standard Orange SIM but I can tell you that a contract plan (and also an e-sim) from Orange requires a bank account and an address for billing.

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