Making an international call to India may, at first, seem like a difficult thing, but it's actually quite simple. You just need to know the exit code of your country, the prefix for India, the area code of the area where the person you want to call resides, and the number of the desired user. Here's how to do it.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Basic Telephone Number Structure
Step 1. Dial the exit code for your country
Before any international call can be made, a series of numbers must be dialed which will indicate to the telephone operator that the number to follow will be a number in another country.
- For example, in the United States the exit code is "011." To call India from the United States, dial "011" before dialing the rest of the number.
- Example: 011-xx-xx-xxxx-xxxx
Step 2. Dial "91," the prefix for India
Each country also has an international prefix which indicates to telephone operators that a certain international call must be directed to a certain country. Each country has its own international prefix; that of India is "91."
Example: 011-91-xx-xxxx-xxxx
Step 3. Dial the correct area code
The area code for a landline telephone line in India can be two or four digits long and varies from region to region. The area code for a mobile phone in India is almost always "9" or "09" but it can also be "7" or "8."
- The only way to know for sure the correct area code of a mobile phone in India is to know it as an integral part of the telephone number.
-
You can determine the area code of a landline in India simply by knowing the region to which the phone number belongs.
- Agra: 562
- Ahmadabad: 79
- Aligarh: 571
- Allahabad: 532
- Amravati: 721
- Amritsar: 183
- Asansol: 341
- Aurangabad: 240
- Bangalore: 80
- Bareilly: 581
- Belgaum: 831
- Bhavnagar: 278
- Bhilai: 788
- Bhiwandi: 2522
- Bhopal: 755
- Bhubaneswar: 674
- Bikaner: 151
- Calcutta: 33
- Calicut: 495
- Chandigarh: 172
- Coimbatore: 422
- Cuttack: 671
- Dehradun: 135
- Delhi: 11
- Dhanbad: 326
- Faizabad: 5278
- Faridabad: 129
- Ghaziabad: 120
- Gorakhpur: 551
- Guntur: 863
- Gurgaon: 124
- Guwahati: 361
- Gwalior: 751
- Hubli-Dharwad: 836
- Hyderabad: 40
- Indore: 731
- Jabalpur: 761
- Jaipur: 141
- Jalandhar: 181
- Jammu: 191
- Kannur: 497
- Jamshedpur: 657
- Jodhpur: 291
- Kanpur: 512
- Kochi: 484
- Kollam (Quilon): 474
- Kota: 744
- Lucknow: 522
- Ludhiana: 161
- Madurai: 452
- Malappuram: 483
- Mangalore: 824
- Meerut: 121
- Moradabad: 591
- Mysore: 821
- Mumbai: 22
- Nagpur: 712
- Nasik: 253
- Noida: 120
- Patna: 612
- Puducherry: 413
- Pune: 20
- Raipur: 771
- Rajkot: 281
- Ranchi: 651
- Saharanpur: 132
- Salem: 427
- Siliguri: 353
- Solapur: 217
- Srinagar: 194
- Surat: 261
- Thrissur: 487
- Tiruchirappalli (Trichy): 431
- Tiruppur: 421
- Trivandrum: 471
- Vadodara: 265
- Varanasi: 542
- Vasai-Virar: 250
- Vijayawada: 866
- Visakhapatnam: 891
- Warangal: 870
Call India Step 4 Step 4. Complete the number
In order to complete the call, you must have the individual telephone number of the user you wish to call.
- The telephone number should consist of a total of ten digits. These do not include the exit code of your country or the prefix of India.
- Your telephone number can vary in length from six to eight digits if it is a landline telephone line.
- Example: 011-91-11-xxxx-xxxx (calls from the US to India, to a landline in Delhi)
- Example: 011-91-421-xxx-xxxx calls from the US to India, to a landline in Tiruppur)
- Example: 011-91-2522-xx-xxxx (calls from the US to India, to a landline in Bhiwandi)
- If calling a mobile phone in India, the user's number will be nine digits.
- Example: 011-91-9-xxxx-xxxxx (calls from the US to a mobile in India)
- Note that a mobile number starting with "09" will be eleven digits.
- Example: 011-91-09-xxxx-xxxxx (calls from the US to a mobile in India)
Part 2 of 2: Calls from Specific Countries
Call India Step 5 Step 1. Call India from the US or Canada
The exit code for the United States and Canada is "011." When calling India from the United States or Canada, the telephone number will have the following format: 011-91-xx-xxxx-xxxx
-
Other countries that use the "011" exit code and follow the same format include:
- American Samoa
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Bermuda
- British Virgin Islands
- Cayman Islands
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Grenada
- Guam
- Jamaica
- Marshall Islands
- Montserrat
- Puerto Rico
- Trinidad and Tobago
- US Virgin Islands
Call India Step 6 Step 2. Dial "00" from most other countries
Many countries use "00" as an exit code. If this is the case in your country then the number format for calling India will be: 00-91-xx-xxxx-xxxx.
-
Countries that use "00" as an exit code include:
- UK
- Mexico
- Germany
- France
- Italy
- Bahrain
- Kuwait
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Dubai
- South Africa
- China
- New Zeland
- Philippines
- Malaysia
- Pakistan
- Ireland
- Romania
- Albania
- Algeria
- Aruba
- Bangladesh
- Belgium
- Bolivia
- Bosnia
- Republic of Central Africa
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Egypt
- Greece
- Greenland
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Iceland
- Holland
- Nicaragua
- Norway
- South Africa
- Turkey
Call India Step 7 Step 3. Dial "0011" to call India from Australia
The exit code for Australia is “0011,” so the number format for calling India from Australia is 0011-91-xx-xxxx-xxxx.
Please note that Australia is the only country with this exit code
Call India Step 8 Step 4. Use "001" or "002" to call from various Asian countries
The number format for calling India from a country that uses "001" as an exit prefix is 001-91-xx-xxxx-xxxx. Similarly, the number format for calling India from a country with an exit prefix “002” will be 002-91-xx-xxxx-xxxx.
- Countries that use "001" as an exit code include Cambodia, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand.
- Countries that use "002" as an exit code include Taiwan and South Korea.
- Note that South Korea uses both "001" and "002" as the exit prefix.
Call India Step 9 Step 5. Call India from Indonesia
The exit code for Indonesia depends on the telephone operator used.
- For Indosat users, the exit prefix can be either "001" or "008." The correct format for calling India will be 001-91-xx-xxxx-xxxx or 008-91-xx-xxxx-xxxx respectively.
- For Telkom users, the outbound prefix is "007," and the correct format for calling India is 007-91-xx-xxxx-xxxx.
- For Bakrie Telecome users, the exit prefix is "009," and the correct format for calling India is 009-91-xx-xxxx-xxxx.
Call India Step 10 Step 6. Call India from Japan
The exit code for Japan is "010." The basic format for making a call to India from Japan is 010-91-xx-xxxx-xxxx.
Note that Japan is the only country that uses this exit code
Call India Step 11 Step 7. Call India from Israel
The exit code for Israel depends on the telephone operator used. The generic number format for calling India from Israel is Y-91-xx-xxxx-xxxx, where "Y" stands for the exit prefix.
The exit prefix for Kod Gisha users is "00," that for Smile Tikshoret users is "012," that for NetVision users is "013," while Bezeq users will dial "014," and Xfone users they will use "018."
Call India Step 12 Step 8. Call India from Brazil
Brazil follows the basic format Y-91-xx-xxxx-xxxx, where "Y" represents the exit prefix. The correct exit prefix varies depending on the telephone operator used.
Brasil Telecom users will dial "0014," Telefonica users will dial "0015," Embratel users will dial "0021," while Intelig users will dial "0023," and Telmar users will dial "0031."
Call India Step 13 Step 9. Call India from Chile
Follow the same number format Y-91-xx-xxxx-xxxx, where “Y” represents the exit code for Chile. Please note that the exact exit code varies depending on the telephone operator used.
Entel users must dial "1230," Globus users must use "1200," Manquehue users must dial "1220," Movistar users must dial "1810," Netline users must use "1690," and Telmex users must dial "1710."
Call India Step 14 Step 10. Call India from Colombia
Follow the same number format Y-91-xx-xxxx-xxxx, where “Y” represents the exit code for Colombia. Keep in mind that the precise exit code depends on the telephone operator used.
UNE EPM users must dial "005," ETB users must use "007," Movistar users must dial "009," Tigo users must use "00414," Avantel users must dial "00468, "Claro Fixed users must dial" 00456, "and Claro Mobile users must use" 00444."
Advice
- If you plan to call India from your landline or mobile phone, make sure you have an international phone plan before making that phone call. Otherwise, the rates can be staggering.
- Alternatively, you can buy an international calling card to use whenever you want to call India. Dial the calling card access number, then dial the phone number in India following the appropriate format.
