Before you start

Passport for the initial purchase
An EMBG or foreigner's identification number to complete registration
A Macedonian address

Step-by-step

1
Buy in an operator's own shop, not a kiosk
A1 Makedonija and Makedonski Telekom both run high-street stores. Because registration needs identity data, buying where staff can process it saves you a second trip.
In personWho: You
2
Register the number
A1 accepts registration in store, by replying to its SMS from 140150, or by texting REG to 140150. The operator states that access to services is disabled until every required field is supplied.
Mobile appWho: You
3
Pick a prepaid bundle or move to postpaid
Both operators sell data-heavy prepaid packages and monthly tariffs; postpaid usually needs a residence permit and sometimes a Macedonian bank account.
In personWho: You
4
Understand the two roaming regimes before you travel
Within Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia you pay domestic prices with no action needed. Outside that group, including the whole EU, you are on ordinary roaming rates.
Mobile appWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport
EMBG or foreigner's identification number
Macedonian address
Residence permit, for postpaid contracts

Things most newcomers don’t know

Western Balkan roaming is genuinely free, with a fair-use ceiling.

Since 1 July 2021 calls, SMS and data cost the same in Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia as at home, automatically. Fair-use surcharges only bite if you spend more time abroad than at home — AEK publishes them at 3.2 euro cents a minute for outgoing calls and 0.77 euro cents per megabyte.

Source: Agency for Electronic Communications

There is no roam-like-at-home with the EU, and AEK says so.

This is the trap for anyone arriving from an EU country and assuming the same rules extend south. They do not: a Macedonian SIM used in Greece or Bulgaria is on ordinary roaming, and an EU SIM used in Skopje is too. For a Balkans-wide trip the Macedonian SIM is the better buy; for a Vienna trip it is not.

Source: Agency for Electronic Communications

The EMBG requirement lands before you have an EMBG.

New arrivals hit this on day one: you need a Macedonian personal number to complete prepaid registration, and you get one through the residence process that takes weeks. Buy on the passport, accept the partial registration, and go back when the number exists — or use roaming for the first fortnight.

Source: A1 Makedonija

Common mistakes to avoid

Buying a SIM from a kiosk and never registering it — the operator will cut service, not merely warn you.
Assuming EU roaming rules apply because North Macedonia is an EU candidate. They do not.
Relying on a foreign eSIM for a long stay: it is fine for a fortnight and expensive for a year, and it gives you no local number for the bank, the landlord or Moj Termin.
Handing over your EMBG to a reseller rather than to the operator. Registration is a statutory operator obligation; do it with the operator.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.