How to keep your UK mobile number when moving abroad

Most people moving abroad spend weeks planning the visa, the flights, and the shipping. Almost no one thinks about their UK mobile number until it stops working — and by then it's already a problem.

Your UK number is the key to your UK life: your bank, HMRC, the NHS, your pension provider, your old delivery accounts, and dozens of services that send SMS verification codes. If you let your UK SIM lapse, you can lose access to all of it.

This guide covers the four realistic ways to keep your UK number while living overseas — and the trade-offs of each.

Why you need to keep it

Even if you're emigrating permanently, holding onto your UK number is usually the right call for at least the first year or two. Here's why:

• Banking access. UK banks send 2FA codes to your registered mobile for transfers, card use abroad, and login. If they can't reach you, your account gets restricted.
• Government services. HMRC self-assessment, NHS login, Government Gateway, the DVLA — all use SMS verification.
• Existing online accounts. PayPal, Amazon, eBay, Uber, dating apps, crypto exchanges, Apple ID, Google — many flag a sudden country change and lock you out without SMS verification.
• Property and pensions. If you've left a UK property rented out, kept a UK pension, or have ongoing investments, providers will need to reach you on a UK number.
• People who already have your number. Old colleagues, family, doctors' surgeries, schools — none of them are going to hunt for an updated number on the other side of the world.

The friction of replacing a UK number with an overseas one, after the fact, is much higher than people realise. Plan for it before you go.

Your four options

Option 1: Keep your existing SIM in roaming

Most UK networks let you keep your contract while abroad, but every network has a fair-use limit (typically 60–90 days outside the UK or EEA before they restrict service). Long-term roaming usually breaches the contract terms and the network may eventually disable the SIM or charge punitive rates.

This works for short stays but is not a long-term solution.

Option 2: Switch to a low-cost UK PAYG SIM

You can downgrade your contract and move your number onto a PAYG (pay-as-you-go) SIM with a network like giffgaff or Lebara. This costs nothing in monthly fees, but the SIM has to register on a UK mast occasionally to stay active — typically every 6 months — or it gets recycled.

You also need a UK phone (or a phone with the SIM in it that someone in the UK can occasionally turn on). Receiving SMS abroad on a PAYG SIM works in some countries but is unreliable in others, and roaming charges can be steep.

Option 3: VoIP services

VoIP (Voice over IP) services like Skype Number give you a UK landline-style number that you can answer over the internet from anywhere. The trouble is most VoIP numbers are landline numbers (01/02/03), not mobile numbers — and a lot of UK services explicitly require a UK mobile (07) for SMS verification. So they often don't solve the problem you actually have.

Option 4: Virtual UK mobile number with email forwarding

The simplest, most reliable option for most people. A virtual UK 07 number works on the UK mobile network, can receive SMS from anywhere, and forwards every message to your email inbox the moment it arrives — which means you can read your bank's verification code from a beach in Bali within seconds.

You don't need a UK SIM, a UK phone, or any kind of physical hardware. You just need email — and email works everywhere.

You can also port your existing UK mobile number to a virtual service, so the number stays the same. Everyone who already has your number can keep using it. Banks, government services, and old contacts all reach you exactly the way they did before.

The right time to set this up

Ideally, before you leave. The key bit is the PAC code — the porting authorisation that lets you transfer your number to a new provider. It's free, it's quick to request, and it's valid for 30 days.

The order goes:

1. Sign up for a virtual number service while still in the UK.
2. Request a PAC code from your current network (text PAC to 65075).
3. Submit the PAC code to your new provider — they handle the rest.
4. The number transfers within 24 hours. Your old SIM stops working for that number.
5. You can then leave, and SMS keeps reaching you wherever you have email.

If you've already moved and your UK SIM is dead, you may still be able to port the number — but only if it hasn't been recycled by your old network yet. Numbers typically get reissued after 12 months of inactivity. The earlier you act, the more options you have.

What about new SIMs in your new country?

This isn't either-or. The right setup for most expats is:

• A local SIM in your new country for day-to-day calls, mobile data and contacting locals.
• A UK virtual number for keeping your UK identity, receiving banking and government SMS, and being reachable by everyone you knew before you moved.

The two work in parallel — one in your phone, one in your inbox. You give people whichever number is more useful for the relationship.

Common mistakes

The four things most expats wish they'd known beforehand:

• Don't cancel your UK SIM until your number is ported. Once cancelled, the number is locked or recycled, and recovering it later is messy.
• Don't choose a provider that gives you a non-mobile number. Some banks won't accept SMS to landline-style or VoIP numbers.
• Don't assume you can update banks "later". You may not be able to log in to update your details if you've already lost SMS access.
• Don't rely on email-only contact. Several UK services no longer accept email-only verification — they need to send a text.