How to keep a US phone number when you move abroad

First, what is the number actually for?

Be honest with yourself here, because it changes the answer.

• People. Friends and family call and text you on it.
• Codes. Your bank, brokerage, cards, PayPal, the IRS or Social Security login, your health insurer.
• Both.

A few months after a move, friends have usually switched to WhatsApp. The number is then almost only for codes. Plan for that from day one.

The five options

1. Keep your current carrier plan

Nothing changes: same number, same SIM, everything keeps working. It's also the priciest way to hold a number you mostly won't use. Carriers set their own rules on using a US plan abroad for months at a time. Call them, ask about long stays, and get the answer in writing.

Effort: almost none. Cost: your full monthly bill.

2. Port your number to a cheap prepaid plan

You keep the number people and banks already know, and usually pay less for it. Do it before you leave. You'll need your account number and transfer PIN from your current carrier, and the new SIM or eSIM has to be working first. Some prepaid eSIMs also need to be switched on from inside the US. Tello's help centre, for one, says its eSIM must be activated while “physically located within the United States” (Tello). The number still lives in one phone, which has to be on and roaming when a code arrives.

Effort: an afternoon before you fly. Cost: a prepaid plan, plus a phone with room for a second line.

3. Get a new prepaid SIM or eSIM

The same idea without porting. You get a new US mobile number, then change it on every account. Useful if you're dropping a family plan or your carrier won't release the number. The activation catch above applies here too.

4. Move the number to an internet app

Google Voice can take a mobile number and keep it alive as an internet number. Its own help page lays out the terms:

• Google Voice, on the fee

  “To port-in your mobile number, Google Voice charges a $20 fee.”

  https://support.google.com/voice/answer/1065667

• Google Voice, on eligibility

  “Not all mobile numbers can be ported into Google Voice.”

  https://support.google.com/voice/answer/1065667

• Google Voice, for users based in the US

  “Need to make and update their port requests in the US.”

  https://support.google.com/voice/answer/1065667

It's free to use after that, and great for calls over Wi-Fi. The trade-off shows up with codes. Once ported, the number is an internet number. Some services check for that and won't text it (how line-type checks work). Many codes also come from short codes, which internet numbers often can't receive. A business phone company says so about its own numbers: “Quo numbers can't receive short code SMS” (Quo). So the number you kept can stop receiving the codes you kept it for. And a Voice number that only ever receives is the kind Google reclaims for inactivity: what happens when Google Voice takes your number back covers that rule and the route back out to a carrier, which Google says is free for a number that was ported in.

5. A real US mobile line you use online

A new US mobile number that lives in a web inbox instead of a phone. Texts reach you in the browser, by email, on Telegram, Slack or Teams, or through webhooks. There's no SIM and nothing to activate in the US. You can set it up after you've landed, with a government ID. Cleat Line only receives: no calls out, no texts out; Cleat Full adds calls in the web app. Incoming calls arrive as transcripts, so a code read out by an automated call still reaches you. This is what Cleat is, at $24.99 a month.

Side by side

What happens to bank and government codes

This is the part that bites. Banks and government sites text a code to whatever number is on file. If that number has been cancelled, recycled or turned into an internet number, you find out at the worst moment: a card blocked while you're travelling, a login you can't finish.

Government logins are strict about this. Login.gov's help pages are blunt:

• Login.gov

  “Login.gov cannot grant you access to your account if you get locked out and/or lose your authentication method.”

  https://login.gov/help/create-account/authentication-methods/

• Login.gov, on international numbers

  “this list can change and your number may no longer be supported.”

  https://login.gov/help/trouble-signing-in/international-phone-number-support/

• Login.gov

  “We encourage you to add two authentication methods to your account.”

  https://login.gov/help/create-account/authentication-methods/

The lesson applies everywhere, not just Login.gov. Add a second method where you can: an authenticator app or a security key. Don't leave a number you're about to lose as the only way in.

Your moving checklist

1. 01List every account that texts you a code. Search your messages for “code” and “verification”. Banks, cards, brokerage, PayPal and Venmo, insurer, Login.gov or ID.me, your employer, Apple or Google.
2. 02Pick your option before you pack, since porting and some eSIM activations need you in the US.
3. 03If you're porting, get your account number and transfer PIN, and don't cancel the old plan until the new one confirms the move is done.
4. 04If you're getting a new number, add it to each account while the old one still works, then log out and back in to test.
5. 05Add a second sign-in method (an authenticator app or security key) wherever it's offered, starting with government and money accounts.
6. 06Print or save backup codes somewhere that isn't your phone.
7. 07Update your address and phone with your bank so their fraud team can reach you.
8. 08Keep the old number alive for a month after you land, in case you missed an account.

Where Cleat fits

If the number is really for codes, Cleat is the low-effort version. It's a receive-only real US mobile line, $24.99 a month, cancel anytime. No phone to keep charged, and a shared inbox if your partner needs the codes too. Every owner verifies their identity. It can't keep your old number, and you can't choose the area code. Most services that refuse internet numbers accept a real mobile line. No provider can promise that every one does. More on living abroad in Cleat for expats and non-residents, the fine print in pricing, and a SIM compared head to head in Tello or Cleat.