Studying or working abroad: what to do with your phone and your home number
Studying or working abroad for months is not a long holiday: you will want a local number sooner or later, and your home number still matters for codes. Here is what to do with each, and where a travel eSIM fits.
Your home number
- Do not cancel it: banks, payment apps and logins at home send their codes to it.
- Ask your carrier for a low monthly plan that keeps the number, and check international roaming is on so texts reach you abroad.
- With an eSIM phone the home SIM stays in alongside the local line; with a single-slot phone you will be switching.
The first weeks
Before you have an address, a bank account or a local SIM, a travel eSIM gets you online from the moment you land: maps, taxis, messages home. Buy one that lasts until you expect to have a local line.
Once settled
For a stay of many months, a local SIM with a number usually makes more sense: a bank, a landlord, a delivery or a school will ask for a local number, which a travel eSIM does not have.
Long plans here
If you need data but no local number (a long trip, a remote job, back and forth between countries), many places have plans of half a year or a year, for example:
- United Kingdom: 100GB for 365 days, $55.99
- United States: 100GB for 365 days, $69.90
- Canada: 50GB for 180 days, $88.00
- Japan: 100GB for 365 days, $55.90
Questions
Should I cancel my home number when I go to study abroad?
No: banks and apps at home send codes to it. Ask your carrier for a low monthly plan that keeps it, with international roaming on.
Buy a SIM before I go or after I arrive?
Both: a travel eSIM bought before you go covers the first weeks from the moment you land; once settled, a local SIM gives you the local number banks and schools ask for.