Travel and relocation
How to keep receiving home-country SMS while abroad
There are three ways to stay reachable on a home-country number. Each has costs, and one is much cheaper than the rest.
Written and maintained by the VNumbr team · Last updated 24 September 2026
Key points
- The simplest option is to keep paying for your old mobile plan and leave the SIM in a drawer or a spare phone.
- Some carriers offer text forwarding, and an eSIM can keep a second line on your handset.
- A permanent virtual number on a real mobile network receives the same kinds of verification texts and shows them in a web dashboard.
- If you also need voice calls or mobile data in your home country, keep a SIM or eSIM.
Option 1: keep the old SIM active
The simplest option is to keep paying for your old mobile plan and leave the SIM in a drawer or a spare phone. It works, but you pay for a service you barely use, and someone has to be able to read the phone when a code arrives.
Option 2: forwarding or an eSIM
Some carriers offer text forwarding, and an eSIM can keep a second line on your handset. Both can work well for calls and data, but availability depends on your carrier and country, and forwarding rarely covers short codes used by banks and verification services.
Option 3: a permanent virtual number
A permanent virtual number on a real mobile network receives the same kinds of verification texts and shows them in a web dashboard. It costs a flat monthly or yearly price, it does not depend on your handset, and you can read messages from anywhere. It is receive-only, and you move each account to the new number rather than keeping the old one.
This is the option VNumbr provides: choose the country, pay in cryptocurrency or wallet balance, and keep the number while you renew.
Choosing between them
If you also need voice calls or mobile data in your home country, keep a SIM or eSIM. If your main need is codes, alerts and recovery, a receive-only permanent number is usually the lightest solution. Whatever you choose, move critical accounts to a number you control for the long term, and keep recovery codes safe.
How VNumbr works
Choose a country
Pick where the number should be based. The prefix tells apps where you are.
Pay in crypto or wallet
Cryptomus, NOWPayments or your balance. Email-only signup, no ID.
Use it for verification
Enter the number where the app asks and request the SMS code.
Read it in your inbox
Messages appear in your dashboard in real time and through the API.
Common questions
Can I keep my current number when I move?
You can if you keep the plan or port it to a provider that supports it. VNumbr does not port numbers; it issues its own.
Do banks accept virtual numbers?
Policies vary widely, so ask your bank. Acceptance cannot be guaranteed.
Which countries can I choose?
See the live list on the countries page.
Are VNumbr numbers real mobile numbers?
Yes. They are allocated on real mobile carrier networks rather than internet-based VoIP pools. Each app decides for itself which numbers it accepts, so no provider can guarantee a specific result.
How do I pay, and do I need ID?
Pay with cryptocurrency through Cryptomus or NOWPayments, or from a wallet balance. Signup needs only an email address and no identity documents.
What is the difference between a permanent number and an OTP number?
A permanent number is billed monthly or yearly and stays assigned to you for as long as you renew it. An OTP number is billed per activation and receives a single code before it is released.
Only need one code, not a number to keep?
This guide is about VNumbr's permanent numbers. For a single sign-up instead, VNumbr also sells OTP numbers billed per activation.
Get a number you keep
Pick a country, pay in crypto or from your balance, and receive SMS on a permanent line.