How to Keep Your Canadian Phone Number When You Move Abroad

By Taraji Abroad · Updated March 2026

Your bank’s two-factor authentication sends codes to your Canadian number. Your parents call it. Your dentist’s office has it on file. And your Rogers plan costs $65 a month to sit in a drawer in your apartment in Lisbon.

You need to keep the number. You don’t need to keep the plan.

The Strategy: Port + Local SIM

The move most expats eventually figure out — usually after a month of paying roaming fees — is simple:

  1. Port your Canadian number to a cheap VoIP service (Fongo, TextNow, or similar)
  2. Get a local SIM or eSIM in your new country for data and local calls
  3. Use WiFi calling for Canadian calls through the VoIP app

Total cost: $5-25 CAD/month instead of $65-100+ for a Canadian plan you’re using over roaming.

Option 1: Port to Fongo (Our Pick)

Cost: Free for basic calling/texting over WiFi. ~$2-4 CAD/month for premium features (voicemail transcription, call forwarding).

How it works: Fongo is a Canadian VoIP service. You port your existing number to them (takes 1-3 business days), cancel your Rogers/Bell/Telus plan, and your Canadian number now lives in the Fongo app. Calls and texts come through over WiFi or data.

Why it works abroad:

  • Your Canadian number stays active — banks, CRA, and family can still reach you
  • Two-factor authentication codes arrive normally via SMS
  • Free calls to Canadian numbers
  • Works on any WiFi connection worldwide
  • No contract, cancel anytime

The catch: Call quality depends on your WiFi. In a well-connected Chiang Mai condo, it’s indistinguishable from a real phone call. In a beach palapa in Puerto Vallarta with patchy signal, it’s not great. Also — emergency 911 calling doesn’t work through VoIP abroad.

Option 2: TextNow (Free with Ads)

Cost: Free (ad-supported). Premium ad-free plan available.

How it works: Similar to Fongo. You get a Canadian number (or port yours) and use the app for calls and texts over WiFi.

Pros: Completely free. Works well for a secondary line.

Cons: Ads in the free version. Some Canadian banks don’t accept TextNow numbers for two-factor authentication (they detect VoIP numbers). Port-in support is more limited than Fongo. Less reliable for SMS verification codes.

Best for: A backup number, not your primary banking number.

Option 3: Keep Your Canadian Plan on the Cheapest Tier

If porting makes you nervous — or your bank specifically requires a carrier number (not VoIP) for security — you can downgrade instead.

  • Public Mobile: Plans starting at $15-25 CAD/month. No roaming included, but your number stays active on a real carrier.
  • Lucky Mobile: Similar pricing to Public Mobile.
  • Koodo prepaid: Load $15-25 every few months to keep the number active.

You won’t use this for calling abroad — you’ll use it to receive verification codes when you occasionally pop the Canadian SIM back in and connect to WiFi. Some people keep a cheap Android phone specifically for this.

The Other Half: Getting a Local Number

Your Canadian number handles banking and family. For everything else — ride-hailing, food delivery, local contacts, mobile data — you need a local solution.

Option A: Local SIM card

  • Mexico: Telcel prepaid SIM, ~$10-20 CAD/month for 5-10GB data. Available at any OXXO or Telcel store.
  • Portugal: MEO, Vodafone, or NOS prepaid, ~$10-15 CAD/month. Get one at the airport or any phone shop.
  • Thailand: AIS, TrueMove, or DTAC prepaid, ~$8-15 CAD/month for generous data. Airport kiosks have them ready.

Option B: eSIM (no physical card needed)

If your phone supports eSIM (iPhone XS and newer, most recent Androids), you can skip the SIM card hunt entirely. Buy an eSIM online before you land, activate it when you arrive, and you have data immediately. We compare the best options in our eSIM guide for Mexico, Portugal, and Thailand.

  • Airalo: Country-specific and regional eSIM plans. Mexico 5GB/30 days from ~$10 CAD. Good coverage in all three countries.
  • Holafly: Unlimited data eSIM plans. More expensive but no data cap anxiety.

The beauty of eSIM + VoIP: your phone runs two numbers simultaneously. Canadian calls come through Fongo on WiFi, local data runs on the eSIM. One phone, two countries, under $30/month total.

Before You Cancel Your Canadian Plan

A few things to sort out while you still have your carrier number active (phone plan decisions are also on our 90-day snowbird checklist):

  1. Update two-factor authentication on all Canadian banks and financial accounts. Some banks let you switch to an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy) instead of SMS — this is more reliable abroad.
  2. Test the VoIP service for a week before porting. Download Fongo, get their free number, and make sure calls work reliably on your WiFi.
  3. Check your bank’s VoIP policy. Call your bank and ask: “Will you send verification codes to a Fongo number?” Most do. Some don’t. Better to know before you port.
  4. Save your voicemail greeting. It won’t transfer.
  5. Port the number BEFORE cancelling. If you cancel first, you lose the number permanently. The port-out process keeps it alive during the transfer.

What We’d Do

Port to Fongo. Buy an eSIM from Airalo for your first month. Pick up a local prepaid SIM once you’re settled and know which carrier has the best coverage in your neighbourhood. Total phone cost abroad: $15-25 CAD/month.

Compare that to the $65+ you were paying Rogers to subsidize a phone you already own.

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