Living in Japan but keeping UK number

[peterb10]

Hi, my daughters contract has just expired and we have moved onto PAYG. She is about to go to Japan for a study year abroad. She plans to get a Japanese sim when she gets there. She wants to keep her UK number and use it for WhatsApp and for if/when she comes back to UK for a holiday. Then she wants to switch back to her UK sim with her existing number when she comes back in a year. Any suggestions on the best way to achieve this? Thanks

[Christopher_G · Accepted solution]

Hi @peterb10 

Welcome to the community.

Wow, that sounds like an amazing opportunity for your daughter. The key to keep the SIM active is to avoid it going into hibernation. This pay as you go help page explains what that is and how to avoid it, but it's essentially using the number for a chargeable activity at least once between 60-179 days. Should there be no chargeable activity by 60 days, she should receive a message from us to remind her.

Wishing her the best of luck. 🙂

Chris

[XRaySpeX]

To use the EE SIM for WhatsApp while in Japan she will need to buy an expensive roaming data add-on.

To save the SIM going into hibernation due to lack of use, just remember within every 179 days (~ 6 months) to make a chargeable action like making a chargeable call or text.