Keeping Your Canadian Phone Number and Two-Factor Authentication Working While Abroad

Why your Canadian number matters while abroad

Canadian banks, the Canada Revenue Agency, and Service Canada often send one-time codes by text message to confirm your identity. If your Canadian number stops working the moment you land abroad, you get locked out of your own accounts at the exact time you need them, such as when a tuition payment needs bank confirmation.

Options for keeping your number active

• Add an international roaming add-on to your existing Canadian plan so texts and calls still reach your phone abroad.

• Ask your carrier about a low-cost plan that keeps your number reserved without full service, then use a local SIM or eSIM for everyday data and calls.

• Set up call and text forwarding from your Canadian number to a number you use abroad, such as a local SIM or a messaging app.

• Use an eSIM-capable phone to run a Canadian eSIM alongside a local SIM, so both numbers stay reachable without carrying two phones.

Check with your specific carrier before you leave, since roaming plans, number-only options, and pricing differ between providers and change over time.

Weigh the cost of a roaming add-on against a short-term local SIM. Roaming usually costs more for data but keeps your number seamless for calls and texts, while a local SIM costs less for daily data but needs a forwarding or dual-SIM setup to keep your Canadian number reachable for codes.

Switch to authenticator apps when available

Banks, CRA My Account, and other services increasingly offer app-based authenticator codes as an alternative to SMS. An authenticator app generates a new code every 30 seconds on your phone and does not depend on a mobile signal or roaming, so it keeps working even if your Canadian number goes quiet.

Set this up before you leave Canada. Most banking apps and government portals let you add an authenticator method from the security settings while you still have full account access and a working Canadian number to receive the initial verification code.

Save backup codes and recovery options first

• Download and store backup codes for every account that offers them, including banking apps, email, and CRA My Account.

• Add a second contact method, such as a personal email address you control abroad, to each account's recovery settings.

• Write down customer service phone numbers for your bank and phone carrier that work when dialed from outside Canada.

• Log in to each account using your backup method before you fly, not after you land, to confirm it works.

Add email as a fallback verification method

Many banks and services offer email as a secondary verification option alongside text messages. Add and confirm a personal email address you control from anywhere, separate from your school email, since you might lose access to that one after you graduate or transfer. Email works over any WiFi connection, so it often gets through when a text message to a roaming number does not.

Tell your bank you are traveling

Separate from 2FA, tell your bank the countries and dates you plan to travel before you leave. Fraud-detection systems sometimes flag or block card use and login attempts from a new country automatically, and that same flag sometimes interferes with codes sent to confirm a login from abroad.

Know your rights on roaming charges

The CRTC's Wireless Code protects you against surprise roaming bills: carriers need your clear consent before charging extra for data use beyond the caps set out in the code, within a single bill period. Check your plan and the current caps directly with your carrier or the CRTC before you travel, since providers structure roaming charges differently.

If you plan to rely on a local SIM

A local SIM in your destination country usually costs less than roaming for data and local calls, but it changes your number, which breaks SMS-based two-factor authentication tied to your Canadian number unless you also set up forwarding. Decide before you leave whether you keep your Canadian SIM as a secondary line only for verification codes, or forward everything to your new local number. If you are studying in the US specifically, sorting out whether you need a Social Security number or an ITIN matters just as much as keeping your Canadian number reachable for codes.

Test everything before your flight

Log into your bank app, CRA My Account, and any other two-factor-protected account using the method you plan to use abroad, whether that is roaming, forwarding, or an authenticator app. Confirm it works before your flight. A setup that looks right on paper sometimes fails once you are outside Canada's mobile networks.

Common mistakes

• Waiting until you land to test whether your two-factor codes still arrive.

• Relying only on SMS codes when an authenticator app option was available the whole time.

• Losing your Canadian SIM card without saving the number or transferring it first.

• Assuming a free WiFi calling app always has a strong enough connection for a time-sensitive code.

• Sharing a one-time code with anyone by phone or text, even someone claiming to be your bank. A real bank never asks for the code itself.