Keep your Italian phone number active while abroad

Keep an Italian number active abroad by counting a TIM Card as 12 months from activation, the last top-up, or another commercial event you asked for, and by treating month 13 as the deactivation. One of those 13 months is the month for receiving calls and SMS. Open the TIM card. After expiry you can ask for free reinstatement on 119, within 11 months.

Vodafone, WindTre and Iliad were not opened on 8 October 2026. Indonesia uses a 30-day grace and a 60-day unblock on Telkomsel's terms. Open Doors Fast Facts for 2025 prints 6,744 students from Italy in the United States in 2024/25, 0.6 percent of the total, a change of 3.0 percent from 6,545 in 2023/24. Peru is a regulator news page with 210 calendar days when unused balance remains.

How long does a TIM Card last?

The help page lists three starts for the 12 months. TIM's reactivation help, checked 8 October 2026, states: "La TIM Card ha una durata di 12 mesi decorrenti dalla sua attivazione; dall'ultima operazione di ricarica; da altro evento commerciale, di vendita o post-vendita esplicitamente richiesto dal cliente - gratuito od a pagamento - o che comunque determina oneri a suo carico (secondo quanto previsto dalle relative condizioni di offerta)."

The TIM Card lasts 12 months running from its activation, from the last top-up, or from another commercial, sales or after-sales event that the customer explicitly requested, free or paid, or that in any case creates charges for the customer, as the related offer conditions provide. Top up, or request one of those events, if you want the 12 months to start again. The page is the prepaid help for reactivating a SIM. A twelve-month holding price is unverified, because these 12 months are a duration.

When is the card deactivated?

Deactivation is at 13 months, and the extra month is for receiving. The same TIM help page states: "La tua TIM Card e la numerazione ad essa associata, saranno quindi disattivate trascorsi 13 mesi (12 mesi + 1 mese per ricevere chiamate e SMS) qualora tu non proceda ad effettuare una delle suddette operazioni."

Your TIM Card and the number linked to it will therefore be deactivated after 13 months (12 months plus 1 month to receive calls and SMS) if you do not carry out one of the operations above. Saranno disattivate is will. The operations are the activation, the top-up and the commercial event in the previous sentence. Do one of them before the 13 months run out. The options page lists holds that are not a TIM top-up.

How do you get the number back?

Reinstatement is a request, it is free, and it has an 11-month limit. The same TIM help page states: "In caso di scadenza della tua TIM Card, hai la possibilità di richiedere gratuitamente al 119 il reintegro ossia la riattivazione del numero entro il termine massimo di 11 mesi dalla sua scadenza."

If your TIM Card has expired, you can request free reinstatement, meaning reactivation of the number, on 119, within a maximum of 11 months from its expiry. Call 119 inside that window if you want the number back. The sentence gives you the possibility of asking.

Step on the help page	Clock	What you do
Duration	12 months from activation, the last top-up, or another commercial event you explicitly requested	top up or request that event if you want a new 12 months
Deactivation	13 months, of which 1 month is for receiving calls and SMS	one of those operations, or the card and number will be deactivated
Reinstatement	within 11 months of expiry	call 119 and request it free

Questions people ask

When does TIM deactivate a prepaid number?

The help page deactivates the TIM Card and the number after 13 months if you do not top up and do not request another commercial event of the kind it lists. Twelve of those months are the duration. One month is for receiving calls and SMS. Top up before that point if you want to avoid the deactivation.

Can I get a TIM number back after it expires?

You can request free reinstatement on 119 within a maximum of 11 months from expiry. Call 119 and ask for the reinstatement inside that window.

Do the 12 months start from the day I bought the SIM?

They run from activation, or from the last top-up, or from another commercial event you explicitly requested, including one that creates a charge. A later top-up is one of the starts the sentence prints.