Keep your Spanish phone number active while abroad

Keep a Spanish number active abroad from Movistar's recharge page: the balance lasts a maximum of six months, an expired balance can be recovered within 40 days, and you could lose the mobile number if more than 54 days pass with no balance. Open the Movistar card before you leave. A recharge is the step the page names for avoiding the expiry.

Orange Spain, Vodafone Spain and Yoigo were not opened on 8 October 2026, so they are not cards here. Colombia is a regulator FAQ with two months and 15 business days of notice. Open Doors Fast Facts for 2025 prints 9,229 students from Spain in the United States in 2024/25, 0.8 percent of the total, a change of 4.4 percent from 8,842 in 2023/24. France splits a six-month SIM validity from a two-month suspension.

What does the live recharge page print?

The recharge page prints the six months, the 40 days and the could-lose line in one answer. Movistar's recharge page, checked 8 October 2026, states: "Sí, el saldo caduca. Dispones de un máximo de 6 meses para consumir el saldo. Basta con realizar una recarga para evitar que suceda. Sin embargo, si tu saldo ha caducado, dispones de un plazo de 40 días para realizar una nueva recarga y recuperarlo de forma automática. Es importante, que realices esta nueva recarga porque si pasan más de 54 días y tu prepago sigue sin saldo, podrías perder tu número móvil."

Yes, the balance expires. You have a maximum of six months to use it. A recharge is enough to avoid that. If the balance has expired, you have 40 days to recharge and recover it automatically. If more than 54 days pass and the prepaid line still has no balance, you could lose your mobile number. Podrías is could. A recharge inside the six months is the step the page names. The 40 days apply after the balance has expired, and they recover the balance. The number sits in the following clause, after more than 54 days with no balance.

What do the 40 days and the 54 days do?

They sit on different sides of an expired balance, and podrías stays could. The 40 days start once the balance has expired, and a recharge in that window recovers it automatically. The more-than-54-days clause is the one about the number, and it applies when the prepaid line still has no balance. Recharge inside whichever window is still open. A price for holding the line for twelve months is unverified on this page. The options page lists other ways to hold a number when a recharge is the whole rule.

Clock on the recharge page	What it measures	What the page says to do
Maximum of 6 months	time to use the balance	recharge to avoid the expiry
40 days	after the balance has expired	recharge and recover it automatically
More than 54 days	prepaid still has no balance	you could lose the mobile number

Questions people ask

How long does Movistar prepaid balance last?

The recharge page gives you a maximum of six months to use the balance, and a recharge avoids the expiry. If the balance has already expired, you have 40 days to recharge and recover it automatically. If more than 54 days pass with no balance, you could lose the number. Recharge inside the window that still applies.

Where do the 40 days apply?

They apply after the balance has expired. A recharge in those 40 days recovers it automatically. If more than 54 days pass and the prepaid line still has no balance, you could lose the number. Recharge before that point if the number has to stay yours.

What should I do in the six months?

Use the balance, or recharge so it does not expire. The page says a recharge is enough to avoid the expiry. Orange Spain, Vodafone Spain and Yoigo are not this card.