GOV.UK security code not arriving on a non-UK number

GOV.UK One Login is the shared sign-in used across many government services. Its rule on text messages is the one quoted above: a phone number registered outside the UK cannot receive the security code by SMS. GOV.UK names two ways forward, an authenticator app or a UK mobile phone number, and One Login lets you run an authenticator app on a phone, tablet or computer.

The UKVI account is where an eVisa is viewed and shared. Its security code goes to the phone number or email address held on the account. Because the One Login rule does not appear in the UKVI guidance we found, do not assume a foreign number is the problem there. Work out which of the two sign-ins is asking for the code before you change anything, because the fixes differ.

For One Login, set up an authenticator app instead of text messages. It does not depend on any phone number or on coverage, and it is the route GOV.UK lists first. If your account already uses a code by email or by another method, use that. Check the spam and junk folders of the mailbox on the account, and confirm the address is one you can open.

For a UKVI code that does not arrive, request it again and wait a few minutes before asking a third time, then try the other contact method on the account. Check that the phone number and email shown on the account are actually yours: an adviser, agent or relative may have entered their own details when the account was created. If you are locked out, use the official GOV.UK UKVI account recovery or contact route rather than a third-party service.

It makes sense when you cannot use an authenticator app, your One Login is set to text messages, and you have no other way in. GOV.UK names a UK mobile phone number as the alternative. A BuyUKeSIM +44 is a real UK carrier line on an eSIM, not VoIP, so it receives ordinary text codes, including while you are abroad, because it roams on UK carriers in about 190 countries.

State of play, honestly: standard SMS verification works, but no provider can promise that a given service accepts a given number, and we cannot see inside GOV.UK's checks. The line does not include mobile data or outgoing calls. Reception is patchy in a few countries, notably Russia, Hong Kong, China, Kazakhstan, Ghana and Turkmenistan, so check buyer reports at /uk-esim-coverage/ first.

A UK number does not prove your identity, your address or your immigration status, and it does not unlock a bank account, a tenancy or a job. Banks need identity documents and usually a UK address, and a phone number is only one of the details a form asks for. Buy one only for the narrow job of receiving a text code.

Check that your phone supports eSIM before paying. The eSIM QR is single use: it installs once, is never reissued, and UK number orders are not refunded. Turn VPN, iCloud Private Relay and Private DNS off while installing. Payment is in crypto and needs no ID or account. A line whose first 6 months run out without a top-up lapses and cannot be recovered, so move the security code route to an authenticator app once you are in.