Keeping Your Colombian Phone Number Active Abroad: Bank Codes, Claro/Tigo Rules and Roaming

Quick answer: a Colombian prepaid line is at risk after two months without real use, plus 15 business days' notice. That is not a 60-to-150-day range. And Bancolombia says its dynamic-key SMS is not sent abroad, so you may not need the SMS at all. Still, a recharge before day 55 is the cheapest insurance you can buy.

The internet repeats a lot of folklore about this. I would rather give you what the regulator, the carriers and the banks actually publish, with dates, so you can decide how much effort your +57 line deserves while you are out of the country.

What the CRC rule actually says

The rule applies to prepaid lines only. According to the CRC's FAQ (crcom.gov.co, accessed 4 November 2026), if for two months you make or receive no calls, use no mobile data, send or receive no SMS, make no recharge and have no current balance, the operator may take the number back. It must give at least 15 business days' notice. The statutory text is Resolución CRC 5050 de 2016, art. 2.1.16.2, as amended by Resolución CRC 5968 de 2020.

Here is the catch: if the line is not registered in your name, or the operator has no updated contact for you, the notice may never reach you and the number can still be reassigned. Register the line in your name and keep an alternate contact on file. If you need a SIM or want to confirm who the line belongs to, start with our Colombia SIM card guide for foreigners.

A 2025 CRC concept (Concepto 504325, 10 February 2025) reads the rule the same way: any of those inactivity conditions can count, and the SIC supervises whether the notice was effective. My takeaway is not to bet on a single inbound text or a leftover balance saving you. Recharge or generate real use before the two months run out.

Postpaid is different. The two-month number-loss clock is a prepaid rule, so do not apply it to a contract line. Postpaid roaming is a separate switch, and a paid bill does not prove roaming is on.

Claro and Tigo, side by side

Two traps. Claro's clause says "no envía SMS" (does not send SMS), while the CRC text says "send or receive". Do not assume receiving texts protects you on Claro. And Tigo's non-expiring balance is not a promise that the number cannot be reassigned, since Tigo still publishes the two-month rule. Per Tigo's help page, a purchase counts as use immediately, even if the on-screen status takes two days to update.

Other prepaid operators fall under the same CRC rule. I am not going to invent their day counts, so check their own terms.

Receiving SMS without paying for data

Roaming is off by default on both carriers. You have to turn it on before you travel.

Claro

Activate with *200, the Mi Claro app or a Claro store, for a set period or indefinitely. Claro's prepaid roaming page (accessed 4 November 2026) says you can receive SMS at no cost, but you cannot send SMS or place VoWiFi calls. The expensive parts are voice and data, so switch mobile data off and do not answer calls.

• Voice (IVA included, accessed 4 November 2026): COP 270 per minute in the United States, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama and Peru for calls in the visited country, to Colombia or inbound; COP 1,250 per minute to other countries.
• COP 940 per minute in Argentina, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Uruguay.
• COP 1,350 per minute for listed rest-of-world countries such as Spain, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and the Netherlands.
• Daily data packs (accessed 4 November 2026): 1 GB for COP 11,900 or 2 GB for COP 21,900, valid one day from purchase in Colombia time (GMT-5), taken from your recharge balance.

The data packs are for occasional use, not more than 29 consecutive days outside Colombia. That limit is about the pack, not about losing your number. Voice carries 19% IVA plus 4% impoconsumo; data carries them only if consumption in the billing period exceeds 1.5 UVT. Recheck the page before you fly, since tariffs change.

Tigo

Tigo will not switch on SMS alone. Voice, data and SMS come on together, and prepaid needs at least COP 5,000 of balance before activation. Request it through *111# or an advisor at *300, and set a time limit rather than "permanent". Charges apply only for use outside Colombia, and Wi-Fi is not roaming data. WhatsApp calls use data, not voice minutes, so keep apps on Wi-Fi. I am not quoting Tigo per-minute or data prices because I could not confirm them.

WOM's page says subscription and postpaid customers receive inbound SMS free and that its roaming packages do not include outbound SMS. I would not plan around WOM without reading its current terms.

Bank and wallet codes

If you do not have the account yet, begin with how to open a bank account in Colombia as a foreigner. The common claim that every Colombian bank only sends codes by SMS to +57 is wrong for the products checked.

• Bancolombia: its abroad FAQ, dated 3 March 2021, says dynamic-key SMS is not sent outside Colombia and points travelers to the app or Clave Dinámica Mail. A 20 May 2022 FAQ says enrollment from abroad is done in the app and the key stays available when you travel. A 21 July 2026 FAQ says an app code lasts one minute and, once enrolled in Mi Bancolombia, is not also sent another way; email or SMS codes last five minutes. The abroad-SMS page is older, so confirm your channel in the app before flying. The 4x1000 exemption is a separate account setting and does nothing for your phone line.
• Nequi: you choose WhatsApp, SMS or your registered email for the 6-digit security code, including when linking a new phone after facial recognition. The limit is three requests per channel, then a 2-hour wait (24 hours when creating the account).
• Daviplata: under the terms in force from 29 May 2026, your Daviplata number is your Colombian mobile number, activation sends a 6-digit code there, and a forgotten password sends an SMS to the registered cell. This one still depends on the line. For everyday use of both wallets, see our Nequi and Daviplata guide.

Set up the app channel and email options while you still have Wi-Fi and the SIM in your hand. Never read a one-time code, app key or wallet password to anyone who calls you.

A simple keep-alive routine

1. Before leaving, confirm the line is registered in your name and add an alternate contact.
2. Enroll the bank app channel and test a login.
3. Recharge through a channel your carrier lists. Tigo's help page names Mi Tigo, its website, banks, "Desde el exterior", Nequi and top-up points; I will not guess the steps behind "Desde el exterior", so open that entry yourself.
4. On Tigo, check the deactivation lookup around day 50. On Claro, set your own calendar reminder, because I found no public checker.
5. Recharge again before two months pass. A real recharge is the safe move, not a single OTP.

Honest downside: you pay a few thousand pesos every couple of months for a line you barely touch. For most expats with a Daviplata, that is cheap compared with rebuilding a locked wallet.

If the number is already at risk

If you get a deactivation notice, recharge first and contact the operator. If the number was disposed of without the required notice, the route is a direct complaint to the operator under art. 2.1.24.1. Recovery of a reassigned number is the operator's process, not a guaranteed reversal. Also contact your bank so it can move you to an app or email channel. If your handset came from abroad and is blocked, that is a separate problem covered in our IMEI homologation guide.

Preguntas frecuentes

❓ Will Colombia disconnect my prepaid number just because I left the country?

No, leaving is not the trigger. The CRC prepaid rule is two months without calls, data, SMS or recharges and without a current balance, plus 15 business days' notice. Postpaid is different, and the line should be registered in your name so the notice reaches you (verify with the official source, as accessed).

❓ Does Bancolombia text the Clave Dinámica while I am abroad?

Bancolombia's abroad FAQ says no, those SMS are not sent outside Colombia. Use the app instead, where the code lasts one minute. That FAQ is dated 3 March 2021, so confirm the current channel in the app before you travel (verify with the official source, as accessed).

❓ Can I get bank texts on Claro without buying a data-roaming pack?

Claro's prepaid roaming page says you can receive SMS at no cost but cannot send SMS. Voice and data are billed separately, so turn mobile data off and avoid calls. Check the dated tariff before travel, as prices change (verify with the official source, as accessed).

❓ Does WhatsApp on Wi-Fi keep my Tigo line active?

No. Tigo says Wi-Fi use does not count as use of the prepaid line. Its public checker warns once a line passes 55 days without use, and a real recharge counts immediately, even if the status takes two days to update (verify with the official source, as accessed).

❓ Can Nequi send the code to email instead of my Colombian SIM?

Yes, Nequi lets you choose email, WhatsApp or SMS for its 6-digit code. You get three requests per channel before a 2-hour wait. Daviplata is different: its published password recovery is still an SMS to your registered Colombian number (verify with the official source, as accessed).

❓ Why can't I turn on only SMS roaming with Tigo?

Tigo says activating roaming turns on voice, data and SMS together; you cannot pick one. Prepaid needs at least COP 5,000 of balance first. Limit the activation days and keep apps on Wi-Fi so data does not drain your balance (verify with the official source, as accessed).