The guide to getting a Romania phone number & changing mobile carriers

Gone are the days when one had to queue, personal documents in hand, to get a mobile subscription in Romania, or switch between mobile phone carriers.

With the advent of digital means to contract different services online, it is easier now than ever to get a mobile phone subscription and a Romania phone number, from anywhere.

How does this work?

To activate a new mobile phone subscription in Romania, one needs to offer certain data to the mobile carrier, including name and email, as well as have a scan ready of their ID. For foreigners in Romania, the ID can be issued by their home country, and if they have a Romanian ID issued, they can use a scan of that ID with their Romanian personal number (CNP). For Romanians abroad, the Romanian ID card will do.

Most new contracts allow users to choose their new phone number when choosing their subscription type. The process also requires adding a credit card for monthly subscription payments. Once finished, usually a SIM card will be delivered to the postal address given during the signup process.

To move a phone number from one carrier to another (in Romanian this is called “portare”, or porting), one needs to also input some data about their existing subscription with their current carrier (contract number) or their SIM number (in case they have a pre-paid card; this number is written on the physical SIM card). When this service was launched in Romania, one had to go in person to a mobile carrier shop to fill in documents for “portare”, but this is not needed anymore. Everything can be done online now. For example, XOYO, a digitally native brand launched by Orange Romania in March 2020, allows to do the signup and switching from other networks to YOXO directly from their app.

Contract period & payments

Usually, a mobile phone subscription for an individual in Romania is signed for one or two years, and cannot be canceled before this period ends. It includes a certain amount of resources (thousands of minutes for calls and text messages; since recently, this is an unlimited resource; and different volumes of Internet traffic), and the unused amounts are lost at the end of the month.

But this is not valid for all carriers anymore. If one chooses to sign up for a mobile subscription or move their number via the YOXO service, there is no minimum period which means they can cancel the contract anytime from within the app. Everything is also managed from within the app. It’s the first service that allows this in Romania, and it offers extensive 4G coverage.