What a virtual number abroad is
A virtual number abroad is a phone number from another country, with that country's prefix, that does not depend on a physical line or an office there. Whoever dials it makes an ordinary national call; the call is then delivered over the internet, using the SIP protocol, and arrives wherever you have decided: a desk phone in your office in Milan or Madrid, the app on your mobile, a PBX.
The principle is the same as for any virtual number, as explained in the guide on what a virtual number is and how it works. Here we focus on what changes when the number belongs to another country: that country's rules, the language of the people calling, the time zone and the way you call customers back.
On Vohippo, numbers are available in more than 90 countries, as well as 232 Italian cities. Availability in each country, the number type and the price are shown in the virtual number search, which only lists what can actually be activated.
Why have a number in another country
The reason is almost always the same: letting people call you without barriers. Many people hesitate in front of a foreign number, because they do not know how much the call will cost or they worry about dialling an international prefix. A number from their own country removes the doubt.
Foreign customers and local presence
A machinery manufacturer in northern Italy that exports to Germany can give its German distributors a German number to call for support. A travel agency in Lisbon that works with French clients can put a French number on the French version of its website. For the caller the number is local; for you it is a line like any other, ringing wherever you work.
A local presence is also useful before opening a branch: you can test a market with a number in that country, measure how many calls come in and only then decide whether to open an office.
E-commerce
An online shop that ships to several countries gets questions about orders, returns and delivery times. One number for each main country, shown on the contact page of the local version of the site, makes customer service more credible and easier to reach. The page on VoIP for e-commerce and customer service explains how to organise answers when calls come in through different channels.
Call centres
A call centre working for clients in other countries has two needs: receiving calls on numbers from the client's country and calling back with a local number, which the recipient recognises and is more likely to answer. Both are possible with numbers abroad, as we will see in the section on caller ID. For organising your agents, you will find more pointers on the page about VoIP for call centres.
Which types of number are available
Every country has its own numbering plan, and not every type exists everywhere. In general you will come across these families.
| Number type | What it looks like | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|
| Geographic | Area code of a city or region | You want to come across as a business in that city |
| National | Not tied to a city | You are addressing the whole country, with no reference city |
| Mobile | From the country's mobile ranges | You want a number the customer perceives as a mobile |
| Toll-free | Free for the caller | You want the call to cost the customer nothing, where the provider offers them |
A geographic number is the most common choice if you want to seem close by: a number with the Paris or Munich area code immediately says «we are here». A national number is more neutral and works well for a customer service line covering the whole country.
Mobile and toll-free numbers depend heavily on the country and the local provider: they do not exist everywhere. If a number type does not appear in the search for a given country, it means it cannot be activated there today.
Do you need documents for a number abroad?
Often yes, but it depends on the country's rules. Many countries want to know who uses the number, and some also require an address within the area of the code, especially for geographic numbers. Others are less demanding. There is no rule that applies everywhere, and requirements can change over time.
That is why the portal shows you the documents required before you buy, number by number. This way you know in advance whether you can activate that number with what you have, instead of finding out after paying for it. Documents are uploaded from the portal.
For Italian numbers the rules are known, and you will find them in the virtual number guide: ID and proof of address in the district for individuals; ID of the legal representative, registered office in the district and an Italian company register extract («visura camerale») for companies. Verification costs €5.00 one-off and the outcome usually arrives within 1-3 working days.
Duration, renewal and costs
A number abroad works like any other number on the platform: it is paid for with a monthly or yearly fee, depending on the duration you choose, 30 or 365 days. Renewal is automatic and is taken from your prepaid credit.
The renewal cycle is as follows:
- The portal sends you a reminder 7 days and 1 day before expiry.
- On expiry the fee is taken from your credit and the number keeps working.
- If your credit is not enough, the number is suspended and stops receiving calls.
- If you do not top up within 7 days, the number is released and can be assigned to someone else.
For a number abroad this step matters more than usual: if you lose it, getting it back is not guaranteed, and in the meantime customers in that country cannot reach you. If the number is on your website or sales material, the yearly duration and credit always above the value of the fee are the prudent choice.
On geographic numbers inbound calls are included in the fee; for some number types, such as toll-free numbers, conditions may differ: check them before you buy or ask support. What you do pay for are the legs that become outbound calls, for example forwarding to a mobile, billed per second according to the rates. The fee for each number, country by country, is in the search at the bottom of this page.
Where to ring calls from abroad
Every number has its own routing: a sequence of steps that start in order, each one when the previous one ends. If someone answers, the flow stops; if nobody answers, the call ends. For a number abroad, the most useful modules are these:
- «Ring SIP accounts»: rings up to 20 accounts, all together or one after the other, with a ring time from 5 to 300 seconds. Accounts using the app are woken up with a push notification.
- «Forward to a number»: passes the call to a mobile or another number in international format, showing the original caller's number if you wish.
- «AI secretary»: an artificial voice answers, asks who is calling and what they want, and sends you a card so you can decide whether to accept the call.
- «Voicemail»: records the message and emails it to you.
The language problem
Someone calling a German number expects to speak German. If nobody in your office speaks it, the «AI secretary» is a good first step: it speaks the caller's language, collects name, contact details, reason and urgency, and sends you the summary in Italian, with the transcribed conversation and the «Accept» and «Refuse» buttons. If you accept, the flow moves to the next step, for example ringing the account of the colleague who speaks German.
Remember that an artificial voice can misunderstand or make mistakes: write clear instructions in «What it must ask or say» and reread the first cards. The guide on the AI phone secretary explains how to set it up and what it costs.
An example flow
An online shop with a French number can use this flow:
- «Play a message»: a short welcome in French, read by a synthetic voice.
- «Ring SIP accounts»: the accounts of the two people who handle France ring together for 25 seconds.
- «Forward to a number»: if nobody answers, the call goes to the manager's mobile for 20 seconds.
- «Voicemail»: the message arrives by email.
Each module is described in the guide on call routing modules, and the choice between simultaneous and sequential ringing is explained in the guide on ringing accounts.
Calling customers back with their own country's number
Receiving calls is half the job: sooner or later you will need to call the customer back. A number bought on the platform automatically becomes a caller ID you can use for outbound calls, the «Native CLID», with no further verification. If you call an Austrian customer back from your Austrian number, they see the same number they called and recognise who is calling them.
You can set the number as the fixed caller ID on the SIP account, or let the phone or PBX specify it call by call, as long as it is one of your caller IDs. A call centre working across three countries, for example, can use one account per country, each with its own number. Accepted formats and SIP headers are explained in the guide on caller ID.
The rate depends on the caller ID
The price of an outbound call does not depend only on the destination: it also depends on the number you present. The price list has three types of rate.
| Rate type | When it applies |
|---|---|
| Local | The caller ID is one of your numbers bought here, from the same country you are calling |
| Origin based | The caller ID is a number from a European (EEA) country, for example a landline or a mobile from your home country |
| International | Any other caller ID, including one of your numbers from a non-EEA country other than the one you are calling |
The Local rate is usually the cheapest, and it is a practical reason to have a number in a country you call often: calling a Spanish customer with your Spanish number costs the Local rate, while calling them with an Italian or Belgian number costs the Origin based rate. If there is no price of the expected type for a destination, the next type is used: from Local to Origin based, from Origin based to International.
The three columns, country by country, are in the price list, billed per second with no connection fee on listed destinations.
WhatsApp calls from abroad
For many foreign customers the most natural channel is not the phone but WhatsApp. WhatsApp calls arrive on the platform and are routed like those of other numbers, so they follow the same flow: ringing accounts, forwarding, AI secretary, voicemail.
For people calling from abroad there is an obvious advantage: the call starts from the app, over the data connection, with no international charges for them. You can also call first from an account with a WhatsApp identity, but only to people who have given consent, which lasts 7 days. The details are on the page about WhatsApp calls.
How to activate a number abroad
The procedure is the same as for any other number, with one extra step of attention to the country's requirements.
- Register at cloud.vohippo.com/register and top up your credit.
- Look up the country and number type in the search below and check the fee.
- Read the documents required that the portal shows for that number, before buying it.
- Choose the duration, 30 or 365 days, buy the number and upload the documents if required.
- Build the routing: for example ringing the accounts and then voicemail.
- Set the number as the caller ID on the account that will call back customers in that country.
- Make a test call to the number and one outbound, and check the rate applied in the report.
Find your number
Pick the country, search for a city or area code and compare the monthly or yearly price.
Choose the number, sign up for free and switch it on from the portal in minutes.
If you are looking for a country or number type you cannot find in the search, write to us: we will tell you what is available.
Frequently asked questions
Can I have a number in another country without an office there?
Often yes, but it depends on the country's rules and the number type. Some countries require a local address, especially for geographic numbers, others do not. The portal shows the documents required before you buy, so you know straight away whether you can activate it.
Do people calling my number abroad pay for an international call?
No: for the caller it is an ordinary national call in their own country, at the price their operator charges for that type of number. With a toll-free number, where the provider offers one, the call costs the caller nothing.
Do I pay for inbound calls on a number abroad?
Not on geographic numbers: they are included in the fee. For other types, such as toll-free numbers, conditions may differ: check them before you buy. You always pay for legs that become outbound calls, for example forwarding to a mobile, according to the price list.
Can I call foreign customers back showing their country's number?
Yes: a number bought on the platform is already a caller ID, the «Native CLID». If you call a customer in the same country as the number, the Local rate applies, usually the cheapest.
How many numbers abroad can I have?
You can activate one number for each country you are interested in, or several numbers in the same country, each with its own fee and routing. It makes sense to start with the country most of your customers call from and add the others later.
Who answers if nobody in the office speaks the customer's language?
You can put the «AI secretary» as the first step: it speaks the caller's language, collects the information and sends you the summary in Italian. You then decide whether to accept the call or call back with a colleague who speaks that language.