# How to Receive Indian Bank OTPs While Living Abroad

> For NRIs: keep your Indian SIM in a spare iPhone and forward bank, UPI and Aadhaar OTP texts to the phone, email or chat you use abroad.

Last updated: 2026-10-25
Canonical HTML page: https://www.fwrdsms.com/blog/receive-indian-bank-otp-abroad
Published: 2026-10-25

To receive Indian bank OTPs while living abroad, keep your Indian number active in a spare iPhone, at a relative’s home in India or with you, and let Fwrd forward each OTP text to the phone, email, WhatsApp or Telegram you use abroad. Some OTPs, such as Aadhaar’s, go only to the number registered with them, so keeping that number working is often simpler than changing it everywhere.

**What you need:** your Indian SIM on an active plan that receives texts; a spare iPhone on iOS 26 or later; a place for it with power and Wi-Fi; someone who can unlock it every two or three days if it stays in India; Fwrd; and an app you read abroad.

## How can NRIs receive Indian OTPs abroad?

Keep the Indian number that your bank, UPI and Aadhaar already know, in a spare iPhone, and forward its OTP texts over the internet. The codes arrive on that SIM as if you’d never left, and Fwrd passes each one on.

## Why not just move everything to your foreign number?

Because not every OTP can follow you, and the ones that can depend on the bank and the country.

- **UPI with a foreign number is limited to certain countries.** ICICI Bank says the number linked for UPI can be an Indian mobile number, and that in certain supported countries it may also allow an international one: Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the UAE, the UK and the USA. It also says the linked number must be active for OTP verification ([ICICI Bank](https://www.icici.bank.in/nri-banking/money-transfer/upi), read October 25, 2026).
- **Each bank has its own rules.** HDFC Bank lists the same twelve countries for UPI with an international mobile number, for NRE and NRO accounts, and says the user should have an active SMS pack on that number ([HDFC Bank](https://www.hdfc.bank.in/nri-banking/services/unified-payment-interface-for-nri), read October 25, 2026).
- **Aadhaar OTPs go to the number registered with Aadhaar.** UIDAI says its one-time pin is sent to the mobile number and/or email address registered with it ([UIDAI](https://uidai.gov.in/en/about-authentication), read October 25, 2026).

So if you live outside those countries, or bank with several Indian banks, or need Aadhaar OTPs, your Indian number keeps doing the work. Ask your bank’s NRI desk what it allows for your account.

## How to forward Indian bank OTPs to your phone abroad

1. **Pick where the codes should go.** Any of Fwrd’s eight destinations works anywhere you have internet; Telegram is a common choice. For Telegram, the [Telegram post](https://www.fwrdsms.com/blog/forward-iphone-sms-to-telegram) shows how to make the bot.

2. **Add it in [Fwrd](https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6759069713?pt=128544281&ct=blog-india-otp-abroad&mt=8) on the spare iPhone.** Open Fwrd, tap +, choose the destination, and fill in its details in the Configuration field. Tap Send Test Message, then save with the tick. For WhatsApp or email, Fwrd hands the text to WhatsApp’s or Apple’s own send action, which you add in step 5.

3. **Create a Message automation.** On iOS 27, open Shortcuts, tap Library, then Automation, then +. If you see Describe a shortcut, tap Edit. Tap Automation, then Message, and change Sender to Message. On iOS 26, open the Automation tab, tap +, and choose Message.

   ![Shortcuts on iOS 27: the list of automation triggers, with Message marked under Communication](https://www.fwrdsms.com/guides/steps/sc-message-trigger-ee0e41db.jpg)

4. **Type OTP, then make it run without asking.** Type OTP, or another word your bank’s code texts contain. Bank texts often come from lettered sender names the Sender picker can’t offer, so match on the words in the text. Then, on iOS 27, tap the arrow beside the trigger and check Confirm Before Run is off, and under ⓘ, then Privacy, check Allow Running When Locked is on. On iOS 26, choose Run Immediately, then tap Next and Create New Shortcut.

5. **Add Fwrd’s action.** Search for Forward, add Forward Message to All Destinations, and set its Message field to Shortcut Input (on iOS 26, Shortcut Input, then Message). For email or WhatsApp, add Apple’s Send Email or WhatsApp’s Send Message below it, set its message to Fwrd’s output, and pick the recipient. Tap back to save (Done on iOS 26).

6. **That’s it.** New OTP texts to your Indian number now reach you abroad on their own, with the spare iPhone unlocked or locked.

On Telegram, you can catch more codes by typing a single space as the automation’s word, then opening the destination in Fwrd, choosing Which Texts, and keeping only texts that look like a verification code. Turn on Include Who Sent It in Fwrd’s Settings, and choose Sender on Fwrd’s action, so each forward shows which bank it came from.

## Keep the Indian SIM working from abroad

- **Keep the plan recharged.** A prepaid number that isn’t recharged within your operator’s rules can be suspended, and a suspended number gets no OTPs.
- **Someone unlocks it every few days.** An iPhone that isn’t unlocked for three days restarts itself, and after any restart Fwrd can’t forward until someone unlocks it once.
- **Turn off automatic iOS updates and the SIM PIN.** An update restarts the phone, and a SIM PIN keeps it off the network after a restart until someone types it.
- **Keep it plugged in and on Wi-Fi.** It needs normal signal for texts to arrive, and internet to forward them.

| | Spare iPhone in India | Spare iPhone with you |
|---|---|---|
| Receives OTPs | On the Indian network | Only where the SIM gets service |
| Needs someone there | Yes, to unlock it now and then | No |
| Forwarding needs | Wi-Fi at the relative’s home | Internet where you are |

Bank, UPI and Aadhaar OTPs together can pass 15 a month. Fwrd is free for 15 forwards a month as of October 2026, and Fwrd Pro removes the limit for $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year in the US; set it up before you leave.

## What forwarding can’t do

- **It can’t keep the number alive.** If the plan lapses, nothing arrives to forward.
- **It can’t reply from your Indian number.** Some banks ask you to send an SMS from the registered number. That still has to be done on the spare iPhone.
- **It can’t forward voice OTPs** or pictures, only text.
- **It isn’t banking advice.** What your bank allows for NRE and NRO accounts is up to your bank.

## Questions about Indian bank OTPs abroad

### Can I get Indian bank OTPs on my foreign number?

Sometimes. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank allow an international number for UPI in twelve countries, but Aadhaar OTPs go to the number registered with Aadhaar, and other rules vary by bank. Keeping your Indian number in a spare iPhone covers all of them.

### Will UPI and Aadhaar OTPs be forwarded too?

Yes, if they arrive as texts on the Indian SIM and contain your automation’s word, such as OTP. Fwrd forwards any matching text, whoever sent it.

### Does the spare iPhone have to stay in India?

No. It can travel with you if the SIM gets service where you are. Left at a relative’s home in India, it receives texts on the Indian network and forwards them over Wi-Fi.

### What happens if the spare iPhone restarts?

Forwarding stops until someone unlocks it once. That happens after updates, power cuts, and on its own after three days without an unlock.

## Keep reading

- [Not receiving OTP abroad? Why codes stop and what works](https://www.fwrdsms.com/blog/not-receiving-otp-abroad)
- [How to keep your US number while living abroad](https://www.fwrdsms.com/blog/keep-us-phone-number-living-abroad)