Calling the UK is actually easy, as long as you know your country's international dialing code and the UK access code. Here's what you need to do to call the UK from any country in the world.
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Method 1 of 2: Basic Structure of Calls to England
Step 1. Enter your country's international dialing code
This code allows you to indicate to your telephone service provider that the number you are dialing after the code is an international number, so calls will be routed overseas.
- This dialing code varies by country. Although many countries have the same code, no code can be used in all countries.
- For example, the United States international dialing code is "011". Therefore, to call the UK from the US, the user must enter "011" before the phone number.
- Example: 011-xx-xxxxxxxxxx
Step 2. Enter the UK country code
The UK and UK country codes are "44". This code must be entered immediately after your country's international dialing code.
- When making an international call, the country code indicates the country to which the call is being made. Each country has a different country code.
- Example: 011-44-xxxxxxxxxx
Step 3. Skip the local code
When calling in the UK, you will use the local code, which is a "0" prefix.
- If you are given a phone number with a "0" prefix, this number must be removed when calling from overseas. If you press the prefix, your phone will not connect.
- This rule does not apply in Russia and Italy. If you're calling the UK from either country, enter the "0" prefix as usual.
Step 4. Enter the correct area code
Every landline in the UK has an area code that corresponds to the geographic location where the phone is plugged in. Area codes vary in length, between 3-5 digits.
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Determine the area code by knowing the location of the phone number you are calling:
- Aberdeen: 1224
- Basildon: 1268
- Belfast: 28
- Birmingham: 121
- Blackburn: 1254
- Blackpool: 1253
- Bolton: 1204
- Bournemouth: 1202
- Bradford: 1274
- Brighton: 1273
- Bristol: 117
- Cambridge: 1223
- Cardiff: 29
- Colchester: 1206
- Coventry: 24
- Derby: 1332
- Dundee: 1382
- Edinburgh: 131
- Glasgow: 141
- Gloucester: 1452
- Huddersfield: 1484
- Ipswich: 1473
- Kettering: 1536
- Leeds: 113
- Leicester: 116
- Liverpool: 151
- London: 20
- Luton: 1582
- Manchester: 161
- Middlesbrough: 1642
- Newcastle: 191
- Newport: 1633
- Northampton: 1604
- Norwich: 1603
- Nottingham: 115
- Oakham: 1572
- Oxford: 1865
- Peterborough: 1733
- Plymouth: 1752
- Portsmouth: 23
- Preston: 1772
- Reading: 118
- Ripon: 1765
- Rotherham: 1709
- Salisbury: 1722
- Sheffield: 114
- Slough: 1753
- Southampton: 23
- Southend-on-Sea: 1702
- St. Helens: 1744
- Stoke-on-Trent: 1782
- Sunderland: 191
- Swansea: 1792
- Swindon: 1793
- Watford: 1923
- Winchester: 1962
- Wolverhampton: 1902
- Worcester: 1905
- Wormbridge: 1981
- York: 1904
Step 5. Alternatively, enter the proper mobile code
Cell phones in the UK do not use geographic area codes, but use cell phone codes based on the cellular network.
- You should ask for the exact cell phone code when trying to call a mobile number in the UK. There is no surefire way to find out the phone code other than asking it directly.
- All cell phone codes start with 7 and are usually followed by 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.
- The phone code is 4 digits long.
Step 6. Enter the rest of the phone numbers
The remaining digits in the telephone number are the personal numbers of the telephone subscribers. Enter the number like entering a local dialing number to make a call.
- For landline numbers, the personal number is 10 digits long, excluding the area code.
- Example: 011-44-20-xxxx-xxxx (for calls from America to the UK, go to a landline in London)
- Example: 011-44-161-xxxx-xxxx (for calls from America to England, go to landline numbers in Manchester)
- Example: 011-44-1865-xxxx-xxxx (for calls from America to the UK, go to the landline number in Oxford)
- For cell phone numbers, the personal number is 10 digits long, including the cell phone code.
- Example: 011-44-74xx-xxx-xxx (for calls from America to mobile numbers in the UK)
Method 2 of 2: Calling the UK from a Specific Country
Step 1. Make a call to the UK from the United States, US territory, or Canada
The US and Canada use the access code "011", as well as US territories and some other countries. When calling to the UK from these countries, the phone number will be in the format 011-44-xx-xxxxx-xxxxx
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Other countries that have the same access code are:
- American Samoa
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Bermuda
- Virgin Islands, United Kingdom
- Cayman Islands
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Grenada
- Thrush
- Jamaica
- Marshall Islands
- Montserrat
- Puerto Rico
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Virgin Islands, USA
Step 2. Use "00" to call from another country
Most countries use the international access code "00". If your country uses this code, the phone number format is 00-44-xx-xxxxx-xxxxx
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Countries that use this access code include:
- Mexico
- German
- France
- Italy
- India
- Bahrain
- Kuwait
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Dubai
- south Africa
- China
- New Zealand
- Philippines
- Malaysia
- Pakistan
- Ireland
- romania
- Albania
- Algeria
- Aruba
- Bangladesh
- Belgium
- Bolivia
- Bosnia
- Central African Republic
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Czech
- Denmark
- Egypt
- Greece
- Greenland
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Iceland
- Dutch
- Nicaragua
- Norway
- Turkey
Step 3. Make a call to the UK from Australia using "0011"
The Australian access code is a unique code and is not used in any other country.
When calling the UK from Australia, the telephone number format used is 0011-44-xx-xxxxxxxxxx
Step 4. Make a call to the UK from Japan using "010"
The Japanese access code is a unique code and is not used in any other country.
When calling the UK from Australia, the telephone number format used is 010-44-xx-xxxxxxxxxx
Step 5. Note that some other Asian countries use the "001" and "002" access codes
The correct phone number format for the country with the code "001" is 001-44-xx-xxxxxxxxxx, while the correct format for the country with "002" is 002-44-xx-xxxxxxxxxx.
- South Korea uses the codes "001" and "002", depending on the service provider.
- Taiwan uses the access code "002".
- Countries that use "001" include Cambodia, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand.
Step 6. Make a call to the UK from Indonesia
Indonesia has four different access codes, and the correct access code will depend on which phone service is used to make the call.
- Bakrie Telecom users use the code "009," so the format becomes 009-44-xx-xxxxxxxxxx.
- Indosat users use the code "001" or "008", so the format becomes 001-44--xx-xxxxxxxxxx or 008-44--xx-xxxxxxxxxx.
- Telkom users use the code "007," so the format becomes 007-44-xx-xxxxxxxxxx.
Step 7. Make a call to the UK from Israel
Israel also has several different access codes, and the correct passcode will depend on which phone service is used to make the call.
- The standard format for calls to the UK from Israel is Y-44-xx-xxxxxxxxxx. Replace "Y" with the service provider's passcode.
- Gisha code uses access code "00", Smile Tikshoret uses access code "012", NetVision uses access code "013", Bezeq uses access code "014", and Xfone uses access code "018".
Step 8. Make a call to the UK from Colombia
Colombia has seven different access codes, and the correct access code will depend on which phone service is used to make the call.
- The standard format for calls to the UK from Colombia is Y-44-xx-xxxxxxxxxx. Replace "Y" with the service provider's passcode.
- UNE EPM uses access code "005", ETB uses access code "007", Movistar uses access code "009", Tigo uses access code "00414", Avantel uses access code "00468", Claro Landline uses access code "00456", and Claro's Phone uses the access code "00444",
Step 9. Make a call to the UK from Brazil
Brazil has several different access codes, and the correct access code will depend on which phone service is used to make the call.
- The standard format for calls to the UK from Brazil is Y-44-xx-xxxxxxxxxx. Replace "Y" with the service provider's passcode.
- Brazil Telecom uses the access code "0014", Telefonica uses the access code "0015", Embratel uses the access code "0021", Intelig uses the access code "0023", and Telmar uses the access code "0031".
Step 10. Make a call to the UK from Chile
Chile has several different access codes, and the correct passcode will depend on which phone service is used to make the call.
- The standard format for calls to the UK from Chile is Y-44-xx-xxxxxxxxxx. Replace "Y" with the service provider's passcode.
- Entel uses access code "1230", Globus uses access code "1200", Manquehue uses access code "1220", Movistar uses access code "1810", Netline uses access code "1690", and Telmex uses access code "1710".
