Situations · Moving country
I moved country and lost access to my email or my 2FA
Moving country usually takes two things with it: the old phone number and, sometimes, an email account that depended on it. That locks accounts — but it matters which type of account you have, because the route is completely different.
If it was an exchange account
There is a procedure and someone to turn to. Platforms have an access-recovery process that usually relies on identity verification: a document, sometimes a video call, sometimes a long wait. It is tedious, but it exists and it works. It is done with them directly, by typing their website by hand in your browser.
If it was your own wallet
Then email and 2FA are irrelevant. A self-custody wallet has no account, no associated email and sends codes to no phone. The only thing that opens it is your phrase or your password. If you have them, moving country doesn’t affect you at all: install the app wherever you are and restore.
| What you lost | What it means |
|---|---|
| The phone number | Locks exchanges, doesn’t touch self-custody wallets |
| The old email | The same |
| The code app with no backup | Locks exchanges; use your backup codes |
| The recovery phrase | Affects the self-custody wallet: that is a real problem |
| None of those, you just moved | You have lost nothing |
A very common mixed case
You bought on an exchange, sent it to your own wallet, and now don’t remember which. Here the old email matters not for access but for information: inside are the withdrawal confirmations with the address you sent to. If you can recover that email, you recover the thread. How to reconstruct it is in I bought in 2017 and don’t remember where I stored it.