Add Someone from Another Country on WhatsApp on Android

This article teaches you how to add a WhatsApp contact with an international phone number to an Android phone or tablet.

Steps

Open WhatsApp. It’s the green icon with a white phone and chat bubble. You’ll find it either on your home screen or in the app drawer.
Tap the new chat icon. It’s the green circle with a white chat message at the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Tap the new contact icon. It’s the plus (+) next to the silhouette of a person’s head and shoulders. You’ll find it at the top of the screen.
Select a storage location. This is where WhatsApp will save your new contact. You can choose to save it to your device’s internal storage or your SIM card.
Type a name for the contact.
Enter the contact’s international phone number. Start by typing the “+” symbol, followed by the country code (e.g. 44 for UK).
- For example, a UK phone number would look something like this: +447981555555.
Tap Done. It’s at the top-left corner of the screen.
Tap the back button until you’ve returned to the new chat.
Tap ⁝. It’s at the top-right corner of the screen.
Tap Refresh. Your contact is now added, and your contact list is up to date.

Open your Android’s Contacts. It’s usually a blue icon with a white outline of a person’s head. You’ll find it in the app drawer.
Tap the new contact icon. It’s at the bottom-right corner of the screen. Look for a gray silhouette of a person’s head with a plus (+) symbol.
Select a storage location. This is where WhatsApp will save your new contact. You can choose to save it to your device’s internal storage or your SIM card.
Type a name for the contact.
Enter the contact’s international phone number. Start by typing the “+” symbol, followed by the country code (e.g. 44 for UK).
- For example, a UK phone number would look something like this: +447981555555.
Tap Done. It’s at the top-left corner of the screen. Your contact is now added to your Android’s phone book, which means you can now chat with them in WhatsApp.