How to switch countries in Google Play

Changing the country in Google Play Store is possible, but also complex. You will need to meet different requirements depending on different scenarios. It is not possible to freely change the country in the shop. In fact, a Google Account is associated with a certain country depending on the IP address or the payment method set up, and changing it is only officially expected if you change your place of residence.

I have a Google account, I have moved out

The scenario contemplated by Google is that you have changed your residence. In this case, the first thing you have to do is open Google Play and tap on the icon in the upper left corner, just inside the search box.

From here, go to the Account section.

This new window is organized in tabs. The one that opens by default is Preferences. At the bottom, you will see the Country and profiles section. There, you have the available countries you can choose from.

Logically, you will only see the country configured and the new option according to your IP and location.

If you do not have a payment method associated with this new account, the on-screen setup process will be launched. You must provide a first payment method appropriate to the country you are setting up. That will create a new Google Payments profile associated with the store in that country. Then, you can add other payment methods from anywhere. Once the change has been made, it could take up to 24 hours, after that time, you will be able to access the Play Store in the new country.

Before changing the country in your Google Play account, there are a few important considerations you should address. Google Play only lets you change the country once a year, so once you change it, you have to wait a whole year to change it again. Also, if you choose another country, you will not have access to the corresponding Google Play balance in the previous country.

Google recommends changing your Google Play country when you move to a new one. Google Play content may vary depending on the area, so it may be different depending on where your settings are set.

Using a VPN to switch countries in Google Play

Another option is to use a VPN to simulate that we are in another place before accessing the shop. Yes, it is possible to do so, but there is one condition: we must create a new Google account. Otherwise, it will not work. To do this, first, download and install a VPN. Although the best ones are not free, we have managed to do it with the free Hotspot Shield servers.

Once the app is installed, connect to another of the available countries.

Now, go into the store and select the user icon at the top right. Next, go into the store and select the Add another account icon from the pop-up menu and complete the new user account setup on the top right.

Once you finish setting up that new user, Google Play will usually show you the country's content set up on the VPN. To make sure, go to the Settings section of the Google Play menu. At the bottom, you should see the country that the Play store has assigned to you.

If you want to avoid problems, an easy solution is to download the APK files of the applications. This way, you will not have to change the country to have access to all the apps.