Unable to set up Apple Account on iPhone 7 in a foreign country

I am not sure if the earlier reply by sberman is correct. I have not seen anywhere where Apple says you cannot set up an account in another country. If you are trying to buy something then that is another matter. Sometimes a card need only be presented once. If you are using your account for the first time:

Sign in to your Apple Account on the web or in your device settings - Apple Support

- "When you sign in to the App Store and other media services for the first time, you might need to add a credit card or other payment information."

You can create an account without signing into the stores, you just can't do things that may require you to present a payment method.* Even then, however, you should be able to set up your account as long as you have set your account country to be your country of residence and you have a payment method billed to that you at an address in the same country. You don't provide much detail about the country where you are now, where you live, if you already have an Apple Account and what kind of phone your old phone was. That makes it difficult for us to know what exactly your situation is and what requirements may apply. If your old phone was an iPhone then you do not need to set up a new account. Just use your old account which already has the required settings.

I could buy a phone in another country and be able to set it up there using my current account settings. I just wouldn't be able to use that country's app or iTunes stores. Or let's say I was in Europe for 6 months and had a European bank card billed to me at an address there. If I did not want to change the settings on my old account I could set up a second account with my European address and referencing my European bank card.

I think each country in the EU has its own identity for country settings, but for other purposes (e.g., warranty) the EU is considered one region.

*You could use the phone as a phone but you couldn't download any apps and only use the ones that are on the phone by default.

Maja_ferra wrote:

[I’]m struggling to set up my Apple [Account] (formerly called Apple ID)

That is correct. When setting up an iPhone for the first time for a new individual, that person’s Apple Account must exist in the country where the setup is occurring. (I think, but am not certain, the European Union may be considered one country.)

Set up the iPhone in your home country.

I agree with your analysis. I made a big assumption that may or may not be correct - since the original poster told us there was a previous phone involved, I assumed it was an iPhone and had at least one application from the home country’s App Store that would be desired (or have its data restored from the broken iPhone’s backup).

Thanks for the additional clarification.

Thanks for the additional clarification.

You're welcome. :-)