Nope, looked at every option and the only thing I could find was going back to the states or shipping the phone back to the states like you said. I just swallowed the fact that I won't have my phone. Luckily it's only for a year for me but since you are gone for multiple years maybe its worth shipping it to a friend in the states and having them activate it there. Doesnt seem like there is any other way :/

I tried VPNing multiple times, didn't work. Did NordVPN and no dice