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Your phone on a trip around Europe: “Roam like at home”

Where you call, text and use data at the same price as at home, when a limit can apply and where it can get expensive.

General information, not legal advice. What you’re entitled to depends on your trip, the country, the carrier and the rules in force. If your case is complicated, check with the relevant authority or a professional. More in the terms of use.

Where you don’t pay for roaming

  • In the 27 EU countries, in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and since 1 January 2026 in Moldova and Ukraine too. It switches on by itself: you don’t have to ask for it.
  • The United Kingdom has been out since Brexit. Some operators still include it on their own terms: check with yours.
  • Elsewhere in the world there is no common rule, and roaming, data above all, can be very expensive. Ask your operator before you leave.

What “like at home” means

Calls, texts and data cost the same as at home and come out of your plan as if you had never left. Receiving calls and texts costs nothing extra either.

With the same quality: if you have 5G at home, your operator should give you 5G abroad too, whenever that is technically possible.

When you cross the border you get a text with your prices, your data limit if there is one, the numbers that cost more (customer service, airline or insurance helplines) and how to reach emergency services: 112.

When your data can be capped

  • If your plan comes with a fixed number of gigabytes, you can use all of them on your trip, with no extra charge.
  • If you have unlimited or very cheap data, your operator can set a “fair use” limit. It depends on what you pay: at least twice your monthly fee without VAT divided by the wholesale cap the EU sets. They have to tell you in advance and warn you as you get close.
  • Past the limit you can keep using data, but with a surcharge per gigabyte that can’t be higher than that wholesale cap. The cap goes down every year, to €1/GB plus VAT from 2027.
  • With a pay-as-you-go card there are no surcharges either. If you pay less than the cap per gigabyte, your roaming data limit is at least your remaining credit divided by the cap.

Where it can still get expensive

  • On ships and planes

    If your phone connects to a land network (in port, on a river, at the airport), you pay as at home. If it connects to the ship’s or the plane’s satellite, EU rules stop applying and there is no maximum price. Switch to flight mode or turn off roaming on board.

  • The €50 cut-off

    If you start paying extra, your operator warns you and cuts the service when you reach €50 of extra charges, or another limit you choose. It only carries on if you tell them you want to.

  • If you stay abroad for months

    “Roam like at home” is for travelling, not for living in another country on your home SIM. Your operator can look back over four months: if you have spent more time and used your phone more abroad, they ask you to explain within 14 days, and after that they can charge capped surcharges.

If you’re overcharged

  1. Check your bill and the text you got when you crossed the border: your prices and your limit are there.
  2. Complain to your operator first, through its own complaints procedure.
  3. If they don’t agree with you, go to your country’s telecoms regulator, which will handle your case.
  4. Keep the bill and everything your operator tells you.
More traveller rights and rules

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Last reviewed: 13 October 2026