Phones, SIM Cards and Roaming in Europe

October 2026

Which SIM you need depends on two things: where your SIM card is from, and where you are going. For many trips in Europe the answer is the SIM you already have.

If your SIM is from the EU or EEA

Under the EU's "roam like at home" rules, you call, text and use data at your home price in every EU country, in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and since 1 January 2026 in Moldova and Ukraine too. Calls you receive cost nothing extra.

Three limits are worth knowing:

• Roaming is for travel, not for living abroad. Your operator may check your use over four months. If you spent more time abroad than at home and used your phone more abroad too, it can ask you to explain within 14 days and then add surcharges.
• Cheap or unlimited data plans may have a roaming limit. Above it, the operator may charge extra, capped by law at €1.30 per GB plus VAT in 2025 and €1 from 2027.
• Ships and planes do not count. On board, your phone may connect by satellite, where the rules do not apply and there is no price cap. Switch to flight mode or turn off data roaming.

Source: Your Europe, European Union.

Where roaming costs extra

Roam like at home stops at these borders:

• Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Some operators include them in their plans anyway; many charge by the day or the megabyte.
• The Western Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Since October 2023, operators that signed a voluntary agreement cap data roaming between the EU and the region, with the cap falling until prices come close to domestic ones; check whether yours is one of them. Within the region itself, roaming has been free between the six since July 2021.
• Turkey, the Caucasus, Belarus and Russia. Expect to pay roaming rates, or buy a local SIM.

Before you cross one of these borders, check your operator's price list, or switch off data roaming and use Wi-Fi.

If your SIM is from outside Europe

Your home operator's roaming prices apply everywhere, and they are often high. You have two better options.

A local prepaid SIM. Buy one at a phone shop, a kiosk or the airport. Bring your passport: many European countries require ID to register a prepaid SIM. A local SIM gives you a local number, which helps when you are booking flat viewings or dealing with banks.

A travel eSIM. Apps such as Airalo, Holafly, Saily and Yesim sell data plans for one country or for all of Europe, installed on your phone before you leave. Most give you data only, not a number. Your phone must support eSIM and be unlocked.

If you are moving

Roam like at home is for trips. Once you live in a new country, get a local plan: you will need it for a bank account, deliveries and anything that sends you a code by text. Many operators ask for a local address or ID number, so start with prepaid until you have them.

Tips

1. Check that your phone is unlocked before you leave, or a foreign SIM will not work in it.
2. Download offline maps for the cities you visit.
3. Use Wi-Fi calling where your operator supports it, especially on the edges of coverage.
4. Turn off data roaming when you cross a border outside the EU and EEA, until you know what it costs.
5. Keep your home SIM active if your bank sends codes to it.