Where does EU roaming end?

Where you use your phone like at home

The rule is known as "Roam like at Home". It applies in all 27 EU countries and in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Since 1 January 2026, Moldova and Ukraine are also part of it. Calls, texts and data cost the same there as at home. The rule has been extended until 2032.

This only applies if your plan comes from a provider in the EU. If your plan comes from outside the EU, your provider's terms apply.

Where it does not apply

Switzerland. Not in the EU, not in the EEA. You pay roaming there.

United Kingdom. No longer included since it left the EU.

Turkey. Not in the EU, so no EU roaming.

Western Balkans. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia are not included yet. In June 2026, the EU decided to start talks with these countries. There is no date yet. Mobile operators on both sides have committed to lowering data prices step by step until 2028. More on this in our guide "Roaming in the Western Balkans".

Some providers still charge single countries such as Switzerland or the UK like at home. This is in your plan.

What roaming costs in these countries is in your plan.

How to avoid high bills is explained in our guide "Roaming without a surprise bill".

A semester is not a holiday

There is a catch inside the EU, too. EU roaming is meant for travelling, not for living abroad. Your provider may look at where you use your phone over four months. If you are abroad more than at home during that time and also use more data there, your provider may warn you and, if nothing changes within 14 days, add a surcharge.

Outside the EU roaming zone, you pay from day one anyway.

More in our guide "Staying connected during your semester abroad".

What you can do

1. You take an eSIM with a data plan, for example from Studisim. You set it up while you are still in Austria, and you are online when you arrive. Your own SIM and your number stay as they are.

   • No subscription and no contract. You only buy what you need.
   • One fixed price for the whole plan, no charges per megabyte.
   • When you are out and about, you are usually on Wi-Fi anyway, at university, at friends’ places or in the hotel. The eSIM is for everything in between: maps, train apps and messages.
   See plans

2. You ask your provider what data costs in your destination country. Some providers have an add-on for it.

3. You buy a SIM card locally. In some countries you need your passport for this, and in some your phone also has to be registered.

Whether your phone supports eSIM takes a minute to find out: Will my phone work?

More on single countries: Turkey (in German)

Our data plans: to the shop

Frequently asked questions