You may have questions about using your mobile if you plan on travelling within the EU (as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway).
Here we have a full guide to policies and regulations related to using your mobile while you travel within these countries.
‘Roam like at Home’ was adopted by the EU in 2017 and states that no matter where within the EU you are travelling, (as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) you will incur the same costs as you would when at home without paying extra roaming charges.
This policy refers to calls, texts, and data usage. Each of these will be charged at domestic rates – the same price as calls, texts and data when here in Ireland.
No, the same rule also applies to any calls or text messages you receive while you’re abroad – you aren’t charged extra to receive calls or texts while roaming, even if the person calling you is using a different service provider.
| Austria | Germany | Norway |
| Belgium | Greece | Poland |
| Bulgaria | Hungary | Portugal |
| Croatia | Iceland | Romania |
| Czechia | Italy | Slovakia |
| Cyprus | Latvia | Slovenia |
| Denmark | Liechtenstein | Spain |
| Estonia | Lithuania | Sweden |
| Finland | Luxembourg | The Netherlands |
| France | Malta |
Since Brexit, the UK is no longer covered by the ‘Rome like at Home’ policy. More information about this and using your mobile in countries outside of the EU can be found on our page on roaming outside of the EU.
Also, it is important to be aware that networks are not obligated to include the UK, Monaco, Andorra and Switzerland in their ‘Roam like at Home’ countries. If you are travelling to one of these countries, then you should check with their service provider.
You may be able to use some or all of your data allowance while roaming within the EU. The limit depends on the type of contract you have and your mobile provider’s policy.
Many providers will include a ‘fair use limit’ that caps data usage at a certain amount before adding on additional charges. For example, while in Ireland you have access to unlimited data allowance, but while travelling within the EU you will be capped to a maximum of between 20 and 30GB depending on your plan.
To better understand this limit, we recommend you review the terms and conditions of your bundle or contract before travelling.
Once you have exceeded the limit your provider may impose surcharges that cannot exceed:
*Please note that these fees are subject to annual change.
The mobile provider should also inform you when you have spent €61.50 (including VAT) and then again when you have used €123.00 (including VAT) in a monthly billing period.
The notification must indicate the procedure you should follow if you wish to continue using roaming services. You may opt-out and back into this so-called cut-off limit mechanism by notifying your mobile provider.
Yes. When you arrive at your destination your mobile provider will provide basic price information through an alert (usually in the form of a text message) when you connect to a local network.
This will include charges and any fair use data limit that the mobile provider may apply as well as emergency service information.
‘Roam like at home’ also extends to the quality of mobile service, so you should have a similar roaming experience as at home.
For example, a roaming customer who can use 5G services at home should also have 5G roaming services when this is available. In some cases, this will not be possible if the local network is not as good as the one you use at home.
However, your mobile provider should do its best to offer the same quality of service when possible and inform you of how the roaming service may differ from the service you use at home.
This information should be available in your contract and made publicly available (for example, on your mobile provider’s website).
| Welcome Notification 1: | When you arrive at your EU destination | The welcome message from your mobile provider should set out the costs that will apply while you are roaming including any extra charges for using your phone outside your normal at-home plan allowances. It will also specify the amount of data you can use without paying anything extra. This notification should also include: a free phone number for your mobile provider and the number for the emergency services in the country you are visiting. |
| Spend Alert, Notification 2: | When you have used up your data allowance | You will automatically receive a notification telling you how much more you will have to pay if you continue to use data services. You will then be asked to confirm if you wish to continue data roaming. |
| Spend Alert, Notification 3: | When you have reached 80% of your data roaming limit, pre-set at €61.50 (including VAT) | If you choose to continue roaming after using up your data roaming allowance, you will receive an alert when you have reached 80% of your data roaming limit, which is pre-set at €61.50 (including VAT) spend. This is based on a monthly billing period. |
| Spend Alert, Notification 4: | When you have spent 100% of your data roaming limit, pre-set at €61.50 (including VAT) | If you choose to continue roaming after using up your data roaming allowance, you will receive an alert when you have reached 100% of your data roaming limit, which is pre-set at €61.50 (including VAT). This is based on a monthly billing period. Your mobile provider will stop your data use at this data roaming spending limit unless you opt to continue paying for data, usually by sending a text message as indicated in the alert. |
| Spend Alert, Notification 5 | When you have spent more than €123.00 (including VAT) in a monthly billing period | If you choose to continue roaming after reaching your data roaming spending limit, you will receive another alert when you have reached €123.00 (including VAT). This is based on a monthly billing period. |