Australia to Europe with your phone: the stopover, the time gap and the roaming rules
From Australia, Europe is usually two flights away, so plan the phone for three places: the stopover, Europe and home, which on the east coast is eight to ten hours ahead. Install a European data eSIM before you leave, keep your Australian line on for texts with its data roaming off, and read the roaming messages ACMA's rules make your provider send, which show what that line costs in each country.
See the Europe eSIMThe stopover is a country of its own
Many routes from Australia to Europe connect in Asia or the Middle East, through hubs such as Singapore, Doha or Dubai. None of them is covered by a European plan: a Europe eSIM simply waits, without connecting or counting days, until you land in one of its countries. If you stay airside for a few hours, the airport's Wi-Fi covers messages and gate changes.
A stopover of a night or two is different, because you will want maps and transport in the city. That needs data for that country, such as an eSIM for Singapore, Qatar or the United Arab Emirates, installed at home along with the European one. Our layover and stopover guide explains how two travel eSIMs share a phone and which one to pick at each landing. Before touching down at the hub, switch off data roaming on your Australian line, or it may start roaming there.
One eSIM for 33 European countries
Several countries on one trip? Same eSIM, same data, no swapping lines at the border.
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For one to two weeks of maps, messaging and the odd video.
Buy up to 180 days before you fly: the plan only starts when the eSIM connects at your destination.
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Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
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How it works
- 1Choose and payCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account.
- 2Install it at homeThe QR arrives by email. Scan it on wifi in a minute.
- 3Connect when you landTurn on data roaming for the eSIM and you are online.
The messages your Australian provider has to send
ACMA's International Mobile Roaming Determination sets what happens when your phone starts roaming. Within 10 minutes of the phone being activated overseas, you must get a free message confirming it and warning that higher charges may apply and that usage information may be delayed. The provider must also send, free, the maximum charges for calls, texts and data in that location and how to decline roaming there: within those same 10 minutes if it runs its own network, a little later if it resells another's. The message comes again in each new location, unless the same charge information was sent in the previous 14 days.
So a trip through Singapore to Paris can bring two sets of prices, one per stop, and both are worth reading. If you decline roaming, the provider must stop it as soon as practicable and within 24 hours, and doing it on its website must be free. Post-paid customers also get an alert each time estimated data charges pass another $100, and included roaming packs send alerts at 50, 85 and 100 per cent of the allowance.
Eight to ten hours ahead: bank codes at odd hours
Between Sydney or Melbourne and Paris, Rome or Madrid, the gap is eight hours in the southern winter and ten in the southern summer, with nine for a few weeks around the clock changes, because the two hemispheres move their clocks at opposite times of year. Perth is six or seven hours ahead. Your phone updates its own clock, as explained in does your phone change time zone automatically, but your bank's working day stays in Australia.
Codes for a card payment or a new login go by SMS to the number your bank has, so they reach your Australian line wherever you are, as long as it is switched on; a data eSIM has no number and never receives them. The time gap changes the rest: a call from the bank about a blocked payment at 9 in the morning in Sydney reaches you around midnight in Europe. Turn on in-app approval before you leave and check the text charges in your roaming message. Getting bank SMS codes abroad has the line settings.
Getting the phone ready for a very long trip
Do the setup at home on Wi-Fi: scan the eSIM's QR code, label the line Europe and leave it switched off until you land. Then download what you will need without a connection: maps of your first city, as shown in using Google Maps offline, and music or films for the flights, covered in downloading before a flight. Wi-Fi on board, where there is any, is a separate service, explained in inflight Wi-Fi explained.
On arrival in Europe, set the eSIM as the line for mobile data and turn on data roaming for it, not for the Australian line. If your first European landing is itself a connection, in London or Frankfurt for example, the Europe pack starts counting there and carries on through the next flight. Snoozim's Europe pack covers 33 countries, the United Kingdom and Switzerland included, so a route through several of them needs a single eSIM.
If something goes wrong far from home
Smartraveller, the Australian Government's travel advice service, lists a 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on +61 2 6261 3305 from overseas, or 1300 555 135 from within Australia, for serious concerns about the welfare of Australians abroad. It is an ordinary phone number, so save it and call it from your Australian line or any local phone: a data-only eSIM does not make voice calls. Each destination's travel advice on Smartraveller also lists local contacts.
For police, ambulance or fire in Europe, dial 112. If the phone is lost or stolen, tell your Australian provider so it can block the SIM, and follow lost or stolen phone abroad. Wi-Fi calling on your Australian line may also work overseas, depending on the provider and the phone; Wi-Fi calling abroad explains how to check before you rely on it.
Does a Europe eSIM work during a stopover in Singapore or Dubai?
No. It only connects in its 33 European countries. For a stopover elsewhere, use the airport's Wi-Fi or a separate eSIM for that country.
Will my Australian provider warn me about roaming charges?
Yes. ACMA's rules require a free warning within 10 minutes of the phone being activated overseas, plus the maximum charges there and how to decline roaming.
Will I still get bank SMS codes in Europe?
Yes, on your Australian line, as long as it stays switched on. A data-only eSIM has no number, so codes never arrive there.
What is the time difference between Sydney and Europe?
Eight to ten hours, depending on the season, because Australia and Europe change their clocks at opposite times of year.
Who do I call in an emergency in Europe?
Dial 112 for local emergency services. For consular help, Smartraveller lists the 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on +61 2 6261 3305.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
See the Europe eSIM