Using your UK phone in Europe after Brexit
Since the UK left the EU, surcharge-free roaming in EU countries is no longer guaranteed on UK plans: each provider decides whether Europe is included, charged by the day or capped by fair use. Ofcom rules require your provider to alert you to the charges when you start roaming, so read that message, compare it with your plans, and keep data roaming off if the numbers do not suit you.
See the Europe packsWhat Brexit changed for your phone
Roam like at home is an EU regulation, and UK plans have been outside it since the UK left. The UK government’s guidance puts it plainly: surcharge-free roaming in EU and EEA countries is no longer guaranteed, business travellers included, so check your operator’s roaming policy before travelling. UK providers have since taken different paths: some still include Europe in the allowance, others charge a daily fee, others set fair use caps.
The EU rules do not help from the other side either. They protect plans from EU and EEA countries, so a UK SIM in Spain or Greece is priced by its UK provider, not by EU law. That is why two friends on the same holiday, one on a UK plan and one on an Irish plan, can pay completely different amounts.
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.
Not sure about your model? Ask us before you pay and we will tell you — a person answers within 24 hours.
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 alert you should get when you land
With the EU protections gone, Ofcom has set its own rules. Your provider has to alert you when you start roaming, in the EU and elsewhere, and the alert has to explain the charges that apply, any fair use limit, and the period covered by any time-limited charge, such as a daily fee. It also has to tell you that you can set or change a limit on your bill, and point you to clear, free information about roaming.
Treat that message as the price tag for the trip. If it mentions a daily charge, work out what it adds up to over your stay; if it mentions a fair use limit, note it before you start streaming. If no alert arrives, look up your provider’s roaming page before switching data roaming on.
“Included” usually comes with conditions
Plans that include European roaming usually come with conditions, and Ofcom’s rules name the two most common: fair use limits and time-limited charges. A fair use limit caps how much of your allowance you can use abroad before extra charges start, which matters most on large or unlimited allowances. A time-limited charge is typically a fee per day or per week of use abroad, added to your normal bill.
Check also which countries your provider’s Europe zone covers. Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, the microstates, Turkey and the Western Balkans are not always grouped with the EU, and a country outside the zone can cost far more than one inside it. Look up every country on your route by name, not just the first one.
Northern Ireland and the Irish border
The border between Northern Ireland and Ireland is the UK’s land border with the EU, and phones on either side regularly pick up networks from the other. Ofcom’s rules require providers to offer measures that reduce or limit spending from inadvertent roaming while you are in the UK, such as treating use of Irish networks as UK use, and to explain clearly how to avoid it, particularly in border areas.
If you live near the border or are driving from Belfast to Dublin, check what your provider does with Irish usage. To stay on a UK network on the northern side, choose it by hand: on iPhone under Mobile Service › your line › Network Selection, with Automatic turned off; on Android, in the SIM settings, by turning off automatic network selection.
Your phone is probably already unlocked
Ofcom has banned UK mobile providers from selling locked handsets, so a phone bought from a UK provider in recent years should already accept another SIM or eSIM. Older phones, or ones bought abroad or second-hand, may still be locked, and your provider can confirm it. On iPhone, Settings › General › About shows No SIM restrictions next to Carrier Lock when the phone is unlocked.
To use a data eSIM, the phone also needs eSIM support, which every iPhone from the XS and XR onwards has, along with many recent Android phones. Our compatibility page explains how to check for an EID in your settings.
A data eSIM next to your UK SIM
If your plan charges a daily fee or caps your data abroad, a data eSIM for Europe is the usual alternative. Your UK SIM stays in the phone for calls, texts and the codes your bank sends, while the eSIM handles the data, and WhatsApp keeps working with your UK number. Set mobile data to the eSIM and turn data roaming off on the UK line so it cannot run up charges in the background.
Snoozim’s Europe pack covers 33 countries on one eSIM and only starts counting when it first connects in a covered country, so you can install it at home before you leave. Our guide to setting up two lines for travel walks through the settings.
Is roaming in the EU free with a UK SIM?
Not by law. Since Brexit each UK provider sets its own policy: some include Europe, others charge a daily fee or cap use with fair use limits.
Do UK providers still have to warn me about roaming charges?
Yes. Ofcom rules require an alert when you start roaming, with the charges, any fair use or time limits and how to set a bill limit.
Does the EU’s €50 data cut-off protect UK plans?
No. It is part of the EU regulation, which covers plans from EU and EEA countries. Ask your UK provider about setting a bill limit instead.
Will my UK phone work with a European data eSIM?
Yes, if it is unlocked and supports eSIM. Phones sold by UK providers are now sold unlocked.
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 packs