Your phone plan on an Erasmus exchange: keep it, get a local one, or both
EU roaming lets you use your home plan in your Erasmus city at home prices, but it is built for travel, not for living abroad, and a semester is long enough for your operator to notice. For most students the setup that works is both lines in one phone: the home number for bank codes and WhatsApp, and a local plan for data, which EU rules recognise you are entitled to as a full-time student.
See the Europe packWhy a semester stretches roam like at home
Roam like at home covers people who live in one EU country and travel to others. An exchange turns that around: for months, abroad is where you live. Operators are allowed to check usage over a window of at least four months, and if in that window you spent more days abroad than at home and also used more abroad than at home, they can warn you and, after 14 days, start adding regulated surcharges.
A semester fits that window almost exactly. Days your phone spends on your home network count as days at home, so a trip back at Christmas helps, but it rarely changes the overall pattern. How the check works, and what you can do if you think it was applied wrongly, is in our fair use guide. The practical point is simpler: plan for your home plan being a backup during the exchange, not the main connection.
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.
Studying abroad counts as a link to your host country
The EU rules on roaming define who has stable links with a country, and the list includes participation in full-time recurring courses of study, alongside full-time employment and similar cases. BEREC, the body of EU telecom regulators, repeats it in its roaming guidelines, and lists a declaration or other proof from an educational establishment among the kinds of evidence an operator may accept.
In plain terms, as a full-time student you have a legitimate reason to sign up with an operator in your host country, and a plan from that country then gets EU roaming like anyone else's, including at home on your trips back. If an operator asks for proof of address that you do not have yet, your university's enrolment letter is worth offering. Requirements for opening a line differ between countries and operators, so ask the international office at your university what other students use.
Keep your home number alive in the same phone
Do not cancel your home line when you leave. Banks, public services and two-step verification for half your accounts still send codes to that number, and your WhatsApp is tied to it. Most recent phones take two lines at once, so the home SIM can stay in for calls and texts while the local plan or a data eSIM handles the internet.
Set the local line as the one for mobile data and leave data roaming off on the home line, so it cannot quietly start using its own allowance abroad. The two-lines guide shows which switch goes where, and our guide to bank SMS codes abroad explains why texts keep arriving even with roaming data switched off.
The first weeks, before the paperwork is done
Opening a local line can need things you will not have on day one, such as a local address or a local bank account. Until then, you still need maps to find your room, messages with the landlord and the university's portal.
A data eSIM installed at home covers that gap. It starts counting only at the first connection in the destination, can be bought well before you fly, and keeps your home number on the phone. Snoozim's larger packs last 30 days from that first connection, usually enough to settle in and choose a local plan calmly. Our long-stay guide covers when to switch over.
Erasmus countries where EU roaming does not apply
Erasmus+ is open beyond the EU. Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein take part and are in the European Economic Area, so EU roaming covers them. But North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye also take part in the programme, and none of them is covered by EU roaming: there your home operator charges whatever its tariff says, which can be expensive.
If your exchange is in one of those three, sort out data before you land. Country eSIMs exist for Türkiye, Serbia and North Macedonia, which keep you online until you have a local SIM. Note that the 33-country Europe pack does not include them.
Weekend trips once you are settled
Part of the point of a year abroad is everything within a cheap train or flight. With a local plan from your EU host country, EU roaming covers trips to the rest of the EU and EEA; our roaming calculator shows how much of your allowance you can use abroad.
The usual exceptions are the United Kingdom and Switzerland, outside those rules whatever plan you have, plus Andorra and Monaco. For a weekend in London or Zurich, the Europe pack covers both, and since a travel eSIM is added next to your other lines rather than replacing them, it sits alongside your home and local SIMs without changing either.
Can I use my home phone plan for a whole Erasmus semester?
You can, but EU roaming is designed for travel. Over four months or more, if you are abroad more and use more abroad than at home, your operator may start adding surcharges after a 14-day warning.
Can I get a local phone plan as an Erasmus student?
Yes. EU roaming rules list full-time studies among the stable links with a country, and a letter from your university is one of the proofs operators may accept.
Should I cancel my home line during Erasmus?
Usually not. Keep it in the phone for bank codes, two-step verification and WhatsApp, and use the local plan or a data eSIM for internet.
Does EU roaming work in Türkiye or Serbia?
No. Both take part in Erasmus+, but neither is covered by EU roaming rules, so arrange a local plan or a country eSIM before you go.
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 pack