Roaming: what it is, what it costs, and when to enable it

Roaming means that your phone uses a mobile network abroad other than your own provider's network. Within the EU, this usually costs nothing extra during normal travel use. EU pricing rules do not apply in Turkey, Switzerland, and Morocco. For those destinations, check your provider plan before departure or use a separate travel eSIM.

HolySim advice: keep data roaming disabled on your regular SIM outside the EU. If you use a travel eSIM, data roaming usually needs to be enabled on that eSIM. Turn off automatic mobile data switching.

What is roaming?

You roam as soon as your SIM connects to a foreign network. Your Dutch or Belgian provider has agreements with local operators for this purpose. Calls, texts, and mobile data run through that partner network, but billing or allowance management remains with your own provider.

Data roaming is only the permission to use mobile internet through such a foreign network. If you turn data roaming off, your regular SIM can still make and receive calls and send texts. Outside the EU, those services may also cost money. The switch is therefore not a complete cost block.

Calling a foreign number from the Netherlands is different. You are not roaming in that situation; international calling rates apply.

EU roaming explained

With “Roam Like at Home,” you use your minutes, texts, and data at the same rate as at home during a temporary trip. The scheme applies in all 27 EU countries and in Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Since January 1, 2026, Ukraine and Moldova have also been covered by this scheme. The European Commission maintains the current countries and conditions.

The rules do not automatically apply to every country geographically located in Europe. Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom are not mandatorily included. Some providers voluntarily include such a country in their own EU zone. That is a benefit of your subscription, not a European right.

You do not need to activate EU roaming separately with the European Union. Data roaming on your phone does need to be enabled if you want to use your regular allowance in another participating country.

Unlimited at home is not always unlimited while traveling

Providers may apply a fair-use limit to unlimited or very cheap data plans. They must state in advance how much EU data you receive and warn you when you reach the limit.

For 2026, the European scheme uses a maximum wholesale rate of €1.10 per GB excluding VAT. For an unlimited plan, the minimum roaming allowance under the regulated formula is twice the monthly price excluding VAT divided by €1.10. Your provider may offer more.

After your fair-use limit, the provider may charge no more than €1.10 per additional GB excluding VAT in 2026. This cap falls to €1 per GB in 2027. The English text of the European roaming regulation establishes these maximum amounts.

EU roaming is intended for travel, not for permanently using a foreign SIM in another country. If, over four months, you spend more time abroad and use more there than at home, your provider may apply a surcharge after warning you.

Three exceptions that surprise travelers

• On a ferry or airplane, your phone may select a satellite network. That network is not covered by the normal EU rate.
• Near an external border, your phone may switch to a network from Switzerland, Turkey, Andorra, Monaco, or Northern Cyprus. Only the price zone of the selected network counts.
• Service numbers and premium information numbers may have a higher rate even within the EU.

Check the network name in border areas. At sea or in the air, airplane mode is the safest choice until you can use regular Wi-Fi.

Roaming outside Europe and outside the EU

Do not look only at the continent. For roaming charges, what primarily matters is whether your destination falls under the EU scheme or your provider's own zone. Switzerland is in Europe but outside mandatory EU roaming. The Canary Islands are near Africa but, as Spanish territory, are covered by the EU rate.

Outside the regulated roaming zone, your provider sets the price for data, calls, and texts. This may be a daily pass, a country bundle, a rate per MB, or a combination. A package named “Europe” does not automatically include Turkey or Switzerland. Read the country list, data amount, validity, and what happens after you use the allowance.

Outside the EU, you broadly have four choices:

• an international bundle from your own provider;
• a prepaid travel eSIM for data;
• a local SIM card;
• Wi-Fi with mobile data disabled.

A provider pass is convenient if your own number and call allowance need to remain central. A travel eSIM often gives greater control over data costs and works alongside your regular SIM. A local SIM is more suitable for a long stay or when you need a local number.

Roaming in Turkey

Turkey is not covered by mandatory EU roaming, even though part of the country lies in Europe. Your Dutch or Belgian allowance works there at domestic rates only if your provider has added Turkey itself. Do not assume this from the word “Europe.”

Disable data roaming on your regular SIM before arrival if you do not have a suitable provider package. Install an eSIM for Turkey at home over Wi-Fi, select that line for mobile data after landing, and enable roaming on that profile. The complete Turkey guide also contains advice about data, coverage, and installation.

If you travel overland through Greece or Bulgaria, watch the network name near the border. Your phone may detect a Turkish network before or after you cross.

Roaming in Switzerland

Switzerland is in Europe but not in the EU or EEA. Providers may voluntarily include the country in their European zone. As a result, one traveler may use their regular allowance while another pays per MB.

Check whether “Switzerland” is literally included in the country list for your subscription. Also note Liechtenstein: it is covered by EEA roaming, while neighboring Switzerland is not mandatorily included.

Along the French, German, Italian, and Austrian borders, your phone may switch unnoticed to a Swiss network. If Switzerland is not included in your plan, temporarily select a network from the EU country you are in or disable data roaming. For a stay in Switzerland itself, you can arrange a Switzerland eSIM in advance.

Roaming in Morocco

Morocco is outside EU roaming. A stopover or departure from Spain does not change that: as soon as your phone uses a Moroccan network, your provider's Morocco rates apply.

Leave data roaming disabled on your regular SIM if you do not have an international package. With an eSIM for Morocco, you use the travel eSIM for data and can keep your normal SIM active for verification texts. Do not accept ordinary calls without thinking; incoming calls and voicemail may fall outside your allowance.

The Morocco guide also covers reception in medinas, the Atlas Mountains, and desert areas. Offline maps remain sensible because roaming cannot create reception where no suitable network is available.

Should data roaming be on or off?

Set the switch correctly for each SIM profile. On a dual-SIM phone, roaming can be disabled on your regular SIM and enabled on your travel eSIM.

When using your regular allowance in an EU roaming country, enable data roaming. Outside the EU, keep it off until you have bought a suitable provider pass and know which line supplies the data.

Data roaming usually needs to be enabled for a travel eSIM. Such an eSIM connects to a partner network in the destination country. Follow the installation instructions if your package says otherwise.

Also disable “mobile data switching,” “automatic mobile data switching,” or a similar option. Otherwise, your phone may fall back to the regular SIM when the travel eSIM temporarily has no reception.

Check these four points before departure:

1. Which SIM is selected for mobile data?
2. Which SIM has data roaming enabled?
3. May the phone automatically switch to the other data line?
4. Is your destination genuinely included in the selected package's country list?

The exact menus are in our guides to setting data roaming on iPhone and setting data roaming on Android.

How much does roaming cost?

Within the EU roaming zone, normal use is charged at your domestic rate. Data comes from your allowance; with prepaid service, the regular domestic rate or credit is used. A fair-use limit may restrict the amount of data.

Outside that zone, there is no fixed roaming price. Costs depend on your provider, subscription, destination, network, and use. A price per MB may look small, but 1 GB consists of about 1,000 MB. Automatic photo backups or video may therefore quickly become expensive.

If you use KPN, Odido, or Vodafone, the guide to roaming outside Europe compares current consumer prices, provider zones, and international packages with alternatives such as a travel eSIM and local SIM.

Dutch providers normally stop mobile internet abroad at €50 excluding VAT, approximately €60 including VAT, unless you select a different limit yourself. ACM ConsuWijzer explains how this international data limit works. Do not treat this as a desired spending allowance. The limit applies per billing period, covers data only, and may have exceptions when usage cannot be measured immediately. Calls and texts may increase the bill further.

Before departure, compare these amounts and conditions:

• the total price of a provider pass or eSIM;
• the number of GB and validity period;
• rates for calling, receiving calls, texts, and voicemail;
• the price or block after the allowance is used;
• countries that are and are not included.

A prepaid travel eSIM makes data costs predictable. Check whether the package stops, slows down, or can be topped up once its data is exhausted.

How to avoid unexpected roaming charges

Before departure, open your provider's app or website and take a screenshot of the country list and rates. Disable automatic app updates, cloud backups, and video streaming over mobile data. Download maps, tickets, and entertainment over Wi-Fi.

Keep the welcome text that arrives after landing. Your provider should state the applicable rates in it. If the zone differs from what you saw beforehand, do not use mobile data until you have checked it.

Do not delete a travel eSIM when the connection does not work immediately. First check the selected data line, data roaming, APN, and network selection. Our no internet after eSIM installation guide covers those steps in a safe order.

Sources and editorial review

The countries, fair-use rules, and price caps were checked with the European Commission and Regulation (EU) 2022/612. The Dutch data limit and exceptions were checked with ACM ConsuWijzer. Provider zones and individual package prices change regularly; always check them with your own provider. Last substantively reviewed on July 15, 2026.

For a trip through several countries, view the current global eSIM plans or choose a plan for one destination.