eSIM for travel: how to choose mobile data abroad

Under the EU rules a customer can call, text and use data in other covered countries at the same price as at home, subject to a fair-use policy that operators may apply to unlimited or low-priced plans. The Commission’s roaming page states that, since the UK left the EU, the regime does not apply when you travel to the UK.

If your trip is within the covered countries, ask your operator what its fair-use data limit abroad is before paying for anything extra. If it goes beyond the covered countries — the United Kingdom and Switzerland are in our catalogue — assume separate roaming charges or a local plan and check the operator’s terms.

• The phone must support eSIM and be unlocked from your carrier; a locked phone will refuse a foreign plan.
• You need an internet connection (usually Wi-Fi) to download and activate the eSIM, so install before you travel or at the first Wi-Fi you reach.
• Keep your home SIM active if you need SMS codes for banking or two-factor logins; many phones can receive texts on one line and use data on the other.
• Check whether tethering (using your phone as a hotspot) is allowed on the plan.

Most travel eSIMs are data-only: you get an internet connection but no local phone number, so you rely on messaging and calling apps. If you need a local number — for a rental car, a restaurant that calls back, a delivery — check that the plan offers one and how it is activated, which may need identity verification depending on the country.

Read how the plan’s validity is counted: from the moment you install, from first connection, or from a chosen start date. A plan that starts counting on install can run out before you land.