You can use an allowance of your plan as your EU roaming data, this also includes your calls and texts along with any credit, in the EU and selected destinations just like you do at home.
Data cap and duration
Data cap
Data cap
When you’re roaming around the EU and selected destinations, you get a maximum of 5GB of data included from your plan (subject to your plan having at least 5GB of UK data) - that’s a maximum of 5GB per plan, not per month or per visit. So, whether you pop over for a quick trip or a longer stay, that maximum of 5GB is yours to use however you like while you’re there.
Calls and texts are unlimited while you’re in the EU and selected destinations. You can ring up any standard rate number in the country you’re visiting, or back home to the UK, without worrying about extra charges. But heads up - there’s a fair usage policy to keep things fair for everyone. This means if you’re sending lots of texts or making lots of calls to lots of different numbers, you might hit that limit and lose access to roaming temporarily.
Important: You can only use a maximum of 5GB of data in your plan when roaming in the EU and selected destinations even if your plan comes with more than 5GB of data. If your plan comes with less than 5GB of data, then the maximum you can use is that data amount, for example; if your plan comes with 2GB of UK data, the maximum you can use in that plan is 2GB.
Note: If you use up your maximum of 5GB data limit, data usage beyond that will cost 10p per MB. And if you’re running low on your EU data allowance (less than 500 MB left), you can start a new plan early so you’re never caught out. Alternatively, you can try a 'Travel data add-on' (see 'Travel data add-ons' section below for more info on this).
You can also switch on your credit spend cap to stay in control of your spending when roaming.
So, roaming in the EU is easy and hassle-free, just keep an eye on your usage.
Duration
Duration
Members who live in the UK and have frequent UK usage will get EU roaming for up to 63 days. Provided that they've used giffgaff in the UK in the 63 days before arriving in the EU and selected destinations.
If you stay abroad for longer, we’ll send you an SMS to let you know that roaming will be switched off. Then we’ll send a reminder SMS a few days later confirming Roam Like At Home (RLAH) has been switched off. From then on you’ll be charged from your credit balance.
What's Roam Like at Home? This service allows members to go abroad to the EU and selected destinations and use their plan’s or credit as they would here in the UK at no extra cost. Members can use this service as long as their Roaming eligibility is on.
If your travelling means you’re not spending much time in the UK, your eligibility for EU roaming will expire and RLAH will no longer be included in your plan. Submitting documents is for new members only. The only way to become eligible again is by returning to the UK and using your phone.
Countries included in 'EU and selected destinations'
Austria | Belgium | Bulgaria | Croatia |
Cyprus | Czech Republic | Denmark | Estonia |
Finland | France | French Guiana | Germany |
Gibraltar | Greece | Guadeloupe | Hungary |
Iceland | Ireland | Italy | Latvia |
Liechtenstein | Lithuania | Luxembourg | Malta |
Martinique | Mayotte | Netherlands | Norway |
Poland | Portugal | Reunion | Romania |
San Marino | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain |
Sweden |
|
|
|
Note: Not all countries in Europe are included. For more info on this and the 'EU and selected destinations', check out our roaming page.
Additionally, new members may not qualify for inclusive EU roaming right away if there is no UK usage before travelling abroad, and your roaming status might be off:
If this happens, to get up to 63 days inclusive roaming, contact our agents with proof of UK residence to confirm eligibility. See our Fair Usage Policy for details.
Roaming notifications
Roaming notifications are texts you receive when you travel abroad and your phone connects to a foreign network.
These notifications inform you about roaming charges and the terms of use for calls, texts, and data while abroad.
You can choose to turn these notifications on or off in your giffgaff account settings:
giffgaff app
giffgaff app
Just head over to ‘account’
Go to ‘service settings’
Then, hit ‘roaming’
You can turn notifications on/off at any time here.
giffgaff website
giffgaff website
Head over to the service settings page
Scroll down to 'Roaming'
You’ll find the toggle to turn notifications on/off at any time here.
Accidental roaming and how to stop it
If you're travelling close to the border of a country that isn’t part of the EU or selected destinations, sometimes your phone can pick up a network from the other side that your plan doesn’t cover.
For example, you’re on holiday in Cyprus, which is covered, but your phone picks up the network in nearby Turkey, which isn’t.
If this happens, you could end up using a lot of credit without realising. To prevent this, you can set your phone to remain connected to the EU or selected destination’s network. Here’s how:
On iPhone
On iPhone
Tap ‘settings’
Select ‘mobile service’
Under ‘giffgaff’ tap ‘network selection’
Toggle the ‘automatic’ option so it’s off
Choose the network you want to remain connected to
On Android
On Android
Head to your phone’s settings
Select ‘network and internet’
Now go to ‘internet’
From here, go to ‘settings’ (next to ‘giffgaff’)
Scroll down to ‘network’ and toggle ‘automatically select network’ so that it’s off
Choose the network you want to remain connected to
Note: You can switch on your credit spend cap to stay in control of your spending when roaming.
If you’re still not sure how to do this on your specific phone or software version, ask our friendly community helpers. Make sure to let them know which phone you’re using.
Using a 5G network when roaming
You can definitely use the 5G network in the UK. However when roaming internationally, access to 5G depends on several factors, including:
The country you're visiting
The region within that country
The availability of 5G from local network providers
Travel data add-ons
Travel data add-ons keep you connected so you don’t have to worry about internet access while you’re away. This means that you’ll now be able to purchase travel data in a number of destinations.
You can buy travel data add-ons for all EU countries and selected destinations (we call this the EU zone) including Switzerland and Türkiye (Turkey).
Read more about 'travel data add-ons' here.
Did this solve your problem? If not, pop over to our friendly community or chat with our giffgaff HelpBot for a quick answer. Alternatively, ask one of our helpful agents for an answer within 24 hours.