When you head abroad, your phone can connect to local networks, so you can keep using your giffgaff SIM for calls, texts and data. This is known as roaming.
If you're travelling outside of the EU and selected destinations to the 'Rest of the world', your UK plan won't work. Instead, you’ll need to add some credit to make calls, send texts and receive data. Have a look at our roaming page for roaming costs in each country.
List of 'Rest of the world' countries
List of 'Rest of the world' countries
| Armenia | Aruba | Ascension Island |
Australia | Azerbaijan | Bahamas | Bahrain |
Bangladesh | Barbados | Belarus | Belize |
Benin | Bermuda | Bhutan | Bolivia |
Bosnia & Herzegovina | Botswana | Brazil | British Virgin Islands |
Brunei | Burkina Faso | Burundi | Cambodia |
Cameroon | Canada | Cape Verde | Cayman Islands |
Chad | Chile | China | Colombia |
Congo | Congo Dm Rep | Costa Rica | Cuba |
Dominica | Dominican Republic | Ecuador | Egypt |
El Salvador | Ethiopia | Faeroe Islands | Falkland Islands |
Fiji | French Polynesia | Gabon | Gambia |
Georgia | Ghana | Greenland | Grenada |
Guam | Guatemala | Guernsey | Guinea |
Guinee Bissau | Guyana | Hawaii | Honduras |
Hong Kong | India | Indonesia | Iran |
Iraq | Isle of Man | Israel | Ivory Coast |
Jamaica | Japan | Jersey | Jordan |
Kazakhstan | Kenya | Korea South | Kosovo |
Kuwait | Kyrgyzstan | Laos | Lebanon |
Liberia | Libya | Macau | Macedonia |
Madagascar | Malawi | Malaysia | Maldives |
Mali | Mauritius | Mexico | Moldova |
Monaco | Mongolia | Montenegro | Montserrat |
Morocco | Mozambique | Myanmar | Namibia |
Nepal | Netherland Antilles | New Zealand | Nicaragua |
Nigeria | Oman | Pakistan | Palestine |
Panama | Papua New Guinea | Paraguay | Peru |
Philippines | Qatar | Russia | Rwanda |
Saudi Arabia | Senegal | Serbia | Seychelles |
Sierra Leone | Singapore | South Africa | Sri Lanka |
St Helena | St Kitts & Nevis | St Lucia | St Vincent & The Grenadines |
Sudan | Switzerland | Taiwan | Tanzania |
Thailand | Trinidad and Tobago | Tunisia | Turks and Caicos |
Türkiye (Turkey) | US Virgin Islands | USA (excl. Alaska and Hawaii) | Uganda |
United Arab Emirates | Uruguay | Uzbekistan | Venezuela |
Vietnam | Yemen | Zambia | Zimbabwe |
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.
How to stop roaming in the 'Rest of the world'
Roaming in the rest of the world can get expensive quickly, especially if you didn't want to using roaming in the first place. The main way to save money is not to use data while outside the EU and selected destinations - Here's 5 tips when roaming abroad:
Turn off roaming data in your phone settings
Turn off roaming in your giffgaff account
Be careful using data-hungry apps full of images or videos
Look for WiFi hotspots (always be careful using public WiFi networks though)
Turn off automatic app updates
Expand to read our 10 top notch tips for travelling and roaming abroad
Expand to read our 10 top notch tips for travelling and roaming abroad
When you arrive in a new country, you'll get a text about the roaming charges
You can still roam like at home (RLAH) when visiting in the EU
Some countries require you to have credit in your account to use roaming services
You can switch on your credit spend cap to stay in control of your spending when roaming
Check your balance on your dashboard, giffgaff app, or by calling 43430 and selecting option 2. Your usage statement will show your mobile charges from roaming
Keep in mind if checking your voicemail abroad, foreign calls may incur roaming charges.
To call a UK number while abroad, add the international dialling code: Strip off the 0 at the start and add +44 instead (or 00 44)
There's also travel data add-ons available to help you stay online without the hassle of finding WiFi. You can buy travel data for a range of destinations, so you’re covered when you need it.
If you've lost or had your mobile or SIM stolen abroad, read our guide on how to report this to us.
If you are travelling out of the EU, consider using a local SIM instead of your giffgaff SIM.
Also, you can always ask our friendly community helpers for tips. They’re always happy to help out.
What are 'non-terrestrial' networks?
These are networks that operate in places such as aeroplanes, cruise ships and ferries.
How are non-terrestrial networks charged?
How are non-terrestrial networks charged?
When they are available, the charges are;
£1/min to make and receive calls
30p/text
£5/MB of data
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. Read more about 'travel data add-ons' here.
EU and selected destinations
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.
List of EU and selected destinations
List of 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 |
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Can I use 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
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.
