With Roam Like Home, you can use your UK allowance of minutes, texts and data in the EU just as you would in the UK.
What countries are included in Roam Like Home?
You can use your UK allowance in the following countries:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Canary Islands
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- French Guiana
- Germany
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Guadeloupe
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Madeira
- Malta
- Martinique
- Mayotte
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Réunion Islands
- Romania
- Saint-Barthélemy
- San Marino
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- The French Antilles
- Vatican City (Italy)
Travelling outside the EU? Check what charges apply by using the country search above.
For guidance travelling overseas during Covid, visit: gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus
Helpful tips for travelling
If you want to avoid being slapped with a massive mobile bill when you come back from holiday its best to get roaming ready. Here are some things to watch out for.
Set up your phone for travel abroad
Before you head off, there’re a couple of steps to check in Your Account to make sure you can use your phone abroad.
1.
Log in to Your Account and head to Plan & Device
2.
Select Manage Services
3.
Find the Going Abroad section and set the slider to ON
4.
Make sure International call barring is switched OFF
Just so you know, it takes up to 24 hours for these settings to be updated, and then you’re good to go.
Calls and texts Calls and texts
When you're abroad your phone will receive calls and texts as normal, but to make calls when abroad, you'll need to check you've got an international dialling code as part of the number.
To add the international dialling code to a number, hold down the '0' key on your phone's keypad until you see '+' instead. Then you'll need to add the country code for the number. You'll need to do the same in your device's contacts for a saved number.
So, to call a UK number, drop the initial 0, then add '+' and then the UK country code 44 e.g., +44777 123 456.
For a non-UK number, drop the initial 0, then add '+' and then add the country code.
So you’ve got them handy, here are some of the popular dialling codes for countries you might need while travelling in the EU:
- UK +44
- Spain +34
- France +33
- Italy +39
- Germany +49
- Ireland +353
- Greece +30
- Netherlands +31
- Portugal +351
- Belgium +32
- Switzerland +41
NOTE: If you're using app’s such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger to call or message, these will continue to work as normal without any changes required.
What you pay for:
- In the EU you will be able to make calls and send texts to any UK number covered in our Roam Like Home countries.
- If you make a call or send a text while in the EU to a country not covered in our Roam Like Home area, it will be charged at the standard rate.
- Outside the EU you will be charged to make or receive calls and send messages.
- Friends & Family in the UK will pay the standard international rates to call and text you.
See Roaming Costs to see all how much your calls and usage will be.
Voicemail Voicemail
If someone leaves you a voicemail, you can listen to it like normal. Receiving voicemail messages is free of charge. In the EU listening to voicemail will cost the same as it would at home. Outside of the EU you’ll be charged listening to voicemail at the call rate for the region you’re in.
To pick up your messages, access your voicemail, press the # key, and enter your voicemail PIN (which you’ll need to have set up before travelling).
For details on how to set up voicemail and voicemail PIN, see Using Virgin Mobile Abroad.
Mobile data Mobile data
Whether you want to check the weather, Instagram a picture of the view or update your Twitter or Facebook to make everyone green with envy, it’s easy to stay connected. However, if you don’t need to stay on top of your emails or social media feeds while you’re away, it makes sense to switch off data roaming and mobile data.
Travelling in the EU
Remember, if you're in the EU, you can use your data allowance just as you would in the UK with Roam Like Home. Also, you’ll still be able to benefit from data free messaging on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Twitter. Please be aware that some country’s networks may block messaging apps. See Data-free messaging on Virgin Mobile for more details of what is (and isn’t) covered.
If you’ve not used all of your previous month’s allowances, Data Rollover will continue to work whilst travelling in the EU – giving you more to use the following month!
Need more data while you’re away? Load up the My Virgin Media app and get Virgin Mobile Pay Monthly Data Add-Ons. These are added immediately, and you can use them while you’re in the EU.
Heading to a Roam Like Home country near the EU border? Sometimes your phone can connect to a network from outside the EU instead, which means you may get charged extra for roaming. To avoid these extra charges, we recommend turning roaming off while you’re there. Please also check any welcome SMS messages you get when you arrive in these areas and the relevant roaming prices stated.
Travelling outside the EU
If you’re travelling outside the EU, you won’t be able to use your UK allowances.
If roaming is switched on, you’ll be charged for any calls, texts and data you use when abroad, and your data use will be charged per Megabyte. To find out how to control your roaming settings, see Using Virgin Mobile Abroad.
See our Roaming Hub for full details on how much you'll be charged in each country.
Data spend cap limits
Post-trip blues are bad enough without nasty surprises lurking in your mobile bill! To help you stay in control of your chargeable data use while roaming, we’ve set up a £52.02 per month data spend cap (unless you tell us otherwise). We’ll also text you when you’ve hit 80% of your chargeable roaming usage, and another when you’ve hit the limit. You can text YES to 23457 to turn the data cap off. Or, to switch your roaming data cap on, just text NO to 23457.
See our tariff guide for the data cap values.
The roaming data cap will reset monthly on the 1st.
Don’t forget...
Your phone won't get any network coverage on planes or cruise ships. It'll connect to a network once you're near land - just make sure roaming is set up and ready to go.
If you don't want to use your data while you're away, head into your phone’s settings and make sure data roaming is turned off.
Frequently asked questions
Do your SIM Only contracts come with free EU Roaming? Do your SIM Only contracts come with free EU Roaming?
Yes, all of our pay monthly contracts, even the cheapest SIM Only deal, come with Roam Like Home EU roaming at no extra cost!
What is Roam Like Home? What is Roam Like Home?
Roam Like Home allows you to use your minutes, texts and data while travelling in the EU, just like you would in the UK!
Is EU data roaming completely free? Is EU data roaming completely free?
Virgin Mobile allows you to use your Minutes, Texts & Data Tariff Allowances in the EU as you would in the UK. If you go over your Data Allowance you will be charged no more than you would while at home (£3 per GB/Day for the data you use).
Is Virgin Mobile planning to introduce EU roaming charges? Is Virgin Mobile planning to introduce EU roaming charges?
Virgin Mobile has no plans to reintroduce EU roaming charges, leaving you free to talk, text and surf the internet without worry while on holiday.
Does Roam Like Home cover Turkey or the USA? Does Roam Like Home cover Turkey or the USA?
Roam Like Home only covers countries in the EU. If you’re travelling to Turkey, the USA or anywhere else, please check out our Roaming Hub for the full details of using your phone abroad.
How do I set up roaming on my account? How do I set up roaming on my account?
All of our plans come with roaming services activated, all you need to do is make sure data roaming is switched on on your phone and you can start using it as soon as you land! Visit Using Virgin Mobile Abroad for more information.