Most of Scotland's legal restrictions have eased after we saw the likes of Covid passports being scrapped on Monday (March 21).
Whilst the wearing of face coverings was extended due to a spike in cases, travel restrictions have thankfully kept easing and now, many holidaymakers can jet away without having to take a Covid test or isolate upon arrival to their chosen destination.
But while people may be concerned about Covid, some may forget to check about roaming fees post-Brexit and it seems a lot has changed.
Since the UK left the European Union, many mobile providers have scrapped their free data roaming meaning there will now be an added cost when heading away.
This is a stark contrast to a time where everyone was able to use their data for 28 days without a fee.
Thankfully though, some have said they won't reintroduce the fees.
But with everything changing, what does this mean for you if you're heading abroad this year - and who has started charging?
Will there be roaming charges if I'm with EE?
EE has said that following Brexit, the way their network operates in the EU will change.
As a result, roaming charges were reintroduced from January, 2022.
Customers can use their minutes, texts and data allowances in EE's European roaming zone for £2 a day or for £10 a month with a Roam Abroad add on.
Here's how the new charges will work:
- One low fixed daily payment of £2 per day
- You don't need to do anything to opt in: if you use your allowances you'll pay £2 for that day, and if you don't, you won't be charged anything
- All your allowances work just like at home - and you can buy more data if you need to
Where will roaming charges be active?
The charges will be active - £2 a day - across 47 European countries.
These are:
- Austria
- Azores
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus (excludes northern Cyprus)
- Czech Republic
- Canary Islands
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- French Guiana
- Germany
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Guadeloupe
- Guernsey
- Hungary
- Iceland, Isle of Man
- Italy, Jersey
- Latvia
- Lichtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Madeira
- Malta
- Martinique
- Mayotte
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Reunion Islands
- Romania
- San Marino
- Saint Martin (French)
- Saint Barthelemy
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Vatican City (Italy)
How will I be affected by EE's mobile roaming charges?
If your pay monthly plan and your contract started before July 7 2021 then these changes will not affect you.
If your pay a monthly handset or your SIM plan started on or after July 7 2021, there will be a daily charge for using your phone in EE's European roaming zones from January 2022.
Can I avoid the mobile roaming charge?
From January 2022, if you have a plan with Smart Benefits, you can choose EE's Roam Abroad pass as a Smart Benefit and you won’t have to pay the £2 daily charge in the EU.
Alternatively, you can take Roam Abroad as an add-on to your plan at any time for £10 a month and you won’t have to pay the £2 daily charge in the EU
Will there be roaming charges if I'm with 02?
O2 say they have no plans to reintroduce roaming charges in Europe as they will be part of customers' monthly plans.
At present O2 customers have a monthly data limit of 25GB and will be charged £3.50 for each GB after that.
However, those who are travelling outside of a Europe Zone and do not have their O2 Travel Inclusive Zone Bolt On, they will incur a charge.
The mobile network provider says that they recommend customers get the O2 Travel Bolt On as it's the perfect way to stay connected when you're on holiday and only costs £4.99 a day in selected destinations outside Europe.
Customers can pay a single and fixed daily rate which will give you 120 minutes, 120 texts and unlimited data though data speeds may vary.
What destinations are included in 02's Europe Zone?
| Austria | Azores | Belgium |
| Bulgaria | Canary Islands | Croatia |
| Cyprus* | Czech Republic | Denmark |
| Estonia | Finland | France |
| French Guiana | Germany | Gibraltar |
| Greece | Guadeloupe | Guernsey |
| Hungary | Iceland | Ireland |
| Isle of Man | Italy | Jersey |
| Latvia | Liechtenstein | Lithuania |
| Luxembourg | Madeira | Malta |
| Martinique | Mayotte | Monaco |
| Netherlands | Norway | Poland |
| Portugal | Reunion | Romania |
| Saint Barthelemy | Saint Martin | San Marino |
| Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain |
| Sweden | Switzerland | United Kingdom |
| Vatican City |
*Not including Northern Cyprus
Will there be roaming charges if I'm with Vodafone?
Vodafone has reintroduced roaming charges for anyone travelling to Europe meaning new and existing customers will need to pay up to £2 per day in order to use their monthly allowance of data, calls and texts.
Despite this, some holidaymakers will be able to reduce the cost to £1 per day by purchasing a multi-day pass for eight or 15 days.
Those on the firm’s more expensive Xtra plans will still have roaming included while the Republic of Ireland will be exempt for all customers.
A spokesperson said: "Rather than have all of our customers affected by including the additional costs of roaming into all of our tariffs, customers will be able to choose a plan that comes with roaming included, or purchase an additional roaming pass.
"Our ambition is to ensure customers don’t ever experience ‘bill shock’ when roaming with Vodafone, because all of our plans and passes will have clear usage caps, and customers will also be able to set their own limits via Vodafone Spend Manager, which is free to set up via the My Vodafone App."
Will there be roaming charges if I'm with Three?
Customers on Three thankfully have a bit more time before they are charged.
The network will apply a flat £2 daily charge to all new and upgrading Three customers from October 1 2022 with customers seeing the changes come into effect from May 23 2022.
Three's fair use limit currently stands at 12GB with a £3 charge per GB above that. However they have also introduced 'Go Roam' which lets customers use their plan or add-on allowances in over 70 destinations around the world at no extra cost but go over this and they will be charged.
However, if users go over their plan they will be charged.
Can I avoid the charge by Three?
Three has introduced a Data Passport meaning that for £5 a day, customers can benefit from unlimited unrestricted data (up to fair usage limits) which can be used exactly as customers like, whether that's to upload pictures, stream TV shows or use maps to help them navigate where they are.
Will there be roaming charges if I'm with Sky Mobile?
Sky Mobile customers can use their phone or tablet in over 40 European (EU/ EEA) destinations at no extra cost with a Roaming Passport.
The mobile network has said that they have set up a worldwide data roaming spend cap of £45 per month for each SIM so customers will never spend more than they want to on data.
Roaming Passport
Any mobile data used whilst abroad will come out of customer's data plan.
If customers have Unlimited Calls and Texts whilst they are roaming in the EU/EEA, calls and texts to standard EU/EEA mobiles and landlines will be inclusive.
Remember it won't cost anything extra to receive calls or texts.
If you’re a Pay As You Use customer whilst you're roaming in the EU/EEA, the cost to make a call or send a text message to standard EU/EEA mobiles and landlines is 10p per minute or per text.
The cost to send a picture message is the same as if you were sending it from the UK which currently stands at 40p per message.
You can roam for free in the following place:
- Aruba
- Austria
- Azores
- Belgium
- Bonaire
- Bulgaria
- Canary Islands
- Croatia
- Curacao
- 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
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Reunion
- Romania
- Saba
- Sint Eustatius
- Sint Maarten
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- St Barthelemy
- St Martin
- Sweden
Roaming Passport Plus (RPP)
Roaming Passport Plus gives customers access to their UK plan in 12 popular roaming destinations outside the European Union for £6 a day.
It will be automatically activated and added to your account when customers make a call, send a text or use more than 10MB of data a day in selected destinations.
Another Pass will only be activated again if the above thresholds are reached or if customers are travelling to another RPP destination within 24 hours.
RRP destinations include:
- Australia
- Canada
- Christmas Islands
- Cocos Island
- Hong Kong
- New Zealand
- Qatar
- South Africa, Switzerland
- Thailand
- Turkey - including Northern Cyprus
- USA
Will there be roaming charges if I'm with BT?
Thankfully at present, BT are not charging customers and there are no roaming charges.
You can benefit from Roam Like Home in the following countries:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Canary Islands
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
French Guiana
- Germany
- Gibraltar
- Guadeloupe
- Guernsey
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
Liechtenstein
- Malta
- Martinique
Martinique
Mayotte
- Monaco
- Netherlands
Norway
- Poland
- Portugal - including Azores and Madeira
- Romania
- Reunion
- Slovakia
Saint Barthel
Switzerland
San Marino
Saint Martin
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Vatican City
The following is included in your BT roaming bundle:
- Calls and text to the UK (to any UK mobile or standard fixed-line number 01, 02, 03)
- Calls and text within the same Roam Like Home country
- Calls and text to another Roam Like Home country
- Receiving calls when in a Roam Like Home country
- Data usage
- Calls to emergency services (999 or 112)
- Calls to Customer Care 150, 151 and 154
- Calls to numbers starting 0800, 0808 and 0500
- Voicemail
What happens if you go over your allowance?
If a customer goes over their allowance they will be charged the UK out of bundle rates:
- Calls: 36.57p/min
- Texts: 12p/message
- Data (internet): 10.45p/MB
Will there be roaming charges if I'm with Tesco Mobile?
Thankfully Tesco Mobile say they have no plans to reintroduce extra data roaming charges.
A Tesco spokesperson said: "There are no Brexit changes to our Home From Home service. You can still use your data, minutes and texts in Europe as you would at home.
"We have no current plans to re-introduce roaming charges in European countries following the UK’s departure from the EU on 1 January 2021. If anything changes, we’ll contact all our customers to let them know."
Pay monthly customers
If you have a safety buffer on your account then you can protect what you spend on data by choosing a buffer that’s right for you.
Your usage will be capped at the safety buffer you choose.
If you have an older tariff without a safety buffer Tesco cap the amount you’re charged for data usage abroad at £40 per month so no matter how much data you use in any given month while you’re abroad, you’ll never be charged more than £40.
You can also choose to remove your safety buffer altogether in which case you’ll be able to spend more. If you reach your £40 data limit, Tesco will place a bar on your usage.
Pay as you go customers
Using data abroad will come out of your credit. Find out the cost of using data abroad (per MB) on the Tesco website here.
