Students
Erasmus: what to do with your phone and your line before you go
Where your line is registered changes everything. On an EU line your data travels with you; on any other, roaming starts the day you land.
Bea Nogales 6 min Photo by Marius Serban on Unsplash Going on Erasmus with your phone looks like one of the few easy parts of the whole process, and yet the thing that actually matters is a distinction most guides skip over.
What decides it is where your line comes from
A line issued in a European Union or European Economic Area country travels with its plan by regulation: same data, same minutes, no surcharge. But the rule looks at the country the line is REGISTERED in, not the country you are going to. Erasmus+ includes countries outside the Union, and students on those lines pay roaming from the moment they land — a UK line is in exactly that position since Brexit.
For those travelling on an EU line: fair use
The roaming included in your plan is meant for travelling, not for living somewhere. If for months you use more abroad than at home, your operator may warn you and, if nothing changes, apply a surcharge. That is lawful and it is written into your terms.
In practice both cases land in the same place: a whole academic year on your home line ends in trouble, and you want a plan by the second or third month. On a line from outside the Union, you want that plan on day one.
What European roaming covers and what it does not is in roaming in the European Union.
What a local number is actually for
- For the country's bank, if you open an account there.
- For university paperwork and dealings with the local authorities.
- For transport, delivery and rental apps, which sometimes reject foreign numbers.
- And so someone rings you back about a room while you are flat-hunting.
For talking to people back home you do not need one: that goes over messaging and over data.
How to set it up without losing your number
On a compatible phone the local line can sit alongside your home one: yours stays in to receive texts from the bank and the authorities, and the local one handles everything on the ground.
If you are keeping the home line without using it, check first what the cheapest plan is and whether dropping to it while you are away is worth doing.
How to set the phone up with both is in your SIM card and an eSIM at the same time.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use my home plan on Erasmus?
If your line is from an EU or EEA country, yes for the first few months, because roaming is included there. From anywhere else, no: roaming starts on day one.
What is fair use?
A legal provision that applies to EU lines: if for several months you use considerably more abroad than at home, your operator may apply a surcharge.
Do I need a local number?
For paperwork, the bank and some of the country's apps, yes. For talking to people back home, no: that goes over data.
Will I lose my home number?
Not if you keep the line. On a compatible phone the two can sit side by side, and it is worth keeping the home one for your bank and the authorities.
