From January 1, 2026, Ukraine officially joined the single zone of the European Union “Roaming like at home”

From January 1, 2026, Ukraine officially joined the single roaming zone of the European Union. From now on, Ukrainian subscribers can make calls, send SMS and use mobile Internet in 27 EU countries under the terms of their domestic tariffs – without additional “foreign” surcharges. This is reported in official explanations regarding the launch of the service.

To join the “Roaming like home” zone, Ukraine adopted a number of necessary decisions and laws during 2023–2024. In particular, the Verkhovna Rada supported the relevant bill, and the European Commission agreed to the complete abolition of roaming surcharges for Ukrainians in the European Union.

Ukraine became the first country outside the EU to join this program. Previously, Ukrainian mobile operators provided preferential roaming in European countries on the basis of temporary agreements and goodwill. Since 2026, such conditions have been enshrined at the legislative level.

Thanks to the new regime, Ukrainians can use mobile communications in EU countries in the same way as at home:

• Calls and SMS. Calls in Poland, Germany, France and other EU countries are paid according to the terms of the domestic tariff. Incoming calls remain free, and outgoing calls to Ukrainian numbers or numbers in the country of residence are charged from package minutes.

• Automatic connection. Users no longer need to separately connect roaming, activate special promotions, or purchase local SIM cards. The service is automatically included in the basic tariff package.

• Connection quality. Operators are required to provide the same mobile Internet speed (4G or 5G) as the subscriber has in Ukraine, provided that the corresponding technology is available in the local operator’s network.

Despite the fact that calls and SMS are fully equated to domestic ones, a pan-European Fair Use Policy applies to mobile Internet. This means that even if the tariff in Ukraine includes 20 gigabytes or unlimited Internet, all this volume will not necessarily be available in EU countries without restrictions. The maximum amount of mobile data in roaming is determined by a special European Union formula, which depends on the cost of the tariff plan.

For example, a subscriber with a tariff of 200 hryvnias per month will receive less Internet in the EU than a user of a tariff of 500 hryvnias. At the same time, as operators note, the provided volume is usually enough for using instant messengers, making Internet calls, and browsing websites.

The launch of “Roaming like at home” was an important step in Ukraine’s integration into the digital space of the European Union and significantly simplified mobile communications for Ukrainians traveling or temporarily staying in EU countries.