From January 1, Ukraine joined the European Union roaming zone. What does this mean?

From January 1, 2026, Ukraineʼs visa-free roaming with the European Union "Roam like at home" came into effect.

Ukraine and the EU Council adopted the decision on the mutual opening of roaming markets back in the summer of 2025, and in June, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the relevant law.

Now Ukrainians can call, send messages, and use mobile Internet from Ukrainian phone numbers in 27 European Union countries without additional charges.

In addition, they will have the same quality and speed of mobile communication as at home. Calls to emergency services will remain free.

Similarly, subscribers from European Union countries will retain the terms of their home tariffs while traveling in Ukraine.

The only restriction applies to mobile Internet: if a subscriber in Ukraine has a large package or unlimited, roaming operators may apply a special traffic limitation formula to avoid losses.

Thus, Ukraine became the first country outside the bloc to join the EUʼs single roaming area. Before that, Ukrainians in the EU had temporary free roaming, which mobile operators introduced on a voluntary basis after Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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