Last updated: 14 October 2026
iD Mobile includes roaming in 50 destinations on every plan, at no extra cost: the EU, Norway, Iceland, the Channel Islands and a few more. There you use your UK minutes, texts and data, with a 30 GB monthly data limit. The USA, Turkey, Egypt, Thailand and Switzerland are not in that list. For those, iD sells Roam Beyond data add-ons: £5 for 2 GB for one day, £20 for 10 GB for five days or £35 for 20 GB for ten days. Some destinations, the UAE included, have no add-on at all, and data there costs £9.60 per MB.
So for Spain, France or Greece, iD is hard to beat and you need nothing else. A travel eSIM earns its place outside the 50, on long trips and when you use a lot of data.
Going to Dubai? iD sells no Roam Beyond add-on for the UAE, so data there costs £9.60 per MB and iD's £45 cap stops you after a few megabytes. A week of UAE data with us, 1.5 GB a day, costs $12.99 (prices in US dollars).
What iD Mobile includes abroad
Inclusive Roaming in 50 destinations. iD says inclusive roaming comes as standard on all its plans, pay monthly and SIM only. In these destinations you use your normal UK allowance: calls and texts to UK numbers, calls and texts within the country you are in, and your data. Incoming calls and texts from any country are free.
The 50 destinations, from iD's own list:
- Band 1 (46): Austria, the Azores, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Canary Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Martinique, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Réunion, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Vatican City.
- Band 2 (4): Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and North Macedonia. The difference: from a Band 2 country you can only call or text the UK or the country you are in with your allowance.
Not on the list: Switzerland, Turkey, Albania, Serbia, the USA and everywhere further afield. Switzerland catches people out because it sits in the middle of Europe. With iD it is a Roam Beyond destination, not an inclusive one.
The 30 GB limit. iD's roaming pages say a 30 GB data limit applies in the 50 destinations, for customers who joined or upgraded on or after 21 June 2023. If your plan has less than 30 GB, you use all of it. Past 30 GB, iD adds a surcharge of £3 per GB. Ireland is the exception: iD says the 30 GB limit does not apply there. iD's fair usage page also carries a notice that since 1 October 2024, and until further notice, all customers can use their full UK data allowance in these destinations. Plan on 30 GB and treat anything more as a bonus.
The 63-day rule. Inclusive roaming is for UK residents who travel occasionally. iD says that if you spend 63 days or more in its free roaming destinations over a 4-month period, it will notify you, and 14 days later it can add charges of 3.2p a minute for calls, 1p a text and 10p per MB of data. That matters for a long summer in Spain or a season working abroad, not for a normal holiday.
Roam Beyond: the add-ons for the USA, Turkey and 48 more
Outside the 50, your UK allowance does not work. iD says it now offers Roam Beyond data add-ons in 50 more destinations, including the USA, Turkey, Egypt, Thailand, Switzerland, Albania, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, India and Morocco. The price is the same everywhere:
| Roam Beyond add-on | Data | Lasts | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 day | 2 GB | 1 day | £5 |
| 5 days | 10 GB | 5 days | £20 |
| 10 days | 20 GB | 10 days | £35 |
How they work, from iD's own pages:
- Data only. Roam Beyond covers data, not calls or texts. Those are charged at iD's roaming rates (below).
- It starts the moment you buy it. iD says Roam Beyond add-ons start immediately on purchase, so buy one just before you fly, or keep mobile data off when you land until you are on Wi-Fi.
- Buy it in the app. In the iD Mobile app or at my.idmobile.co.uk, tap the add-ons, choose Roam Beyond, search for your destination and confirm. The cost goes on your next bill.
- No cancelling. iD says one-off add-ons cannot be cancelled once bought.
What happens without an add-on. You pay iD's per-MB rates, which as of 14 October 2026 are:
- USA: data £0.30 per MB, calls to the UK £1.68 a minute, calls received £1.50 a minute, texts to the UK £0.42.
- Turkey, Egypt, Thailand: data £1.50 per MB, calls to the UK and calls received £2.40 a minute, texts to the UK £0.60.
- UAE (no add-on): data £9.60 per MB, calls to the UK £6 a minute, calls received £1.50 a minute, texts to the UK £1.20.
iD caps roaming data spending at £45 by default to protect you from a shock bill, unless you ask it to remove the cap. At £0.30 per MB, £45 buys about 150 MB in the USA. In the UAE it buys under 5 MB.
Destinations with no add-on. iD's country checker shows no Roam Beyond add-on for the UAE or Israel, among others, and an iD employee confirmed on its community forum in 2026 that Seychelles has none either, suggesting a travel eSIM there. iD does not support roaming at all in Iran, Syria, Sudan or North Korea.
What a typical trip costs on iD Mobile
Using iD's own prices as of 14 October 2026:
- A week in Spain or Greece: nothing extra. Your plan's data, up to 30 GB, calls and texts work as at home.
- A week in the USA: the cheapest way to cover seven days is a 5-day add-on plus two 1-day add-ons, £30 for 14 GB, bought one after another. Or one 10-day add-on, £35 for 20 GB. Calls home at £1.68 a minute on top, unless you use WhatsApp or FaceTime over data.
- Two weeks in Turkey: a 10-day and a 5-day add-on, £55 for 30 GB over 15 days.
- A week in Dubai: no add-on exists, so data is £9.60 per MB. In practice the £45 cap stops you after a few megabytes. This is the clearest case for a travel eSIM.
- A month in Thailand: three 10-day add-ons, £105.
When a travel eSIM is cheaper than iD
Be honest about it: in iD's 50 inclusive destinations, a travel eSIM rarely saves you anything. It wins when:
- Your destination has no Roam Beyond add-on. The UAE, Israel and Seychelles are the obvious ones. Without an add-on you are on £9.60 per MB in the UAE.
- The trip is long. Roam Beyond tops out at 10 days for £35. A two or three week trip means buying add-on after add-on, and the bill grows by the day.
- You visit several countries outside the 50. Each add-on is bought for a destination. A multi-country trip through Southeast Asia or the Middle East is simpler on one regional plan.
- You stay in Europe longer than iD allows. Past 63 days in four months, iD's long-stay charges can apply.
- Someone else in the family is on a different network. One eSIM per traveller is easier than comparing four networks' roaming rules.
For a few days in the USA, a 5-day Roam Beyond add-on is fair value and keeps things simple. Compare it with the plan cards for your dates. A travel eSIM needs a phone that takes an eSIM and is not locked to a network: check yours in 30 seconds. For how the two approaches bill you in general, see travel eSIM vs international roaming.
How to use iD Mobile and a travel eSIM together
You can keep your iD number on the phone and let a travel eSIM carry the data. iD says you can have two active numbers on an eSIM phone, and an iD employee wrote on its community forum that iD does not lock the phones it sells, except iPhones made before 2018.
- Install the travel eSIM at home, on Wi-Fi: iPhone or Android.
- When you land, set the eSIM as the line for mobile data and turn on data roaming for the eSIM only.
- Leave data roaming off on your iD line, so it never uses data at iD's rates.
- Keep the iD line on if you want texts such as bank codes. Remember that outside the 50 destinations, answering a call on your iD number is charged (£1.50 a minute in the USA).
- Call home on WhatsApp, FaceTime or Google Meet over the eSIM's data. iD says Wi-Fi Calling cannot be used when you are roaming, so it is not a way around its call charges.
- Set a bill cap of £0 in the iD Mobile app before you go, as a safety net.
Going to Turkey? iD's roaming page notes that Turkey has restricted some third-party travel eSIM providers. Whichever eSIM you use, buy and install it at home before you fly, so you are not trying to download it on arrival. Our Turkey page compares the plans.
Comparing networks? See how giffgaff, SMARTY, Tesco Mobile, Sky Mobile, Lebara and VOXI handle roaming.
FAQ
Does iD Mobile work in the USA?
Yes, but the USA is not one of iD's 50 inclusive destinations, so your UK allowance does not work there. As of 14 October 2026, iD's Roam Beyond data add-ons cost £5 for 2 GB for a day, £20 for 10 GB for five days or £35 for 20 GB for ten days. Without one, data is £0.30 per MB and calls to the UK are £1.68 a minute.
Is iD Mobile roaming free in Europe?
Yes, in the 50 destinations iD includes on every plan, which cover the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and a few more. You use your UK minutes, texts and data, with a 30 GB data limit (none in Ireland). Switzerland, Turkey, Albania and Serbia are not included.
Does iD Mobile work in Turkey?
Yes, with a Roam Beyond add-on: as of 14 October 2026, £5 for 2 GB for a day, £20 for 10 GB for five days or £35 for 20 GB for ten days. The add-ons are data only, and calls to the UK cost £2.40 a minute. Without an add-on, data is £1.50 per MB.
Does iD Mobile work in Dubai?
It works, but it is expensive. As of 14 October 2026, iD has no Roam Beyond add-on for the UAE, so data costs £9.60 per MB and calls to the UK £6 a minute. iD's default £45 roaming data cap stops you after a few megabytes, so use Wi-Fi or a travel eSIM for data there.
Does iD Mobile work in Switzerland?
Yes, but Switzerland is not one of iD's free roaming destinations. As of 14 October 2026, it is a Roam Beyond destination, with data add-ons from £5 for 2 GB for a day. Without one, data is £1.50 per MB.
How do I turn on roaming with iD Mobile?
Turn roaming on in the iD Mobile app or in My Account online, and switch on data roaming in your phone's settings. Outside the 50 inclusive destinations, buy a Roam Beyond add-on first, since iD's add-ons start as soon as you buy them.
Can I use Wi-Fi Calling abroad on iD Mobile?
No. As of 14 October 2026, iD's Wi-Fi Calling page says you cannot use Wi-Fi Calling when roaming. To call home cheaply from outside the 50 inclusive destinations, use WhatsApp, FaceTime or another app over Wi-Fi or a travel eSIM's data.
Facts checked on 14 October 2026 against iD Mobile's own pages: Roaming charges, EU Roaming, Fair usage policy, Add-ons, eSIM, Wi-Fi Calling, and posts by iD Mobile employees on the iD Community.