Roaming rates

Stay connected while overseas with Spark roaming

Daily Roaming lets you use your existing Pay Monthly mobile plan (excludes Kids Plan) in over 100 destinations overseas for just $10 NZD (incl. GST) each NZ day you use it. It will activate as soon as you make or answer a call, text or use data (including background data) in an eligible destination, unless you've bought a roaming pack. There are two roaming packs available for Pay Monthly customers and three for Prepaid. Packs last for 14 or 30 days.

For roaming outside eligible destinations, or on Prepaid without a roaming pack, roaming services are available as casual roaming rates for minutes, texts and data. Details for the destination you're travelling to can be found below.

• Get roaming coverage in over 180 destinations. Daily Roaming and roaming packs are available in over 100 of these destinations.
• Get free 24/7 support from your Spark mobile. If you need us, call +64 3 371 0866 (free call from a Spark mobile).
• Casual roaming data caps can be set up to manage casual roaming data costs. These don't apply to Daily Roaming charges. Understand roaming charges and data caps
• Roaming packs can be bought for eligible destinations in the Spark app, MySpark online or using text to buy.
• Sign in to MySpark
• Get the Spark app
• You'll get a text message when your roaming pack is ready to use
• All roaming prices are in NZD and include GST.
• Roaming is enabled by default on all Spark SIMs, but the SIM must be activated for the first time in New Zealand to access Spark services. To disable some or all roaming services, please contact the Roaming Helpdesk on +64 3 371 0866.

VoLTE Roaming – making calls via 4G networks

Worldwide, our roaming carrier partners are starting to retire their 3G and 2G networks to free up frequencies and network resources for their 4G and 5G networks. For the past decade, voice calls have been primarily carried out over the 3G network. In order to make voice calls on a 4G mobile network while roaming, your device must be capable of VoLTE Roaming. VoLTE, or voice over LTE (LTE is the technical name for 4G), is the next evolution of mobile calling that uses the 4G network for traditional voice calls.

Even though your device may be VoLTE capable for use when in NZ, it may not be VoLTE roaming capable. Spark is working with device manufacturers to provide upgrades to devices as soon as possible. It is recommended that you always ensure your device is running the latest software build. (Data charges apply to software updates installed using data, so we recommend downloading software updates over WiFi.)

To find out if your device is VoLTE roaming capable, see the ‘Is my device VoLTE roaming capable?’ FAQ at Spark VoLTE Roaming

An extra safety net with casual roaming data caps

To control your casual data use overseas, roaming data caps let you set a limit on your casual roaming data costs. These don't apply to Daily Roaming charges. This is for each billing cycle while you're away.

Choose one of four thresholds. Once you've spent that amount on roaming data, your data service will stop until you increase your cap.

You can view or change your roaming data cap in the Spark app or MySpark online. Sign in to MySpark

Daily Roaming and roaming packs

Roaming options

Prices are in NZD and include GST. A day covers 00:00 to 23:59 NZ Time.

	Data	Outgoing calls (min)	Incoming calls (min)	Text	Overage charges
Daily Roaming Only available on Pay Monthly plans $10 per day	Uses your Pay Monthly mobile plan				NZ casual rates
Roaming Pack Pay Monthly or Prepaid $65 for 30 days	20GB	300 minutes	300 minutes	300 (160 character limited per text)	Pay Monthly: $10 per day Prepaid: Zone 1 & 2 casual rates
Prepaid Roaming Pack Only available on Prepaid $30 for 14 days	2GB	300 minutes	300 minutes	300 (160 character limited per text)	Zone 1 & 2 casual rates
Roaming Data Pack Pay Monthly or Prepaid $50 for 30 days	20GB	-	-	-	Pay Monthly: $10 per day Prepaid: Zone 1 & 2 casual rates

How to buy roaming packs

You can buy roaming packs in the Spark app, MySpark online or by using text to buy.

$65 Roaming Pack	Text "BUY ROAM" to 258
$30 Prepaid Roaming Pack	Text "BUY ROAMING" to 258
$50 Data Roaming Pack	Text "BUY DATAROAM" to 258

Eligible destinations

Daily Roaming and roaming packs are available in the following destinations:

• In Australia: Australia and Christmas Island.
• In Oceania: American Samoa, Cook Islands (incl. Rarotonga), Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Nauru, New Caledonia, Northern Mariana Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands*, Tonga and Vanuatu.
• In Europe: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faeroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy (including San Marino and Vatican City), Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands i.e. Jersey and Guernsey etc. and Isle of Man).
• In Asia: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India***, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan*, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, UAE and Vietnam.
• In Americas: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica*, Ecuador*, El Salvador, Guatemala*, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, USA** (incl. Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands - excludes all other territories).
• In Africa: Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco and South Africa.

Important notes

*Not available for Prepaid customers.

**Municipalities and independent city states within roaming destinations and independent islands may not be included in the Daily Roaming. Please check specific destination for roaming details.

***As per the regulations of the Government of India, a customer of an overseas carrier is not allowed to roam in Jammu and Kashmir. As such, Spark customers in those regions will be unable to use roaming services. There is no date for this restriction lifting.

Due to regulatory requirements implemented in Russia all international roamers in Russia will be unable to use mobile data and SMS (both sending and receiving) services for the first 24 hours after arrival. It is understood that after 24 hrs mobile data and SMS services will be available although connectivity may be unstable/intermittent while travelling within Russia as the 24 hour restriction will reset if a device changes networks. Voice services (making and receiving) are NOT currently impacted. It is unknown how long this restriction will remain in place, or if it will change.

Zone 1 roaming casual rates

Destinations covered: Australia, Christmas Island

	Data	Outgoing calls (min)	Incoming calls (min)	Text
Prepaid	$11.50 per 200MB*	$0.56 per minute	$1.15 per minute	$0.92 per text (160 character limit per text)
Kids Plan	$11.50 per 200MB*	$0.56 per minute	$1.15 per minute	$0.92 per text (160 character limit per text)

* Every 200MB used costs $11.50, up to 14 times per day. If you exceed this in a day, your extra data costs $0.57 per 1MB. This resets each day at 00:00 NZT wherever you are in the world, regardless of how much data you've used.

Zone 2 roaming casual rates

Destinations covered:

• In Oceania: American Samoa, Cook Islands (incl. Rarotonga), Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Nauru, New Caledonia, Northern Mariana Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands*, Tonga and Vanuatu.
• In Europe: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faeroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy (including San Marino and Vatican City), Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands i.e. Jersey and Guernsey etc. and Isle of Man).
• In Asia: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India***, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan*, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, UAE and Vietnam.
• In Americas: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica*, Ecuador*, El Salvador, Guatemala*, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, USA** (incl. Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands - excludes all other territories).
• In Africa: Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco and South Africa.

Important notes

*Not available for Prepaid customers.

**Municipalities and independent city states within roaming destinations and independent islands may not be included in the Daily Roaming. Please check specific destination for roaming details.

***As per the regulations of the Government of India, a customer of an overseas carrier is not allowed to roam in Jammu and Kashmir. As such, Spark customers in those regions will be unable to use roaming services. There is no date for this restriction lifting.

Due to regulatory requirements implemented in Russia all international roamers in Russia will be unable to use mobile data and SMS (both sending and receiving) services for the first 24 hours after arrival. It is understood that after 24 hrs mobile data and SMS services will be available although connectivity may be unstable/intermittent while travelling within Russia as the 24 hour restriction will reset if a device changes networks. Voice services (making and receiving) are NOT currently impacted. It is unknown how long this restriction will remain in place, or if it will change.

You can buy a Roaming Pack, Roaming Data Pack or use casual roaming rates.

	Data	Outgoing calls (min)	Incoming calls (min)	Text
Prepaid	$11.50 per 200MB*	$2.86 per minute	$1.15 per minute	$0.92 per text (160 character limit per text)
Kids Plan	$11.50 per 200MB*	$2.86 per minute	$1.15 per minute	$0.92 per text (160 character limit per text)

* Every 200 MB used costs $11.50, up to 14 times per day. If you exceed this in a day, your extra data costs $1.15 per 1MB. This resets each day at 00:00 NZT wherever you are in the world, regardless of how much data you've used.

Zone 3 roaming casual rates (cruise ships and airlines)

At sea, roaming isn't available on Prepaid. Connectivity may be restricted at any time by crew members.
Roaming packs don’t work on cruise ships.
Note: Availability is dependent on the cruise ship or airline's carrier. All prices include GST.

	Data	Outgoing calls (min)	Incoming calls (min)	Text
Prepaid	Not available	Not available	Not available	Not available
Pay Monthly	$3.45 per MB	$4.01 per minute	$1.15 per minute	$0.92 per text (160 character limit per text)

Zone 4 roaming casual rates

Destinations covered: Rest of the world

	Data	Outgoing calls (min)	Incoming calls (min)	Text
Prepaid	$9.20 per MB	$5.16 per minute	$1.15 per minute	$0.92 per text (160 character limit per text)
Pay Monthly	$5.75 per MB	$5.16 per minute	$1.15 per minute	$0.92 per text (160 character limit per text)

Calling a satellite phone

The following rate applies, regardless of your current location:

Mobile service	Data	Calling	Text
Pay Monthly	N/A	$17.25 per minute	N/A

Important to know

General roaming information

• Roaming relies on the use of overseas telecommunications networks that we don’t control. We can’t therefore provide any guarantees about the quality of roaming services. If a fault happens while you're travelling please contact the Spark Roaming helpdesk on +64 3 371 0866 or roaming@spark.co.nz, so that we can discuss the issue with the local network in your roaming destination.
• The charges that apply to roaming services are in addition to any other charges which apply to your mobile plan.
• The storage, treatment and transfer of personal data will be subject to the privacy regulations of your destination country and they may be different from those in New Zealand. Check with the individual roaming carrier provider about their privacy practices.
• Pay Monthly Roaming voice billing relies on the billing files to be sent from the carrier partner and processed by our billing systems. This means, Pay Monthly Roaming voice usage meters and alerts can be three to four days behind. We encourage you to track your call usage using the call record feature in your mobile, and ensure you have a second roaming pack purchased as back up if you intend to make or receive a lot of calls.
• Prepaid customers will receive a charge for any voicemails deposited in their voicemail box while roaming, even if their device is switched off. This is charged at the standard per min rate for receiving calls while roaming.
• To retrieve a voicemail while overseas will trigger Daily Roaming to start on Pay Monthly plans. On Prepaid, you will be charged the standard per minute rate for an outgoing call in the country you're in unless you have an active roaming pack.
• If you're a Pay Monthly mobile customer and have a roaming pack, once the pack's allowance has been consumed or the pack has expired, Daily Roaming will activate if you continue to use roaming unless you've bought another pack.
• If you're a Prepaid customer and choose not to purchase a roaming pack for an eligible country, or once a pack’s allowance has been consumed or the pack has expired, you will revert to casual rates until another pack is purchased.
• If you visit a destination that’s not covered by Daily Roaming or roaming packs, you’ll pay casual rates. Use the destination selector in the Spark app or at the top of the Roaming page to find the specific prices.
• All roaming charges are listed in New Zealand currency and include GST.
• Charges listed for incoming and outgoing calls while roaming are charged per minute (you pay the full minute rate for each minute or part minute).
• Text messages to and from New Zealand-based premium numbers while roaming will be charged at the standard New Zealand rate for those premium members.
• Text messages when roaming:
• There’s no charge for receiving a person-to-person text
• One standard text message is 160 characters. Texts over 160 characters (including spaces) count as more than one standard text. For example, a 200 character text would be charged as two texts.
• Note: Emojis use 90 characters in a text message. This means you’ll be charged the standard rate (or use 1 text allocation) for each text message up to 70 characters in length if it contains an emoji, for each recipient.
• When roaming, sending a picture/MMS message is charged at the standard Spark rate for sending a picture/MMS message. Prepaid customers will also be charged at the standard data roaming rate for the destination you're in, or deducted off the data allocation of the roaming pack. Messages sent using a data application (for example, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, email) will consume data.
• Websites or apps that are zero-rated (don't use your data allocation) while in New Zealand will use data overseas. On a Pay Monthly plan it will trigger Daily Roaming to start or use data from your roaming pack if you have one, or casual roaming data rates on Prepaid without a pack. The Spark app is zero-rated while roaming.

Daily Roaming information

• Daily Roaming will trigger automatically on Pay Monthly plans (excluding Kids Plan) when you make or answer a call, send a text or use data (including background data) in an eligible destination. If you’ve bought a roaming pack it will activate instead.
• The daily charge for Daily Roaming covers 00:00 to 23:59 NZ Time. If you travel to another eligible destination on the same day, you'll only be charged once for that day. There’s no charge on days you don’t use roaming services.
• Calls to destinations other than New Zealand, Australia (if included in your plan) and the destination you're roaming in, premium numbers (e.g. 1800, 1900, 0800), non-person-to-person calls and calls to satellite phones will be charged as per your plan’s standard NZ casual rates.
• Texts to any destination other than New Zealand, Australia (if included in your plan) and the destination you're roaming in, non-person-to-person texts and picture messaging/MMS will be charged as per your plan’s standard NZ casual rates.

Roaming pack information

• Roaming packs are activated at first roaming use in eligible destinations and will expire 14 or 30 days after the next New Zealand midnight after the first roaming use, or full consumption of the pack inclusions.
• You can buy and have more than one roaming pack at a time, if you need more allocations.
• Each roaming pack's inclusions can be used in one or more of the listed eligible destinations. See eligible roaming destinations
• Allowances aren't valid within New Zealand, or in other roaming destinations (including cruise ships or flights).
• The incoming calling allowances allows customers to receive calls on their mobile without incurring casual roaming rates.
• Roaming pack allocations cannot be shared. The data, text and call allocations can only be used from the mobile number they're purchased for.
• The outgoing calling allowance in roaming packs is for calls to any number anywhere in the world (i.e. it doesn't have to be to a number in an eligible country) within eligible countries as well as calls to any country around the world and to the voicemail connected to the mobile number with the Roaming Pack and Roaming Data Pack.
• Premium numbers (1800, 1900, 0800) are excluded from the calling allowance and will be charged at casual rates specific to the country you are in.
• The included texts allowance is for sending texts to numbers within both eligible and non-eligible destinations.
• Picture messaging/MMS and non-person to person text are excluded from text allowances and will be charged the standard Spark rate for sending a picture/MMS message.

Not sure how much data you need?

• Data usage depends on what device is used and how much time is spent online. Roamers may get an idea of their potential mobile data requirements when travelling by looking at mobile data they use when in New Zealand. Some devices allow you to see how much mobile data you have used in the last month, including how much data different applications have used.
• Roamers should be aware that faster mobile networks will use more data than slower ones. For example a device may use more data on a 5G network compared to a 4G or 3G network, especially for things like high-definition video.
• A roamer's usage may vary depending on several factors, including, but not limited to; the model of the device, the device settings, the network being used, and application settings.
• A roamer's usage may change when travelling. For example, a roamer may spend more time looking at maps.
• Roamers can take steps to reduce their data usage when roaming, these steps may include:
  • Using local WiFi networks to avoid using mobile data.
  • Turning off mobile data or data roaming when it is not required. Learn how to turn data roaming off
  • Enabling data saving settings in applications where they are available.
  • Avoiding streaming videos and music.
  • Disabling background data services in a device or applications.
• Roaming packs which have included allowances (in eligible countries) may provide more certainty for Prepaid roamers and, depending on how much data the roamer uses, may be more cost effective than casual data.