Check that your mobile or tablet can roam

If you bought it from Spark then you can use it to roam overseas. If you're not sure, check with the store you bought it from, or with the mobile or tablet's manufacturer. Roaming is enabled by default on all Spark SIMs. To disable some or all roaming services, please contact the Roaming Helpdesk on +64 3 371 0866.​

Download the Spark app

Use the Spark app to buy more packs and track your usage. Download the Spark app

Roaming options

Option one: Auto Buy Roaming (not available on prepaid mobile plans)

Auto Buy Roaming is a way to avoid casual roaming rates for eligible countries. Once you turn it on you don't need to do anything on arrival. You can start enjoying your travels knowing that your Roaming Pack will activate when you get to your destination. If you run out of your pack allocation we'll automatically apply a new pack so you'll always stay connected. You can turn on Auto Buy Roaming via the Spark app or MySpark online.

You can enable Auto Buy Roaming in MySpark or in the Spark app.

Select the MySpark link that follows to go straight to the Mobile settings page where you can turn on Auto Buy Roaming. Sign in to MySpark

From the MySpark home page

1. Sign in to MySpark
2. Select Settings from the left menu bar under General
3. Select Mobile settings under Mobile
4. Scroll down to Roaming settings
5. Select Manage under Auto buy a roaming pack: Off
6. Move the slider for Auto buy a roaming pack so it turns blue
7. Select a Roaming pack
8. Select Save

From the Spark app

1. Select the menu icon in the bottom right corner. It looks like three lines stacked on top of each other.
2. Select Settings
3. Select Roaming
4. Under Auto Buy Roaming, select Set it up now
5. Under Roaming settings, go to Auto buy a roaming pack: Off
6. Select Manage
7. Move the slider for Auto buy a roaming pack so it turns blue
8. Select the Roaming Pack or Roaming Data Pack you want to apply
9. Select Save

If you have Auto Buy Roaming enabled you'll get a notification that Auto Buy Roaming is activated and you're connected upon arrival. Selected Roaming Packs will be automatically bought and activated when you run out of your pack allocation, or when it expires. To check your usage and manage your options go into the Spark app.

Option two: Buy a roaming pack

• The Roaming Pack and Roaming Data Pack are available for certain destinations. Find out if your destinations are covered, see above for eligible destinations.
• If you visit these destinations and don't buy a Roaming Pack, you'll get charged for any data, texts or minutes you use at casual roaming rates
• If you visit destinations not covered by the Roaming Pack or Roaming Data Pack, then casual rates for your destination will apply
• To top up or buy Roaming Packs, use the Spark app, MySpark or call +64 3 371 0866 (free from your Spark phone).
• You can buy a single pack and top up as you go or buy multiple packs before you leave

Set up a roaming data cap - for casual data use only

• If you're roaming at casual rates you can set a data cap to limit how much you spend
• To set this up before you leave, use the Spark app or go to MySpark on your mobile
• Pay Monthly, Prepaid or Business customers can set data caps
• An automatic casual data cap of $150 applies to your mobile number*
• This cap applies for roaming data casual rates only, not Roaming Packs. It also doesn't restrict calls or texts, so you'll still receive a charge for these.
• When you reach the data cap, you won't be able to use more data. We'll text you to let you know. There will be a link in the text so you can increase your cap.
• You can only decrease your data cap if the data you've used is still under your current cap amount

*Excluding Spark Digital customers.

Not sure how much data you need?

• This information is a guide only
• Estimates in the table below are based on average device data usage on a 3G network, doing one activity at a time
• On a 4G network, the average device data usage may be more than double what's shown in the table below
• Data usage varies depending on many factors including, but not limited to the:
  • Device used
  • Network used
  • Device settings
  • Applications on the device
• Get an idea of your potential roaming data needs by looking at how much mobile data you're using in New Zealand. Many devices show how much data you use on different apps. Note: your data use may change while travelling. For example, you might use Google Maps more often while overseas than at home.
• Manage your data use when roaming by:
  • Using local WiFi networks
  • Avoiding streaming movies, videos and music
  • Turning off mobile data or roaming data services when not in use
  • Turning on data-saving settings in applications where they're available
  • Disabling background data services in the device or apps
  • Finding out how to turn mobile and roaming data on or off in the mobile device help section. Search for your device and follow the instructions provided. Go to device help

Source: New Zealand Telecommunications Forum Inc (TCF) International Mobile Roaming Guide, 2018.

Set up and access voicemail

Set up a PIN number so you can check your voicemail while you're away.

• From within New Zealand, go to your voicemail
• Select option three: Change your personal options
• Select option two: Change your PIN
• You'll now hear your PIN

Set up your phone or tablet to roam

• Turn on your device when you get to your destination. If Walk Off Working is enabled, or you have bought a roaming pack it'll activate or casual rates will start.
• To use the internet, enable data roaming with these steps:

Note: Switch this setting off when you're not using your phone to avoid extra data usage.

Stay informed about your roaming usage

• When you start roaming, you'll get a text with Spark roaming support details. Make sure you keep this message in case you need to call us. The Spark number is also on your Spark SIM and in the Spark app.
• iPads and tablets can’t get texts, so if you'd like to get usage alerts, please set these up on a mobile using MySpark. You can also set up alerts to be sent to an email address.
• You can track your usage and buy roaming packs while you're overseas with the Spark app or MySpark.
• Sign in to MySpark
• Get the Spark app

Know who to call if you have a roaming problem

• From within New Zealand, call 0800 Good2Go (0800 466 324)
• From Australia, UK, China, Thailand, Canada or Hong Kong, call +800 4663 2460. This is a free call from a landline when you're in one of the listed countries.
• From anywhere else in the world, contact the International Roaming Helpdesk. They’re available 24/7. Call +64 3 371 0866. This is a free call from a Spark mobile.
• You can also email roaming@spark.co.nz

Avoid extra roaming charges

• To control how much you spend while roaming, take a look at the roaming packs on offer by selecting your destination on the main roaming page
  • These packs include allowances for data, texts and calls or data only that you can use in 39 destinations
  • Roaming packs activate once you arrive in an eligible destination. You can either buy them before you travel or when you arrive.
  • Texts sent while roaming are charged per 160 characters, including spaces. Even if your mobile phone allows more characters, you'll be charged for multiple text messages if you exceed this limit.
  • Find out more about roaming charges

Understand usage alerts

• If you have a roaming pack, we’ll text you when you use 80%, 90% and 100% of your allowance
• There can be delays in billing of some roaming services. This is because the information must first reach Spark from the overseas network operator. This delay will affect the timeliness of usage alerts and usage meters.
• If you're using $10 for 200MB casual data, we'll text you at 100MB and 200MB of usage
• If you're using casual data in non-roaming pack destinations we'll text you at 2MB, 60MB and 100MB usage
• These texts are automatic. You can mute them, but you can't turn them off. To mute texts, set up a new contact in your phone for Spark alerts, and add these contact numbers:
  • 144
  • 182
  • 183
  • 184
  • 185
  • 186
• Within this new contact, update the settings to turn off audible alerts

If you lose your phone

If your mobile or tablet gets lost or stolen while overseas, contact the Roaming Helpdesk on +64 3 371 0866 straight away to block your SIM.

If you don't do this immediately, you'll be responsible for all roaming charges incurred on the device until it's blocked. If you've stored passwords on your mobile or tablet you should immediately change these.

Making calls while roaming

Make sure the numbers in your contacts list are in the international format so you can make calls and send texts without any issues.

All Spark mobiles and tablets offer +code (aka plus code) dialling. This lets you make calls, while roaming, without dialling the international access code.

Enter +, then the country code (for example 64 for New Zealand, 61 for Australia) followed by the phone number without the leading zero. For example:

• 027 123 4567 becomes +64271234567
• 09 345 6789 becomes +6493456789

Note:

• Not sure how to get the + symbol on your keypad? Pressing and holding the 0 (zero) key on most phones brings up the + key. On older phones it can be a long press, or many presses of the * or # keys.     
• Store phone numbers in your contact list in the international format. This way you'll always dial or text the correct number. Note: This won’t impact making calls or sending texts when back in New Zealand.

Access voicemail while roaming

• Call +64 83 083210 and wait for a message
• Type in your PIN
• Select # and listen to your messages

Voicemail costs

• You'll get a charge to listen to a voicemail while roaming. This will be at the standard roaming per-minute rate for an outgoing call from the country you're in.
• Prepaid customers get a charge for voicemails left in their inbox while roaming. This occurs even if your phone is off. You'll get charged at the standard roaming per-minute rate to receive calls while roaming.
• To find the roaming rates for where you're going, search for your destination and check the casual rates. Search for your destination
• To turn off voicemail, call us on 123 if you're a residential customer, or 126 if you're a business customer. If you're calling from overseas, call +64 3 371 0866.

Travelling to many destinations

You can use the Roaming Pack and Roaming Data Pack in these destinations*:

In Oceania:

Australia, American Samoa, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu

In Europe:

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy (including San Marino and Vatican City), Netherlands, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Switzerland and UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands i.e. Jersey and Guernsey etc. and Isle of Man)

In Asia:

China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, UAE, Vietnam

In North America:

Canada, USA (including Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands)

In South America:

Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela**

In Africa:

South Africa

*Municipalities, independent city states within roaming countries and independent islands may not be included in Roaming Pack. Please check specific destination roaming details.

**Roaming for Prepaid customers unavailable.

If your destination isn't listed

If you visit a destination that's not available for roaming packs, you'll pay casual rates. Use the destination selector at the top of the main roaming page to find the specific prices.

Choose a Roaming Pack

• There are two roaming packs to choose from: Roaming Pack or Roaming Data Pack
• Casual rates will apply if your destination isn't listed above or if you don't buy a roaming pack
• You can view the cost of roaming for each destination on the main roaming page
• If you're travelling to more than one destination included in the pack you don’t need to buy multiple packs. The same pack will work in all included destinations within the seven days.
• The Roaming Pack and Roaming Data Pack lasts seven days or until it's used up. If you'd like to use more, you can buy another pack.

This Roaming Policy describes roaming service specific terms and applies in conjunction with our Global Roaming Terms and Conditions. Spark General Terms and Mobile & Wireless Terms also applies to your use of the roaming service.

General

• New Zealand rates don't apply when roaming. The charges that apply to roaming services are in addition to any other charges which apply to your mobile plan.
• Roaming relies on the use of overseas telecommunications networks which we don't control and therefore we can't offer any guarantees about the quality of roaming services. Should a fault arise while you are travelling please contact the Roaming helpdesk on +64 3 371 0866 or roaming@spark.co.nz, so that we can raise the issue with the local network in your roaming destination.
• All roaming charges are listed in New Zealand currency and don't attract 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 premium numbers while roaming will be charged at the standard New Zealand rate
• Outgoing person-to-person texts are charged per 160 characters. There's no charge for incoming person-to-person texts.
• Inserting an emoji or non-text character into a text message will change the text message to non-standard. This will reduce the character count of the text message from 160 to 70 characters. This means you'll be charged $0.80 for text messages of 70 characters in length.
• Roaming pack allocations aren't able to be shared. The data, text and call allocations can only be used from the mobile number they're purchased for.
• Pay Monthly Roaming Voice billing relies on the billing files to be sent from the carrier partner and processed by our billing systems, as such 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 pack purchased as back up if you intend to make or receive a lot of calls.
• Data roaming is charged in 10kb increments. For more info on managing your data use while travelling, check out Controlling my data roaming usage
• Websites or apps that are zero-rated (don't use your data allocation) while in New Zealand are charged at the standard data roaming rate for the country you're in or deducted from a roaming pack if you have one. The Spark app is zero-rated while roaming.
• When roaming, sending and receiving picture/MMS messages is charged at the standard data roaming rate for the country you're in or deducted off the data allocation of the roaming pack. You'll also be charged the standard Spark rate for sending a picture/MMS message.
  • Prepaid: Send a picture message to a Spark mobile or any email address for $0.20 per message per recipient. Send a picture message to another mobile network for $0.50 per message per recipient.
  • Pay Monthly: Send a picture message to a mobile on any network or any email address for $0.50 per message per recipient. Send a video message to a mobile on any network for $1 per message per recipient.
• To retrieve a voicemail while overseas 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.
• 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.
• For Roaming Pack and Roaming Data Pack.
• Inclusions within the Roaming Pack and Roaming Data Pack apply for Prepaid and Pay Monthly roaming usage in the following eligible destinations*:
  • In Oceania: Australia, American Samoa, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu
  • In Europe: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy (including San Marino and Vatican City), Netherlands, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Switzerland and UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands i.e. Jersey and Guernsey etc. and Isle of Man)
  • In Asia: China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, UAE, Vietnam
  • In North America: Canada, USA (including Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands)
  • In South America: Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela**
  • In Africa: South Africa
    *Municipalities, independent city states within roaming countries and independent islands may not be included in Roaming Pack. Please check specific destination roaming details.
    **Roaming for prepaid customers unavailable.
• The Roaming Pack and Roaming Data Pack is activated after first roaming use in eligible destinations and will expire seven days after the next New Zealand midnight, after the first roaming use or full consumption of the pack inclusions
• Customers who have opted into Auto Buy Roaming will have their selected roaming pack automatically purchased and activated on first roaming usage in an eligible country, and additional pack(s) applied subsequently after full consumption of any roaming pack inclusion or when current pack expires. Customers may manually purchase an additional roaming pack at any time.
• The incoming calling allowances have also been included to allow customers to receive calls on their mobile
• The outgoing calling allowance is for use 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 eligible destinations as well as sending messages overseas
• Once a Roaming Pack and/or Roaming Data Pack has been consumed or the pack has expired, customers will revert to casual rates (below) until another pack is purchased

Pay Monthly customers are able to use 4G data services in the below countries. Prepaid roamers are unable to use 4G data when roaming.

• Auto Buy Roaming will apply a new pack when you run out of allowances on your roaming pack or it expires. For example, if you have a $20 Roaming Pack and use all 200 inbound minutes included in the pack, Auto Buy Roaming will apply a new pack. This happens even if you still have texts and/or data remaining. The two packs run in parallel until all usage is used up on the first pack or it expires. This is to ensure you're never charged overage rates in a roaming pack destination.
• If you manually buy a roaming pack and aren't using Auto Buy Roaming, you'll revert to casual rates once the pack expires, or any of the included allowances run out. This includes incoming calls which incur a charge while roaming.
  • If only one allowance runs out, you're only charged casual rates for that type of usage. For example, if you have a $20 Roaming Pack (includes minutes, texts and data) and run out of data allowance, you'll then incur casual data charges. Your minutes and texts will continue to be deducted from your pack until those allowances also run out, or the pack expires.
• The roaming pack charge is applied at the time of automatic or manual purchase.
• You'll incur casual charges for roaming usage in destinations that aren't covered by Spark's roaming packs. You'll receive a welcome text on arrival to a country that will let you know if a roaming pack is available or not.
  • Please check to see if any of the countries that you've been to are excluded from Sparks packs by looking at the list of eligible destinations on this page. See eligible destinations
• Calls to premium numbers, for example 1800, 1900 and even freephone numbers, aren't covered in the roaming pack as per the terms and conditions. See our Global Roaming terms and conditions
• Sending or receiving picture texts/MMS or videos will incur extra charges as they're not included in roaming packs. If sent using a data application (for example, Facebook Messenger, Whats App, email) they'll consume data from your pack, or incur casual data charges if you don't have a pack.
• Text messages over 160 characters (including spaces) count as more than one standard text. For example, a 200 character text will be counted and charged as two texts.
  • One standard text message is 160 characters
  • If a text message is over 160 characters, multiple texts will be generated based on the multiples of 160 characters in the message
  • There's no charge for receiving a text
  • Note: Emojis use 90 characters in a text message