Can you watch Netflix in another EU country? Streaming abroad rules

Yes. If you pay for Netflix or another streaming service in the EU country where you live, the provider must let you use it while you are temporarily in another EU country, with your home catalogue and at no extra cost. The obligation comes from the Portability Regulation (EU) 2017/1128, which has applied in the EU since 1 April 2018 and, according to the Commission's 2022 report on the regulation, in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway since 1 August 2019.

The right covers trips, not permanent moves. Since 1 January 2021 it has not covered travel between the UK and the EU, and it does not let you subscribe to another country's catalogue. Rules and provider policies below are described as of October 2026.

What the portability rule guarantees

It applies to paid services you can use on the move at home, whether by streaming, downloading or through an app. While you are temporarily in another EU or EEA country, the provider must give you:

• The same content. The service is legally treated as if you were at home, so you get your home catalogue rather than the local one.
• The same devices, users and features, such as downloads, that your plan allows at home.
• No surcharge for use abroad. Mobile data charges are a separate matter.

Picture quality is the exception. Unless it has promised otherwise, a provider need not match its home quality abroad, because that depends on your local connection. It may not deliberately downgrade the stream, and it must tell you in advance how quality may differ.

Under Article 7, contract terms that block portability or limit it to a fixed period are unenforceable, including those in licence deals with rights holders.

Which services are covered

The EU's official Your Europe guidance says the rule covers all paid subscriptions for online content, naming films and TV series, e-books, games, music and sports events. According to the regulation's recitals, a service bundled into your broadband or mobile contract still counts as paid.

Netflix and other video services

As of October 2026, Netflix's help centre says it offers your home-country titles in other EU countries for a limited period, without naming a number of days, and that your choices may differ outside the EU.

DAZN and live sport

Sports streams are covered even though the rights are often sold country by country. DAZN's EU portability page lists all 27 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. As of October 2026, DAZN says you need to sign up from the country where you permanently live and add a valid recurring payment method; accounts opened with only a voucher code or gift card may be refused portability. Outside the listed countries, you get only the free content DAZN offers there.

Sky Go: Irish and UK customers

Sky's help page on viewing abroad has separate versions for UK and Irish customers, and the rules differ by country of contract. The page loads its text dynamically, so the details below come partly from Sky's help forum:

• Customers in Ireland can use Sky Go in other EU and EEA countries. Sky's Irish FAQ, as quoted on its own help forum, describes a 30-day limit: after more than 30 days abroad, customers must watch again in Ireland so Sky can confirm they still live there. The Commission's 2022 report says the regulation does not allow fixed time caps, so treat the figure as Sky's policy and check its current terms before a long stay.
• Customers in the UK cannot stream Sky Go, Sky Sports or Sky Kids outside the UK, according to Sky's UK help text as quoted on its forum, though some Sky apps let them download programmes over Wi-Fi before leaving and watch offline. The UK has been outside the portability rules since 1 January 2021.

Music, e-books and games

Paid music, e-book and game subscriptions follow the same rule. Your Europe illustrates it with a student living in Belgium who went on a three-month Erasmus placement in Spain and had her music service cut off. After a complaint, the provider confirmed she still lived in Belgium and restored access.

Free apps and public broadcasters

Free services, such as public broadcasters' online players, do not have to work abroad. They may opt in if they verify where users live, which usually means a login. Paying a mandatory TV licence fee does not make them paid services. The Your Europe FAQ confirms that a Swedish public broadcaster's free app may lawfully stop working on holiday in Italy, and a 2019 European Audiovisual Observatory report, cited in the Commission's 2022 report, found that only a few public broadcasters offered portability.

How providers check where you live

Providers must check your country of residence at sign-up and at each renewal. Article 5 lets them use no more than two methods from a closed list:

• an identity card or electronic ID, or payment details such as a card or bank account;
• the place where a set-top box is installed, payment of a local licence fee, or an internet or phone contract in that country;
• registration on the electoral roll or payment of local taxes, where that information is public, or a utility bill;
• a billing address, a self-declaration or an IP address check, but only combined with one of the methods above.

The Commission's 2022 report found that IP checks and payment details, used together, are the most common pair. If a provider has reasonable doubts during the contract, it may check again. If you do not provide the information requested and your residence cannot be verified, the provider does not have to offer portability. The data may be used only for the check and must then be destroyed.

How long can you stay abroad?

The regulation sets no number of days. It defines temporary presence as a limited period in another member state, and its recitals mention leisure, travel, business trips and learning mobility. Your Europe describes the rules as covering temporary stays such as holidays and business trips, and advises checking the provider's conditions before moving to another EU country for longer.

The Commission's 2022 review found that most providers set no time limit, but at least ten audiovisual, sport and music services had capped portability or planned to, with periods from 30 days to a year for paid services. The Commission said the regulation does not allow fixed caps, while providers may still re-check residence when they have reasonable doubts. If a paid service blocks you on a short trip, contact it first; the report says these rights can also be enforced through national consumer protection authorities and consumer dispute resolution bodies.

What the rules do not cover

Moving to another country

Portability is tied to your actual and stable residence, so after a permanent move you generally need an account for your new country. Netflix tells members who move to cancel and sign up again from the new country, and Spotify asks users who have moved to update their account country and payment method.

The UK, Switzerland and trips outside Europe

UK government guidance says the regulation no longer covers travel between the UK and the EEA, in either direction, and that the UK has revoked it. Switzerland, which is in neither the EU nor the EEA, is not covered, and nor are people who live outside the EU and EEA. There, access depends on each service's own terms.

Subscribing to another country's catalogue

Portability lets you take your home subscription with you, but gives no right to join a service sold in another country. The Your Europe FAQ confirms that a Spanish football streaming app may lawfully turn away an Estonian resident. The Geo-blocking Regulation (EU) 2018/302, which has applied since 3 December 2018, does not change this. It excludes audiovisual services, and its ban on treating customers from other EU countries differently does not extend to services whose main feature is access to copyright-protected works, such as music, e-books or games. The Commission opened an evaluation of the geo-blocking rules in February 2025; I found no proposal changing the audiovisual exclusion, which remains in the text. Our digital markets coverage follows the review.

VPNs

Portability works without a VPN. Using one to reach another catalogue is a matter for each service's terms; Netflix, for one, asks users who see its VPN or proxy error to switch it off.

Before you travel

1. Keep a valid payment method on the account; Netflix advises adding a backup one before a trip.
2. Install your apps and sign in before you leave.
3. Plan your mobile data, since streaming counts against your allowance. See where Roam Like at Home applies and our telecom coverage.

Frequently asked questions

Can I watch Netflix from my home country in another EU country?

Yes, if your account is registered in the EU country where you live. On temporary stays in other EU and EEA countries you get your home catalogue at no extra cost.

Does DAZN work in other EU countries?

As of October 2026, yes, in all EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, if you signed up in your country of residence with a valid recurring payment method. Elsewhere you get only DAZN's free local content.

Can I use Sky Go in Europe?

Sky customers in Ireland can use Sky Go in other EU and EEA countries, though Sky applies a 30-day limit before asking them to watch again in Ireland. UK customers cannot stream it in the EU and can only watch programmes downloaded before they travel.

Does the EU portability regulation apply to free streaming apps?

Only if the provider opts in and verifies where its users live. Many free apps do not, and that is lawful.

Is there a time limit on streaming abroad in the EU?

The regulation sets no number of days, and contract terms limiting portability to a fixed period are unenforceable. It covers only temporary stays, though, and providers may re-check your residence if they have reasonable doubts.