One of the first things that we ask when we arrive to a place in a new country is ¿Do you have WIFI connection? We know that you want to stay connected, specially to communicate with your relatives, friends, to check your emails and, of course, upload the best photos of your staying in Madrid.
Reason why, we know how important is to get a SIM CARD if you are coming to Madrid for several months or even years. On this post, we will talk a little bit about the process of getting a SIM CARD in Madrid, if you really need to get it depending of where are you from and the best mobile plans that you can get from the different mobile companies.
¿Do I really need a SIM Card in Madrid?
If you are coming from any country located in EU probably not, because in 2017 the European Union end the roaming charges and create the EU Wide Roaming Regulations, which means, that if you already have mobile SIM CARD or mobile plan from any country inside de EU your services won`t be interrupted and you won`t have to pay any additional fees to navigate or use your mobile services while you are in Madrid.
However, if you are coming to Madrid, either for an Erasmus, Aur Pair, work or Exchange Language, that implies a longer period of time, probably it will be much better, and you can get more benefits, get a SIM CARD from the mobile companies located in Madrid.
Traveling from outside EU means that you must get a Spanish SIM CARD, because, your local mobile company can charge you with really expensive roaming fees in order to stay connected outside your country, specially if you are staying for a long term in Madrid.
If you are coming from a country outside the EU:
- Before your arrival in Madrid, extract your SIM CARD or keep it on Airplane Mode to avoid any roaming fees while you get your Spanish SIM CARD.
- Don`t forget to check that your Mobile Phone is unlocked to use any SIM CARD
Before continue with the article, we know that you can hire either a Contract Cell Phone Plan or a Prepaid SIM CARD, in our case, we are going to focus on the Prepaid SIM CARD, because Mobile Contracts in Spain can be really difficult to get; Bank accounts, stay minimum of 12 months with the contract, proof of address, etc.
¿What do I Need to get my Prepaid SIM CARD?
At this point of the article, you probably know that you need or not a Spanish SIM CARD.
In that case, let us tell you that it’s really easy to get one and normally is a fast process that only implies
- Go to a Mobile Company Office
- Show your Passport or EU ID
- Choose the best plan that is accord to your preferences
Also, you can get the Prepaid SIM CARDS from a “Locutorio”, Bazar Stores located all around Madrid. The best way to identify if they sell SIM CARDS is when you can see the Logo of the mobile companies outside the store.
Typical Locutorio in Madrid
However, if you are not sure about what to choose or how the mobile plan works, we suggest you to go directly to the Mobile Office. We are going to help you showing you some of the best mobiles plans that we consider for students or anyone who doesn’t want to be attached to a formal contract.
Best (and cheap) Mobile Plans for Students
If you are going to use a Prepaid SIM CARD you will Pay as you go, that means that you can charge your Mobile Plan with a specific amount of money and use until runs out, basically, that’s how the Prepaid SIM CARDS works, it depends how much you want to spent in Data, calls or messages. Normally, all this Prepaid Plans work for a period of 30 days, but in the case that you use all your Data, you can just go to a store or “Locutorio” and charge more to renew your plan.
Lyca Mobile
It’s a company that specialize in cheap Mobile plans and great benefits for the clients. This company operates with Movistar.
Lyca Globe 5
- 5€ per 28 days
- 1 GB of Data
- 100 minutes for National and International Phone Calls
- 100 National SMS
- EU Roaming
Lyca Globe 10
- 10€ per 28 days
- 10 GB of Data
- 400 minutes for National and International Phone Calls
- 100 National SMS
- EU Roaming
Lyca Globe 15
- 15€ per 28 days
- 20 + 20 GB of Data
- Unlimited minutes for National and International Phone Calls
- 100 National SMS
- EU Roaming
You can check de Prepaid SIM CARD Plans on this link LycaMobile
Important to know, Lyca Mobile is not going to charge you an initial Fee for getting your prepaid SIM CARD, you are going to pay only for the plan that you choose.
Movistar
With great coverage and a lot of extra services, Movistar is One of the largest companies around the world and has several offices in Madrid. This company operates with its own mobile network.
Prepago Plus
- 10€ per 4 weeks
- 21 GB of Data
- 40 minutes for National calls
- EU Roaming
Prepago Premium
- 15€ per 4 weeks
- 45 GB of Data
- 100 minutes for National calls
- EU Roaming
You can check de Prepaid SIM CARD Plans on this link Movistar
If you are getting a Movistar Prepaid SIM CARD for the very first time there is an additional 10€ fee (New Users) to the cost of the plan that you choose.
Orange
A company that is well known in almost all Spain, especially for offer services like Home Internet, Cable Television and Mobile Contracts. Also, they have different mobile plans according to market prices.
Mundo 10
- 10€ per Month
- 10 GB of Data +15 Extra GB
- Unlimited National Calls and 50 minutes for international calls
- EU Roaming
- 20€ extra if you bring a friend with you to get a SIM CARD
Mundo 15
- 15€ per Month
- 20 GB of Data +30 Extra GB
- Unlimited National Calls and 50 minutes for international calls
- EU Roaming
- 20€ extra if you bring a friend with you to get a SIM CARD
You can check de Prepaid SIM CARD Plans on this link ORANGE
Important to note that if you don’t use all your GB during the period of the plan you can accumulate a percentage of them for the next period. Also, this company offers gifs and promotions every time that you pay your mobile plan; extra GB, SMS, extra mobile money, etc.
Vodafone
Arriving to Spain in 2001 and based in the UK, Vodafone is one of the biggest Mobile companies around the world. Offering many services and having an amazing mobile coverage in all Spain, this company also offers great plans for every budget.
Vodafone Prepago S
- 10€ per Month
- 24 GB of Data
- 300 min for National and International calls
- EU Roaming and United Stares
- No Fee SIM CARD if you get it through the website
Big Yuser Prepago
- 15€ per Month
- 30 GB of Data
- Unlimited National and International calls
- EU Roaming and United Stares
- No Fee SIM CARD if you get it through the website
Heavy Yuser Prepago
- 20€ per Month
- 60 GB of Data
- Unlimited National and International calls
- EU Roaming and United Stares
- No Fee SIM CARD if you get it through the website
You can check de Prepaid SIM CARD Plans on this link VODAFONE
With all of this plans you can accumulate Gigabytes that you don’t use for the next period, also, if you get the plans through the website, you won`t pay any fee for the new SIM CARD and they send it to your address for free.
There are still a few other mobile companies in Spain, but we tried to showed you the ones who have the cheapest and more flexible plans depending of your budget and how much you use your cellphone.
We hope that you can make a decision using this information, and the most important, to keep you connected with your relatives, friends and uploading pictures of the amazing places that you will find in Madrid.
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