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operating_abroad

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Operating Abroad

CEPT Reciprocal Operating

There are two CEPT reciprocal agreements that enable amateurs from one signatory country to operate while visiing other signatory country for up to 90 days wihout having to get permission from that country's communications regulator:

A third category exists, the CEPT Radio Amateur Entry Level although this is not yet a formal CEPT Recommendation, the qualification requirements are described in ECC Report 089

The use of the word “Novice” by CEPT is unfortunate and can lead to confusion. The CEPT Novice is equivalent to UK Intermediate, USA General and Australian Standard licence-levels. “Novice” is the word used in the UK from 1991-2002 to describe what is now the UK's Intermediate-level licence.

It is the responsibility of the amateur to check and abide by the current regulations in the country they will be visiting. It is rare to find two countries with exactly the same regulations. When operating from another country you should sign that country's short-term call sign prefix in front of your core UK call sign (no RSL for M or G calls) e.g. in Germany M5ZZZ would sign DL/M5ZZZ

At the present time there is no formal reciprocal agreement for holders of UK Foundation and it appears Ofcom has not been asked to sign up to CEPT Novice ECC/REC/05(06) for Intermediate holders, however, both Foundation and Intermediate can obatin permission to operate simply by emailing the national regulator giving date of your planned visit and attaching a PDF of the three page licence document (they do not need the separate lengthy T&C document).

Since 2003 UK Foundation holders have successfully obtained permission to operate in many countries around the world. If granted permission you usually identify using that country's short-term call sign prefix followed by your core UK call sign, e.g. DL/M7ZZZ, unless the national regulator has told you otherwise. Those amateurs still holding an Intermediate “2” callsign must include the UK Regional Secondary identifier when operating abroad e.g. DL/2J0ZZZ

Information Elsewhere

Africa

Antarctica

Asia

Australia/Oceania

  • Australia (CEPT - Yes / HAREC - Not documented)
    • Australia allows UK Foundation and Intermediate licensees to operate while on a temporary visit of up to 365 days with no formal permission required, in a similar manner to how UK Full licensees may operate under CEPT T/R 61-01.
    • Visitors to Australia should use the prefix “VK/” followed by their own callsign.
    • As of June 2025 a long-term guest prefix with an Australian call sign is only availabe if you pass an Australian amateur radio exam. The ACMA website suggests this may change at some time in the future.
    • For further information, please refer to the Australian Communications & Media Authority website.
  • New Zealand (CEPT - Yes / HAREC - Yes)
    • New Zealand permits visitors to operate for up to 90 days without first obtaining permission if they hold the appropriate level of amateur licence or authorisation certificate issued by another administration that participates in CEPT Recommendation T/R 61-01 and T/R 61-02. They must comply with the relevant clauses of the GURL for Amateur Radio Operators.
    • Prior to 2026 holders of a UK Foundation or Intermediate licence could request the regulator RSM for permission operate for up to 90 days by emailing [email protected], however, following a request from national society NZART this has now been changed to limit it to the equivalent of T/R 61-02. 2025 example of an approval received for an Australian Foundation holder (VK1CAT) to operate
    • A valid HAREC Certificate issued by countries participating in the CEPT Recommendations TR61-01 and TR61-02 reciprocal recognition arrangements is recognised for the purposes of operating amateur radio equipment in accordance with the GURL for Amateur Radio Operators. Citation, Section 3.7.1.
    • Visitors to New Zealand should use the prefix “ZL/” followed by their own callsign
    • More information in Visiting amateur operators
    • National Society: New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART)

Europe

*HAREC “Yes*” means generally accepted or recognized but may require country-specific confirmation or additional local rules.

Additional notes:

  • Andorra, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Gibraltar: No recognized HAREC acceptance as per latest CEPT/ECC documents.
  • Countries marked with “Yes*” have good CEPT T/R 61-02 implementation or participation but details may vary; users advised to confirm locally.
  • Greece requires a permit and fee after 3 months.
  • Spain and Sweden have specific prefix use rules for visiting operators, described above.
  • The UK Full Licence includes HAREC by default; see Essex Ham for UK Overseas operation details.

North America

  • Canada (CEPT - Yes / HAREC - No)
    • National Society Radio Amateurs of/du Canada (RAC)
    • Canadians travelling abroad may need a CEPT Permit Please Allow at least 2 to 3 weeks for processing and mailing - $20 cost
    • CEPT licensed amateurs must carry a copy of their license when operating in Canada. Temporary operation is permitted but exchanging a license is not.
    • Visiting operators must APPEND the region appropriate prefix to their callsign (e.g. HOMECALL/VEx) and mention the territory they are operating from in their transmission at least once.
  • United States (CEPT - Yes / HAREC - No)

South America

  • Netherlands Antilles (CEPT - Yes / HAREC - ??)
  • Peru (CEPT - Yes / HAREC - ??)
operating_abroad.1776247234.txt.gz · Last modified: by g3aka