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Going a bit further I'll ask, for which licenses (all or just for licenses for HF operation) and at what speed (5 WPM, 10 WPM, none specified)?

The reason I ask is because every so often I'll see people from the USA wanting to visit another nation and operate their ham radio there.

The problem then comes in how to show Morse code proficiency when there's no Morse code requirement, or a kind of "endorsement" available to people licensed by the FCC. People that have had their license for the last 20 years can often show they meet the Morse code proficiency requirement for reciprocal licensing. This is difficult or impossible if the person upgraded their license since then or has not been licensed before the Morse code testing went away.

I've seen exceptions but the general rule is that to get full privileges (or perhaps any at all) under a reciprocity agreement means being able to show having an Amateur Extra issued before the year 2000, or perhaps an Advanced (which by definition would have been issued before the 13 WPM Morse testing went away). Doing some searching on the web I can see some nations accepting General as sufficient for full privileges if there's evidence of being issued before 2000 (13 WPM) or 2007 (5 WPM), but generally this may be no better than Technician.

The exceptions to the rule can be nations that accept a temporary International Amateur Radio Permit issued by the ARRL, which appears to be largely limited to those on the American continents. The ARRL will issue an IARP that notes Morse code proficiency based on any FCC licenses or Morse code testing that the ARRL would administer themselves. Another wide reaching international agreement in ham radio licensing is the CEPT permit. Apparently the CEPT permit does not require Morse code proficiency but for those that demonstrated it to the issuing authority will have Morse code proficiency noted for those nations that do require it.

Another exception was a story from a couple of licensed hams that traveled to a small Pacific island on short notice and was able to get their license issued personally by their equivalent of the FCC director on the spot (I did say SMALL island nation) by showing their FCC issued ham and commercial licenses. This is an exceedingly exceptional means to obtain a license in a foreign nation by an FCC licensed ham operator.

The reason I'd like to collect this information is to determine how often this could come up of not having Morse code proficiency noted on one's FCC issued ham license and therefore prevent operating a ham radio overseas. I can imagine this does not come up often but if there is sufficient demand then perhaps a group of people could get together to petition the FCC to allow for a Morse code proficiency endorsement on ham radio licenses to facilitate US hams operating overseas.

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    $\begingroup$ Suggested clarification: whether a country requires Morse for its own licenses and whether it requires it for reciprocal operation can be separate things. I believe there's at least one CEPT country that dropped its own Morse requirement, but for whatever reason never adopted the latest version of T/R 61-01 dropping the requirement for CEPT full privileges. $\endgroup$
    – hobbs - KC2G
    Commented Jul 24, 2020 at 17:42
  • $\begingroup$ @KC2G, it would be of interest in both cases on if Morse code knowledge is required for natives and visitors. I recall Canada had a requirement for visitors to know Morse code before operating on HF when there was no requirement for those licensed by the Canadian government. I suspect that this may not have been enforced at the time and the Morse code knowledge requirement is no longer there. I found that Ireland will note Morse code proficiency at 5 WPM but this is not required for operating on any frequency, like Canada this is noted for reciprocity reasons only. $\endgroup$
    – MacGuffin
    Commented Aug 3, 2020 at 11:12
  • $\begingroup$ It might be difficult to rationalize in all cases. For example, Canada gives you access to below 30MHz only if you pass the Basic test "with honours" or have any qualification but have Morse qualifications at 5WPM. I guess keeping Morse for CEPT aligns with access to all bands because that other country may not have this "honours" level and thus would have to limit vistors to above 30MHz? $\endgroup$
    – user21417
    Commented Jan 26, 2022 at 18:12

4 Answers 4

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Thailand

For its own amateur radio licences, Thailand has three grades - Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. Basic allows access to the 2m VHF band only, and the higher two grades allow access to HF as well.

The Intermediate and Advanced licences require a basic Morse code test, although it looks like it's very simple.

However, Thai amateur radio licences are only available to Thai citizens.

For a reciprocal licence, you need a full amateur radio licence from one of a handful of countries. For US licences, I believe that you need a General licence or higher. I do know that for a UK licence you need a full licence (not a novice or intermediate licence).

Source: https://www.qsl.net/rast/text/licensing2014.html

Thai licensees get callsigns beginning with HS or E2 (but not beginning with HS0Z). Reciprocal licences begin with HS0Z followed by two more letters.

Sidenote: I have heard it said that some Thai citizens who are able to speak enough English have gone the route of getting a US licence and using that to get a reciprocal licence, since the US General test is much easier than the Thai Intermediate written test.

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  • $\begingroup$ getting a US licence and using that to get a reciprocal licence. Interesting. In the past, I always believed it's not very practical due to nationality restrictions on reciprocal operators (it's often limited to either foreign visitors/non-citizens only, or limited to a citizen of the same nation which the license is granted, e.g. a FCC license is only recognized if it's owned by a U.S. citizen). But apparently exceptions exist. $\endgroup$
    – 比尔盖子
    Commented Aug 13, 2020 at 6:53
  • $\begingroup$ The restrictions on reciprocal licences is by country of licence, not by nationality. People from countries not on the list can apply for a licence from a country that is on the list (the US is the easiest), and use that to get a reciprocal licence $\endgroup$
    – Scott Earle ♦
    Commented Aug 13, 2020 at 7:30
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    $\begingroup$ It's why I found the existence of this possibility in Thailand is interesting. In many countries, it's based on nationality, e.g. in the USA, § 97.107 restricts reciprocal operating authority to "a non-citizen of the United States ('alien') holding an amateur service authorization granted by the alien's government", and "no citizen of the United States or person holding an FCC amateur operator/primary station license grant is eligible". It's the first time I learned that some countries don't have this restriction. $\endgroup$
    – 比尔盖子
    Commented Sep 25, 2020 at 0:28
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India

India has two classes of licenses - general and restricted. Getting the general license requires sending and receiving morse at 8 wpm. Source

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    $\begingroup$ I put this as a communiti wiki so everyone from different nationalities can add on their rules $\endgroup$
    – rsn
    Commented Jul 25, 2020 at 15:39
  • $\begingroup$ I found Brazil has a restricted license for those not passing a Morse code test but I'm not finding an English language reference for more details and I'm far from fluent in Spanish or Portuguese. Best I could find was here: forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/… With the new online written testing people can get the entry level C license or upgrade to the A license. To get the B license requires a Morse code proficiency test and that is not available online. $\endgroup$
    – MacGuffin
    Commented Jul 26, 2020 at 7:00
  • $\begingroup$ @rsn A separate community wiki? Or did you just make this post into a wiki? $\endgroup$
    – Mike Waters
    Commented Jan 20, 2022 at 14:02
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    $\begingroup$ @mike-waters I posted my answer as a community wiki for others to contribute. Instead multiple people are posting separate community wikis $\endgroup$
    – rsn
    Commented Jan 25, 2022 at 1:57
  • $\begingroup$ @rsn Thank you. Can you please tell us the URLs of the separate wikis on this subject? TIA. :-) $\endgroup$
    – Mike Waters
    Commented Jan 25, 2022 at 13:57
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Russia

There are four categories of amateur radio license in Russia. The first category gives you most privileges, including the possibility to use short callsing like R1AB. The exam for this category is most difficult and includes the test on receiving CW at ~12 WPM with Russian letters (that's a few additional symbols e.g. Ш is ----). Other categories don't require the knowledge of morse code.

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  • $\begingroup$ Could you please explain the standards of the Morse code testing? Mostly what speed, in words per minute preferably, are people are tested? Are you aware of testing done in another nation ever being recognized for reciprocal licensing? For example, would a commercial radiotelegraph license grant some kind of credit or waiver to this testing? Thanks. $\endgroup$
    – MacGuffin
    Commented Jan 10, 2021 at 21:48
  • $\begingroup$ I looked up the information about the speed and added it to the answer. Personally I'm not aware of any mechanisms that allows you to get extra points on the exam or completely bypass it. This being said 1) at the moment there is almost no difference between 2nd and 1st category, and 2nd category doesn't require knowledge of CW 2) under certain circumstances it's possible to operate in Russia under foreign callsign with an appropriate prefix, but as I understand this was not what you asked about. $\endgroup$
    – Aleksander Alekseev - R2AUK
    Commented Jan 10, 2021 at 22:12
  • $\begingroup$ Thank you much. $\endgroup$
    – MacGuffin
    Commented Jan 10, 2021 at 22:40
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In South Korea, CW must take the CW test in order to qualify for a possible grade (the practice has been abolished and only the written test is required).

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    $\begingroup$ Could you clarify? What does "CW must take the CW test" mean, what is a "grade"? $\endgroup$
    – henryflower
    Commented Jan 7, 2021 at 9:12
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    $\begingroup$ Also, "must take the CW test" and "the practice has been abolished" seems contradictory. Do you mean a CW test used to be required, but now is not? $\endgroup$
    – Phil Frost - W8II
    Commented Jan 7, 2021 at 14:50
  • $\begingroup$ Hello and welcome to ham.stackexchange.com! $\endgroup$
    – rclocher3
    Commented Jan 8, 2021 at 1:08
  • $\begingroup$ Class4, class3(Telephone)=CW is not available. Class3 (Telegrapy), class2, class1 can use CW $\endgroup$
    – otstn1010
    Commented Mar 10, 2021 at 14:29
  • $\begingroup$ In the past, there were practical tests for class 1 and 2 license tests. But now, all I have to do is solve the questions from the written test. $\endgroup$
    – otstn1010
    Commented Mar 10, 2021 at 14:34

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