Travel through Singapore

Currently planning a trip to New Zealand and Australia, Honolulu and USA and we are passing through Singapore where we have a one week stop-over. We are hoping to take radio equipment to allow us to activate a few summits. Has anyone ever travelled via Singapore and if so what are the regulations for radio equipment, what do we need to do in advance, etc.? (We aren’t planning any radio work in Singapore). Also, any advice on the other destinations?? Any help and advice appreciated.

Regards,

John Gi4OSF

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Hi John,

Depending upon where you are staying in Australia, have you considered shipping the radio gear ahead from NI directly to your hotel (or to a helpful ham) in Australia? That way, you avoid any possible issues in Singapore. I have travelled via Singapore several times, but normally just connecting to onward flights, where my luggage never actually enters the country. The times I’ve spent one or two days there, I had no radio gear with me.

Australia, New Zealand and the US are all signatories to CEPT TR 61/01, so you “shouldn’t” have issues there as long as you have a copy of your UK licence and the CEPT document with you.

73 Ed DD5LP/VK2JI/G8GLM.

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Thank You.

Could I suggest you contact @G3CWI - his knowledge of Singapore is first class

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Having travelled to Singapore many times for work (although not much recently) and obtained a licence to operate there in the past, I would suggest that you are skirting the boundaries of what you might get away with.

The first aspect is when you apply for a license, you need to specify the equipment and serial number on the license form, which in effect authorises the equipment for use and acts as a pseudo-import certificate. If you are stopped and your bags are scanned, and if they determine the radio isn’t authorised for entry, they will confiscate it. In my experience, about a quarter of the time they’ll pull a random person from the “Nothing to declare” line and scan their bags anyway. I had this happen the second time I was carrying a radio in, and I showed them my license and equipment list and they let me go on my merry way. I don’t know what would have happened if I didn’t have a license, but then I rarely seem to get stopped at customs anyway, so maybe I’d get away with, maybe not. I didn’t fancy finding out.

The second aspect is if you are transiting only in Singapore (which from your itinerary suggests maybe not on your return as you may go RTW), is that Singapore has at-gate security, so having your radio equipment etc in your carry-on may be flagged. You would leave your flight, enter the terminal area, but before you get back on board, you will be rescanned through security at the gate. I’d say it’s an efficient process, but I’d be lying, and to be honest, it’s the only thing I hate about transiting Changi Airport. I much prefer Hong Kong, which gets the transit security out the way immediately so you can relax in the lounge until they’re calling your name, but you still have to avoid the radio equipment in the hand luggage due to their import/carriage rules.

SARTS and IMDA have various pages on most of this stuff for Singapore, Google is your friend, and Harish 9V1HP is the AM and also my friend, and may be able to help you as well.

Everywhere else, as Ed mentioned, won’t care about stuff. NZ is the cruisiest of the immigration/security - unless you’re carrying organic matter - and the US will probably swab the equipment if they think it looks suspicious when you board your flight, but they won’t care on entry. Australia varies between straightforward and cranky as hell depending on the time of day. Avoid entry in the morning prior to 8am, if coming into Sydney or Melbourne (when the main curfews lift).

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Hi John

It depends on just how much radio activity you want to do as part of your holiday.

I had a trip to Aus and NZ in 2017. I was also going to be in several SE Asia countries, including China (not practical to take radio gear through there.. even if not using it).

I just really wanted a min of 1 activation in the Associations I was passing through.

So instead of towing all my radio gear around for 8 weeks, to only use it on a handful of days, I opted for a different strategy. I put a call out here looking for local operators in the places I was passing through, who might be willing to meet up for a joint activation, who would let me use their gear.

This worked incredibly well. I met 4 fantastic people and had 4 great activations of drive on or near drive on summits. One each in VK3, VK2, ZL1 and ZL3.

You may be making your trip more SOTA focused and if so this probably wouldn’t be suitable. But it is a strategy worth considering.

73

Gerald

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Another option to consider Thanks Gerald.

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Thanks Andrew we have been in contact with IMDA and they are sending us a email with written permission to carry our Equip with us, But not allowed to operate. We were NOT planning to operate from Singapore. Thanks for your help. Hope hear you from a summit near Melbourne Mar-2026.