I am a Non-EU resident visiting Europe and I plan to fly my drone under the 'specific' category, do I need to register?
All drone operations conducted in the EASA Member States must comply with the Drone Regulation, no matter what the nationality of the operator or remote pilot is. Therefore, as a non-EU resident, you are also required to register with the National Aviation Authority of the first EU country where you intend to operate.
You will then be issued with a ‘drone operator registration number’ that needs to be displayed with a sticker on all the drones you own. You must also upload it into the ‘remote identification system’ of your drone(s).
Once registered in the host country, the drone operator’s registration will be valid across Europe and the operator will be required to follow all the provisions of the Drone Regulation.
If you intend to operate in the ’specific’ category, you must submit a declaration for a standard scenario or apply for an operational authorisation to the National Aviation Authority of the EU Member State(s) where you registered.
If you want to conduct operations in a Member State different from the one in which you registered, you need to follow the same procedure as all other national citizens of the Member State where you registered.
Regulatory reference: Art.41 (1) and (2) of EU Regulation 2019/945
As a non-EU resident, are my competencies under the 'specific' category recognised in the EU?
Given that there is not yet any mutual recognition established between EASA and other countries, in the domain of drones, the training or qualification obtained in your country of residence will not be accepted in the EU. Therefore, you will have to undergo the required training before you can fly your drone. In the meantime, other nations may develop regulations that may be considered by the EU commission as equivalent to those in Europe. Information on future recognition will be published on the EU Commission website as soon as it is finalised.