Regrettably you have to go down through a hole and scrape around underneath under VFR. I wouldn't have bothered to go if I hadn't been able to fly VFR in France!! You make a good point - the IMC rating has no validity outside the UK FIR. I have indeed scraped along underneath cloud in France wishing I could just climb up through the obvious holes to VMC-on-top; however, dastardly Johny Foreigner will not permit such a thing.........!! But I'd sooner cancel a day's outing than shell out the ridiculous amount of money needed for a JAA SP IR - having to bug ger about doing an NDB let down at some obscure French aerodrome just to get there for lunch just isn't worth that!