diff --git a/dvc/exceptions.py b/dvc/exceptions.py
index 07a0ce8061..2916066146 100644
--- a/dvc/exceptions.py
+++ b/dvc/exceptions.py
@@ -328,3 +328,13 @@ def __init__(self, target_infos):
 
 class CollectCacheError(DvcException):
     pass
+
+
+class RemoteNotSpecifiedInExternalRepoError(DvcException):
+    def __init__(self, url, cause=None):
+        super(RemoteNotSpecifiedInExternalRepoError, self).__init__(
+            "No DVC remote is specified in the target repository '{}'".format(
+                url
+            ),
+            cause=cause,
+        )
diff --git a/dvc/external_repo.py b/dvc/external_repo.py
index ccdadf6e6b..874240bc7f 100644
--- a/dvc/external_repo.py
+++ b/dvc/external_repo.py
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 
 from funcy import retry
 
+from dvc.config import NoRemoteError
+from dvc.exceptions import RemoteNotSpecifiedInExternalRepoError
 from dvc.utils import remove
 
 
@@ -19,7 +21,10 @@ def external_repo(url=None, rev=None, rev_lock=None, cache_dir=None):
 
     path = _external_repo(url=url, rev=rev_lock or rev, cache_dir=cache_dir)
     repo = Repo(path)
-    yield repo
+    try:
+        yield repo
+    except NoRemoteError as exc:
+        raise RemoteNotSpecifiedInExternalRepoError(url, cause=exc)
     repo.close()