🖐 In this blog post we are going to overview Asian countries' drone rules and policies. Turns out drone rules will vary a lot and sometimes in neighbouring countries thus it is important to know while preparing your trip. A number of reasons can trigger institutions and governments to welcome or ban drones and we will try to give some context for those countries not welcoming your drone. Give a 👍 at the end of this post if you enjoyed it & feel free to comment your experience or any updates in The Forum. Keep in mind that the content below is updated to the best of our ability & does not replace official sources & your own research.
This aerial photo of Kaoh Ker, Cambodia is a symbol, it is the reason why Dronemade exists.. Back in 2018, despite having asked local guards if good to take off with a drone, we got arrested for flying our drone above the Cambodian temple. After several calm exchanges, they set us free understanding we were not here to steal or harm their monument and with local guards confirming they had given their permission for us to take off. Nevertheless this gave us the thought of creating a place to share drone travel knowledge to most, hence Dronemade was born.
Asia is a beautiful continent with heaps to see and explore. We've made some stunning videos of remote landscapes and took great shots of local lifestyle and of the monuments forging each country's unique culture. After several months of studying and exploring Asia, we've been able to list all the continent's known drone regulations and laws in place.
As you will see from the map, each country has been given a colour code:
Green = you should be sweet to fly your drone.
Yellow = you will need some kind of paperwork or registration/permission to take off.
Red = drone flying is forbidden or made so hard that it will be hard to take off legally here.
Grey = there aren't sufficient official sources to confirm the country's approach to drones.
💡 *Note that if you're after using a drone for commercial use in Asia, then you should check our Commercial Drone Laws World Map. Making money with a drone or even giving a service saving money to your entourage will often imply you to have a license, thus different requirements apply. In this blog post, we will only focus on the recreational use of drones.
In which Asian countries can I fly a drone?
The following Asian countries will welcome your drone should you follow the rules. To find out what they are, simply click on the country of your choice to find out all about them.
Additionally, you will be able to fly a drone within the below countries providing that you register and/or apply for a permit (check on the country's post to find out what is needed).
Which Asian countries have forbidden drones?
On the other side, several countries of Asia have completely forbidden the use of drones. Some for political reasons, others mainly for safety matters. We've tried to provide a little bit of context for each Asian country forbidding the use of drones but feel free to learn more by clicking on the given country of your choice:
Azerbaijan
Bhutan
Brunei
Iran
North Korea
Sri Lanka
Uzbekistan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan does not technically have an official drone ban to fly over their skies, however their customs rules are clear. If you try to enter to Azerbaijan with your drone, it will be ceased, there doesn't seem to be a storage system for you to retrieve it.
Drone ban in place since: undisclosed
Drone ban effective until: undisclosed
Bhutan
Despite its gorgeous landscapes and empty tropical beaches making ideal drone content, Belize banned drone use for foreigners. The only way you can fly a drone legally in Belize is by being commissioned by a local business in need of your aerial services.
Drone ban in place since: unknown
Drone ban effective until: undisclosed
Brunei
Brunei is one of the world's smallest nations but also one of the richest. The rules are really strict here as you could risk up to 5 years of jail and/or $50,000 in fines for flying your drone illegally. There is hope tho as one of our members reported a successful permit application in January 2018 but there are no official announcement by the country since.
Drone ban in place since: unknown
Drone ban effective until: undisclosed
Iran
Despite not finding official resources formerly forbidding drone use in the country, recent media events have clearly identified Iran as a no fly zone when it comes to drones for fun.
Drone ban in place since: unknown
Drone ban effective until: undisclosed
North Korea
We will let you take a guess for this one...
Drone ban in place since: unknown
Drone ban effective until: end of the dictatorship
Sri Lanka
This is the latest addition to this list as Sri Lanka used to allow drones just 5 months ago. Unfortunately, the Easter terrorist attacks of April 2019 have conducted Sri Lankan civil aviation to ban drones for the time being.
Drone ban in place since: 25.04.2019
Drone ban effective until: undisclosed
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan does not technically have an official drone ban to fly over their skies, however their customs rules are clear. If you try to enter to Uzbekistan with your drone, it will be ceased and destroyed in front of you should you decide to enter the country.
Drone ban in place since: undisclosed
Drone ban effective until: undisclosed
We hope you found this information useful and that it will allow you to prepare your trip more safely. Note that this post only refers countries where we found official drone rule references. The countries of Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan & Turkmenistan have not displayed or no clear drone rules as we write this post. If you're travelling to another destination, always check our 170 drone laws world map before heading overseas!
✅ Please leave a comment or update the Forum when you receive news and/or gain experience with your drone in a country so we can update information for others in turn.
Disclaimer: Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information researched, we take no responsibility for any loss, harm or damage caused as a direct or indirect consequence of relying on this information. It is your responsibility to seek advice from qualified local & relevant authorities for needed information about local drone regulations.