Flying a Drone Abroad: Rules for 140 Countries

Inside the EU it is simple: your registration and your competency certificate travel with you. Outside it, things get complicated fast — from “you have to register locally” to “the drone gets seized at the airport”. This page covers what to check before you travel, which countries the drone is better off staying home for — and below that, the full table of all 140 countries, plus the common EU rulebook as an entry of its own.

Inside the EU: one rulebook for everyone

EU regulation 2019/947 applies in every EU state and in Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. Your operator registration, the A1/A3 competency certificate and the A2 remote pilot certificate are recognised throughout, and the boundaries of the open category — 120 m, visual line of sight, no crowds — are the same everywhere. What differs is the national geozones (nature, cities, military) and the insurance requirement, which does not exist in every country but does in Germany. The common rulebook has its own entry under EU drone regulation; always check the specific country as well, because individual states are allowed to go stricter.

Outside the EU: the usual traps

• Registration in the destination country: the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia all require their own registration, often with an online test. An EU operator number counts for nothing there.
• Import rather than flight: in many countries the problem is not the flying but customs. Without prior permission the drone is held — sometimes until you leave, sometimes for good.
• Different altitude limits: 120 m is not universal. The United States, Canada and Taiwan work in feet (400 ft ≈ 122 m), Japan and several South American countries allow 150 m, Singapore and Brunei only about 60 m.
• Insurance: your policy often covers you worldwide, but not always — ask your insurer beforehand and carry the certificate in English.
• Batteries in your luggage: lithium batteries belong in the cabin, contacts taped, watt-hours checked (above 100 Wh only with the airline’s approval).

Where to leave the drone at home

In these countries there is either an explicit ban for private individuals or no workable way to bring in and use your own drone. What you risk is not a fine but the aircraft itself — and in some cases prosecution.

• Algeria: travellers consistently report drones being seized on entry — with no storage scheme that would give the aircraft back on the way out.
• Bahrain: customs frequently refuse entry outright; seizures have been reported even when no flying was planned in the country at all.
• Belarus: private possession and operation have been prohibited in principle since a presidential decree of September 2023.
• Belize: private import for your own holiday footage is not provided for; in practice only commercial requests through a locally based company are approved.
• Bhutan: only state organisations may operate drones. If one is found on entry, it is seized at the point of entry.
• Cuba: under decree 34/2021, customs may impound a drone brought in without an import permit — the Cuban customs authority itself advises against bringing one.
• Egypt: import without permission from the civil aviation authority ECAA is prohibited; seizure, arrest and prosecution are all possible. There is no workable permit route for a holiday.
• Ethiopia: confiscations at the airport even when the known rules were followed. The legal situation is too inconsistent to recommend bringing one.
• Iran: private drone use is effectively inadvisable. Aircraft have been sealed or impounded at customs, and export documentation is not always accepted.
• Kuwait: import without prior permission is prohibited, with seizure at the airport and penalties of up to three years in prison.
• Lebanon: there is currently no workable legal route. In the south of the country the military expressly reserves the right to shoot down or seize.
• Morocco: according to the German Federal Foreign Office, importing drones of any kind is strictly prohibited. Customs confiscates the device on arrival, and violations are prosecuted.
• Myanmar: import and operation without permission are expressly prohibited and have recently drawn prison sentences, foreign travellers included.
• Nicaragua: private possession and operation have been prohibited in principle since a law of December 2024.
• North Korea: drones are banned outright. There is no legal way to fly there, and attempting to bring one risks losing it at customs at the very least.
• Qatar: flights by foreign visitors are expressly prohibited under law no. 10/2026; permits go only to residents.
• Tajikistan: the permit has to be in place before you enter; without it the import is unambiguously illegal.
• Tunisia: formally there is no rule at all — in practice it is a de facto ban, with repeated confiscations despite compliance.
• Ukraine: civil airspace has been closed continuously since February 2022; civil drone flying is effectively prohibited nationwide.
• Uzbekistan: import, possession and operation by private individuals have been prohibited in principle since 1 January 2015.
• Venezuela: since a decree of August 2025, purchase, import, registration and any flight operation by private individuals are prohibited in principle.

Allowed — but only with lead time

You may fly here, but the permit or registration has to be applied for weeks before you travel. Think of it at the airport and you hand the drone over at customs.

• Dominican Republic: without written IDAC permission customs often impound the drone, at Punta Cana for instance. The permit can take several weeks.
• Eswatini: processing takes two to four weeks; without prior permission, confiscation at customs is likely.
• Guatemala: visitors need a separate permit for photo and video work.
• India: registration through Digital Sky should be prepared weeks ahead; Chinese-made aircraft have repeatedly been seized at customs.
• Indonesia: the official remote pilot certification requires Indonesian citizenship, so foreign pilots effectively cannot obtain it.
• Jamaica: registering with the JCAA two to four weeks ahead is advised; otherwise customs hold the drone until departure.
• Maldives: import is unproblematic — operating without a permit is not.
• Namibia: not workable for a spontaneous trip: the lead time has to be planned before you book the flight.
• Pakistan: without prior clearance from the PCAA, or a “No Objection Certificate”, seizure at customs is likely.
• Saudi Arabia: customs and couriers routinely treat undeclared drones as prohibited goods; GACA clearance takes a month or more.
• Trinidad and Tobago: without a separate import permit from the telecommunications authority TATT, customs will impound the drone.
• Uganda: without prior permission the drone is held on entry and returned on departure — that is the documented norm, not the exception.

When it is not the country that is the problem, but the place

These countries are straightforward for drone pilots. The exact places you came to see are not.

• Australia: prohibited in principle in Uluru-Kata-Tjuta National Park; in Victoria recreational drones are banned in every national park, and in New South Wales every take-off and landing in a park needs a permit.
• Ecuador: tourist flying in the Galápagos National Park has been effectively prohibited since March 2026.
• France: night flights are prohibited in the open category — the préfecture grants exceptions with at least 30 days’ notice.
• Greenland: several protected areas are entirely drone-free, including the Greenland National Park. Filming or pursuing polar bears with a drone is expressly forbidden.
• Mexico: flying at archaeological sites such as Chichén Itzá or Tulum is prohibited without permission from the heritage authority INAH.
• New Zealand: in national parks, seizure of the drone comes on top of the fine.
• Peru: flying over Machu Picchu and other archaeological sites is prohibited; exceptions require a separate permit in practice.
• Philippines: Boracay requires its own permit from the local authority on top of CAAP registration, and El Nido, Coron, Siargao and the historic Intramuros district in Manila have local restrictions of their own.
• Slovenia: in Triglav National Park, flying below roughly 305 m above ground is prohibited without permission from the park administration.
• South Africa: in national parks and protected areas — Kruger among them — operation is expressly prohibited without permission from the park administration.
• Sri Lanka: national parks and archaeological and religious sites are closed, plus several kilometres of separation from airports.
• Thailand: drone flights remain prohibited in principle in seven provinces bordering Cambodia.

All countries at a glance

The tables give the maximum altitude in the open or general category, whether the operator has to register, and whether liability insurance is required. Every country name leads to the full entry with the individual rules and the official source.

A ✱ after a country name marks the ones from “Where to leave the drone at home”. There, “Registration: No” does not mean it is straightforward — it means there is no procedure for private individuals at all.

“n/a” means no reliable figure could be found — usually because no rulebook has been published, because the sources contradict each other, or because private operation is not possible anyway. We would rather print nothing than a number you cannot rely on. What lies behind it in each case is in the country entry.

EU, EEA and Switzerland (31)

Country	Max. altitude	Registration	Insurance
Austria	120 m	Yes	Yes
Belgium	120 m	Yes	Yes
Bulgaria	120 m	Yes	No
Croatia	120 m	Yes	No
Cyprus	120 m	Yes	No
Czechia	120 m	Yes	Yes
Denmark	120 m	Yes	Yes
Estonia	120 m	Yes	No
Finland	120 m	Yes	No
France	120 m	Yes	No
Germany	120 m	Yes	Yes
Greece	120 m	Yes	No
Hungary	120 m	Yes	Yes
Iceland	120 m	Yes	No
Ireland	120 m	Yes	Yes
Italy	120 m	Yes	Yes
Latvia	120 m	Yes	Yes
Liechtenstein	120 m	Yes	Yes
Lithuania	120 m	Yes	No
Luxembourg	120 m	Yes	Yes
Malta	120 m	Yes	Yes
Netherlands	120 m	Yes	No
Norway	120 m	Yes	Yes
Poland	120 m	Yes	Yes
Portugal	120 m	Yes	Yes
Romania	120 m	Yes	No
Slovakia	120 m	Yes	Yes
Slovenia	120 m	Yes	No
Spain	120 m	Yes	Yes
Sweden	120 m	Yes	No
Switzerland	120 m	Yes	Yes

The rest of Europe (14)

Country	Max. altitude	Registration	Insurance
Albania	120 m	Yes	No
Azerbaijan	n/a	Yes	No
Belarus ✱	n/a	Yes	No
Bosnia and Herzegovina	30 m	Yes	Yes
Georgia	120 m	Yes	No
Kosovo	150 m	Yes	No
Monaco	n/a	Yes	Yes
Montenegro	120 m	Yes	Yes
North Macedonia	100 m	Yes	Yes
Russia	n/a	Yes	No
Serbia	100 m	Yes	Yes
Türkiye	120 m	Yes	Yes
Ukraine ✱	120 m	Yes	No
United Kingdom	120 m	Yes	Yes

North America, Central America and the Caribbean (19)

Country	Max. altitude	Registration	Insurance
Bahamas	122 m	Yes	No
Barbados	122 m	Yes	Yes
Belize ✱	122 m	No	No
Bermuda	120 m	No	No
Canada	122 m	Yes	No
Costa Rica	120 m	No	No
Cuba ✱	n/a	Yes	No
Dominican Republic	121 m	Yes	Yes
El Salvador	122 m	Yes	Yes
Greenland	100 m	Yes	Yes
Grenada	n/a	No	No
Guatemala	120 m	Yes	Yes
Jamaica	122 m	No	Yes
Mexico	120 m	Yes	Yes
Nicaragua ✱	n/a	No	No
Panama	n/a	Yes	Yes
St Lucia	n/a	No	No
Trinidad and Tobago	120 m	Yes	No
United States	122 m	Yes	No

South America (11)

Country	Max. altitude	Registration	Insurance
Argentina	122 m	Yes	No
Bolivia	120 m	Yes	No
Brazil	120 m	Yes	Yes
Chile	120 m	Yes	No
Colombia	150 m	Yes	No
Ecuador	120 m	Yes	No
Guyana	150 m	Yes	No
Paraguay	n/a	Yes	No
Peru	152 m	Yes	No
Uruguay	120 m	Yes	No
Venezuela ✱	n/a	No	No

Asia (23)

Country	Max. altitude	Registration	Insurance
Bangladesh	61 m	Yes	No
Bhutan ✱	n/a	Yes	No
Brunei	60 m	Yes	No
Cambodia	n/a	Yes	No
China	120 m	Yes	No
Hong Kong	91 m	Yes	No
India	120 m	Yes	No
Indonesia	150 m	Yes	No
Japan	150 m	Yes	No
Macau	30 m	Yes	No
Malaysia	120 m	Yes	No
Maldives	122 m	Yes	No
Myanmar ✱	n/a	Yes	No
Nepal	100 m	Yes	No
North Korea ✱	n/a	No	No
Pakistan	60 m	Yes	Yes
Philippines	122 m	Yes	No
Singapore	61 m	Yes	No
South Korea	150 m	Yes	No
Sri Lanka	n/a	Yes	No
Taiwan	122 m	Yes	No
Thailand	90 m	Yes	Yes
Vietnam	120 m	Yes	No

Middle East and Central Asia (13)

Country	Max. altitude	Registration	Insurance
Bahrain ✱	120 m	Yes	Yes
Iran ✱	n/a	No	No
Israel	50 m	Yes	No
Jordan	120 m	Yes	Yes
Kazakhstan	n/a	Yes	No
Kuwait ✱	n/a	No	No
Lebanon ✱	n/a	No	No
Oman	120 m	Yes	Yes
Qatar ✱	n/a	Yes	Yes
Saudi Arabia	120 m	Yes	No
Tajikistan ✱	n/a	No	No
United Arab Emirates	120 m	Yes	No
Uzbekistan ✱	n/a	No	No

Africa (23)

Country	Max. altitude	Registration	Insurance
Algeria ✱	n/a	No	No
Botswana	122 m	Yes	No
Cameroon	120 m	Yes	No
DR Congo	n/a	No	No
Egypt ✱	n/a	Yes	Yes
Eswatini	120 m	Yes	Yes
Ethiopia ✱	n/a	No	No
Ghana	122 m	Yes	No
Kenya	122 m	Yes	No
Liberia	n/a	No	No
Madagascar	n/a	Yes	No
Mauritius	120 m	Yes	No
Morocco ✱	n/a	No	No
Namibia	45 m	Yes	No
Nigeria	n/a	Yes	No
Rwanda	n/a	Yes	No
Seychelles	120 m	Yes	No
South Africa	120 m	No	No
Tanzania	121 m	Yes	No
Tunisia ✱	n/a	No	No
Uganda	120 m	Yes	No
Zambia	120 m	Yes	Yes
Zimbabwe	120 m	Yes	No

Oceania (6)

Country	Max. altitude	Registration	Insurance
Australia	120 m	No	No
Fiji	61 m	Yes	No
New Zealand	120 m	No	No
Papua New Guinea	120 m	Yes	No
Tonga	120 m	Yes	No
Vanuatu	120 m	Yes	No

Checklist before you travel

1. Look up the destination in Hoverpoint: registration, insurance, maximum altitude, the individual rules, the source.
2. Apply for registration or a permit online where needed — it often takes weeks.
3. Carry the documents digitally: operator number, competency certificate, proof of insurance and any permits, in the app’s document vault.
4. Check geozones and NOTAMs once you are there — nature reserves, beaches, old towns and airports are restricted almost everywhere.
5. Respect people and privacy: filming individuals without consent is regulated more strictly in many countries than you may be used to.

Frequently asked questions about taking a drone abroad

More guides for drone pilots

• Drone rules in Germany
• Drone weather: when is it safe to fly?
• NOTAMs for drone pilots
• Flying a drone abroad: rules for 140 countries
• EU drone licence: A1/A3 or A2
• Drone flight log: rules, content, template
• Drone wind limits by model

Try everything for free: Hoverpoint for Android and iOS, or straight in your browser at web.hoverpoint.info.

Country data as of 3 September 2026, the Philippines as of 15 September 2026. This page is neither legal advice nor an official clearance; what binds you are the regulations in force in the country you are flying in. Drone law moves quickly — check the country entry again shortly before you leave.