Drone Regulations worldwide
Last update on 02.10.2020 | 17 Kommentare
More and more travelers want to take their drone to another country. This is the reason why I decided to collect all legal information for different destinations on our weblog. Here you find a collection of the most important rules for drone pilots worldwide!
For a better overview, we have summarized the provisions vividly in two world maps: The first map is for the private use of drones and the second map represents the provisions for commercial drones.
- Green indicates that you can use your copter without prior authorization under the applicable regulations. In many cases, you can get a special permit for operations beyond the rules. In some countries, you may fly without authorization, but only without a mounted camera. These countries are not green – but yellow – marked; as most pilots certainly want to create films and photographs.
- Yellow indicates that you need to register your drone or yourself, you must apply for a permit or you need to pass a test. You will learn the details below.
- Red indicates that the commissioning of drones is prohibited. In these countries, you should be especially careful, because even at the airport your drone can be confiscated partially under the laws or you can be arrested only because of the possession of the drone.
- Grey means that I have not found reliable information or I do not sufficiently understand the drone laws. If you can help here, I appreciate your comment below the article!
General Security Advice
Before we talk about the legal aspects, I want to give you some guidelines that you should follow in every case. If you follow this rules, you avoid dangerous flight maneuvers. Please accept the following rules and be a good example to other drone pilots:
- Keep distance from airports!
- Make sure you have a special drone liability insurance
- Keep the drone always in mind. Fly by no means out of sight! If you use an FPV system, then you have a second person following the copter without technical gear
- Fly only in good weather conditions
- Respect the privacy of other people
- If you want to start from private property, you must get the permission of the landowner before the flight
- Do not fly over crowds (beaches, towns, meetings, …)
- Do not operate near politically sensitive buildings, prisons, police and military installations, courts, nuclear power plants or at accident sites
In many countries, these rules are part of the legislation, so I will not list them every time again. Stick to it; even if it is not explicitly required in a country. The only way to prevent that is drones get a bad reputation and possibly also banned.
I have now separated rules by continents. With the links below you will jump directly to the rules of the country in another article.
Drone Laws in Europe
- Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom
Drone Laws in Asia
- Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam
Drone Laws in North America
- Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, St. Lucia, USA
Drone Laws in South America
- Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela
Drone Laws in Africa
- Algeria, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria,
Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Drone Laws in Oceania
- Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu
- Samoa and Tonga adopted the Rules from New Zealand
Drone ban in the Antarctic
- In the Antarctic, there is a drone ban designed to protect the sensitive nature. The ban is reviewed annually. If you still want to take a drone with you on your trip to Antarctica, you should contact your tour operator well in advance.
Sources
For this list of global drone laws, I spent years of research. I read several resources like legal texts, newspaper articles, and forums. Many pages were written in the local language, and I have translated the sources using Google Translate. You can check my references by clicking the “helpful links.”
Originally, I published the articles on my German weblog since 2015. On this site, we received feedback from many travelers. I also took the experiences of other travelers into account.
Of course, I cannot guarantee that the translations are all correct and I have found the correct provisions. If you encounter an error, please leave me a comment. This way we can update the drone terms for that country immediately.
I do my best to keep the global drone rules updated. Thank you for your support!
Hí,
Can you please tell me if I can fly a DJI Mavic Air in Suriname and Bonaire?
Kind regards
What are the regulations globally on under 100grms?
Hi,
There are no global regulations, as every country makes its own rules. Some require registration of all drones, some start registration at 250 grams. Sometimes there are also restrictions on where you can fly certain drones. If you are interested in specific countries, please click on the links on this page to find out more.
I love the information on this website. Ever since I got my drone, it has been a massively important resource for me when it comes to my Mavic Air 2. I was wondering if I could provide some drone media for you in exchange for a backlink.
Hi Chris,
We are very happy if we could support you in your travels. Thank you for your offer, but it is not interesting for us at the moment.
Best regards and safe travels,
Francis
Why there is no universal regulation and law for Drones or UAVs? Is there any particular reason
Hi Jaffar,
This is a great question and wouldn’t it be great to just go to a country and not have to worry about special rules? But it isn’t that simple. All countries on the planet would have to agree on one set of rules, which is quite complicated considering that each country has different requirements and safety concerns (be it infrastructure, landscape, or political). Keep in mind that drones aren’t just used for taking vacation pictures. There have been a few instances where drone pilots were arrested because they were considered spies.
When we research the rules in different countries, we notice different approaches to drone flying. War areas in particular often ban drones altogether. But even if drones are allowed, there are many rules that differ from country to country. What is the maximum altitude, do pilots need a license, which weight is considered safe enough to not require registration? There are many questions that would need to be answered and introducing a common regulation would certainly cost money. What we have noticed, however, is that countries sometimes look at other countries like the USA when they write their own drone laws. This would make the rules more similar over time. And the EU has just introduced a common drone regulation that many countries have implemented. That’s a first step, but still far from a universal drone law.
I would like to register my drone ( Mavic Air 2S) in preparation for my trip to Europe in 2022. I tried to use the Italy link (D-flight.it). AS I filled out the form to sign up, it asked me for “C.F./CIF/T.I.N.” which I have no idea what that is being from USA. Help please.
Just try something like ‘n/a’
can i bring my mavic air 2( 950g without cbba permit
Hi Tom,
were you able to register on d-flight webasite
C.F. stands for Fiscal Code and is an alphanumerical code that any italian citizen is given since the day of his birth and univocally identifies him.
By the way, you can fly drones up to 250 g. without any need of registration in Italy. Drones from 250 g. to 25 kilos (!) if your ar far at least 150 meters from people. Insurance cover is always compulsory tough.
Check the Government’s official map on D-flight to see where it is allowed or forbidden flying your drone (registering is free and is necessary in order to be able to see the fly zones on the map).
For drones with a weight over 250 grams you need a pilot license in order to fly in Italy.
You can do it all online for free on the Luxembourg aviation authority site:
https://trainingzone.eurocontrol.int/dac-register.htm
The license is valid also in all other European countries.
the problem is that these laws now completele outlaw to take drones with you when you leave a continen! well, you can take it with you…and then explain the border control or airport import agent what you want! 🤷♀️that.s reality now, and it will become even more idiotic in the future,,,
same goes for medication! there are rules but basically nobody can follow them….so have dun when some agent thinks your non originally packed pills are narcotics,,l🤷♀️but who flys anyways, when airlines simply cancel flights on your way…
ok, EU asks for insurance, butnot all did! Bulagria did jot last time i checked…new is that drone maps are cancelled online…🤷♀️Ukraine war makes them all crazY bcs a drone map basically gives all GOS data for important attack options! 🤷♀️intelligent EU! hmmm?
next: a drone driving license, online,…nobody knows who is behind the PC, a scan from an ID and any insurancenumber is enough! 1 million euros protection and another 750.000 claims,l,🤔wth! ever checked you car insurance? hmmm?
it,s all basically for outlawng drones hevaier than 250 g, or 249,999🤷♀️and no cameras and so on…everytjing else needs a license and an insurance: a new good market for amking some hobbies that existed for decades expensive! you need an insurance that recogniced your drone! soecifically as all stuff needs to have a soecific Number! like engines in cars! 🤷♀️wth!?
so when you switch continents you will not have an insurance for the other continent, maybe they adapt quickly and sell those, who checks the legitimy? 🤷♀️
that is the problem…so they jail people( Norway! 3 Russians already,,,or was one a Swede? crazy bcs Sweden is paranoicly against Russia….the war is over 80 yrs already) …
same gies for paragliding! 🤷♀️new UL rules in EU outlawed all home donstruction, only appoved plans( happy buying those crap drawings) are allowed, and dlubs make money by controlling your shop! like thta? people 70 yrs old going through your stuff for 6000 and more you have to pay, and already told it,s not enough! ( sorry! a club! with good connections! money! )
this killed privat building of boats( i cut mine down….regulations made it an expensive load of shit in my yard! 🤷♀️or paying for a single power vehikle approval…in EU? ) one rich guys son built a MC 30 two yrs ago…they celebrate it! imagine 6k for the material…then 6 for the club, 6 for the civil ingeneeer test flight6 for the paperwok? honestly? only France is better, Italy grounded all airplanes…🤷♀️paragliders flew in Egypt 2 yrs ago, Polini still uses the videos for selling the Thor engines…🤷♀️check on Egypt rules now! ZERO! all private flights need military registration, same for all Africa…so, if i have that much money,,,🤷♀️yes, the fly for 20k on running cost in a 240.000 airplane over the Atlantik from EU, to Morocco,.land further on to Brazil…they even used military airports and bought fuel in advance…🤷♀️money!
sailing in Vienna…ONE marina which was a ruine 30 yrs ago,l.lnow an expensive resirt….money! so you want to fly a drone buy one, buy the insurance if you get one(8 times of my cars coverage sums? interesting? ) 18 minimum age,,,honestly? for toys! RC clubs are mostly shut down since 2021🤷♀️check youtube! check the rc engine suppliers! they go down with peices, 2 already gave up! rc engijes run in drones,,,,,,,
so EU killed the European market for controlling an airpsace against terrorists that just made some tourist videos for youtube! 🤷♀️crazy! 🤷♀️but Ukraines( Russians with apssports) simply vrossed the Austrian border in Helis and asked for asylum🤷♀️pardon?
in Brazil you can build and fly a 500 kilo airplane freely🤷♀️only a small fee or even free registration🤷♀️US 125 kilos empty free UL airplanes…plus whatever you pack on it and a pilot…free! not even a registration! 🤷♀️while rangers hunt ULs at yhe Mexican border…
so basically….outlawed! 🤷♀️ALL IS OUTLAWED! check on car registrations when you move from one country to another, even EU taxes your car a second time and it needs sometimes 3 stickers before it is allowed to use a road! 🤷♀️
so forget it! it,s end time….everything besides TV and unhealthy food is illegal,m…oh, even work is illegal when you are not a legal citizen in a country! 🤷♀️so you have the right to oay in advance or don,t enter! 🤷♀️covid was jot about a virus…nope, they prepared the Gas war( Ukraine…Biden family and EU parkiament scandal bribes…i get that from the news! news! 🤷♀️it,s real! ) birder control, clising norders against overflowing migration…and a fight against everything that fooats or flys( only roads are easy to close) in the name of safety!…
they destroyed 3 projects of mine in the name of safety! 🤷♀️so forget impirting a drone when travelling, only by car you can smuggle it anyways, and be aware in the Balkans they check your car to the soare tire and confiscate what they want!