Thailand drone registration

[longiMANUs]

Hello,

I'm going to stay at Thailand for holidays in two weeks.
I was planning to bring my Mavic with me but after local Law review I'm thinking it's a imposible mission. It seems I must register the drone before the trip and contract an insurance.
The problems I found about it are:
- No English forms for drone registration only Thai
- No information about how to contract the insurance.

Could anybody help me?

Thanks in advance for all the info, advises an help you can give me.

 

[Cyberpower678]

I never needed to register my drone there when I visited. Then again, I could have missed that detail. Drone laws there are strict, but laws are not enforced often.

 

[Former Member]

Drone regulations in Thailand - Drone Traveller

If your drone weighs more than 2kg, then you need to register. My Mavic weighs less than 2 kg.

I spent a few weeks back in March traveling all over Asia including Thailand, and had no problems at all.

 

[Former Member]

after local Law review I'm thinking it's a imposible mission

Can I ask where you are getting this information from?

BTW, as a sign of respect, you should not fly around or buzz temples if they are active and have monks inside.

 

[longiMANUs]

Can I ask where you are getting this information from?

BTW, as a sign of respect, you should not fly around or buzz temples if they are active and have monks inside.

From Thailand civil authority aviation web site.

List of Laws and Regulations Archives - The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) | สำนักงานการบินพลเรือนแห่งประเทศไทย


Even for drones bellow 2 kg is mandatory register it when it has camera.

 

[longiMANUs]

Can I ask where you are getting this information from?

BTW, as a sign of respect, you should not fly around or buzz temples if they are active and have monks inside.

From Thailand civil authority aviation web site.

List of Laws and Regulations Archives - The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) | สำนักงานการบินพลเรือนแห่งประเทศไทย


Even for drones bellow 2 kg is mandatory register it when it has camera.

 

[Cyberpower678]

You shouldn't buzz around temples at all. Nor can you fly around James Bond Island. There are guards there that will immediately seize your drone if you do.

 

[longiMANUs]

You shouldn't buzz around temples at all. Nor can you fly around James Bond Island. There are guards there that will immediately seize your drone if you do.

Thanks Cyberpower678.
I always try to apply common sense, not disturbing people or fly on protected areas (monuments, ancient sites.....).
Common sense is also the reason I don't want to have problems at all and register my drone to respect the country's laws.
The problem is that I found extremely difficult do it. That's the reason I ask for help. If some pilot from Thailand could help me it would be great.

 

[Gary cato]

I live in Thailand for many months a year the drone registration has not even got to the paperwork stage.

Many temples will give you permission to fly around them do not be afraid to ask especially the smaller less visited (and often more interesting ones) Two monks were buying a Phantom 4 in the DJI shop when i was last in there. asked why they said to film the temples lol.

Some hotels will very politely ask you not too. Most resorts in the mountains and national parks will give you permission if you ask them.

No one in Bangkok takes much notice of you flying them as most of them are too busy carrying 3 adults two kids and a chicken or two on there yamaha waves. (note RTH heights here need to be maxed out pretty much.

Drones are on most beaches now.

The rule in thailand is insurance does not count cash does (especially with the Thai police).

The laws on drone flying are rarely if ever known to have been enforced, except do expect to be shot around goverment buildings and military bases (This is after all the country that has more pokestops than any other but banned pokemon around goverment buildings).

National parks include islands which you pay a fee to get on too, the army then stand and watch you fly your drone everywhere and say nothing.
Security guards in the parks if they see you in Bangkok they will very politely ask you not to fly ( but like they told me if they cant see me they wont be looking for me that was in Lumpini park. I walked to the other side of the park and even though Lumpini is surrounded by security all in radio contact, No one came looking for me.

Palaces are a complete no and any temples with real objections have no drone signs going up.

Outside of bangkok there is miles and miles of free air space if you know where to go and its not hard to find especially in the north or north east.

Islands are great you can use the plastic beach tables to take off from

 

[Explorer]

Yeah, registering a drone in another country is next to impossible. People want to do the right thing, but the governments make it difficult.

 

[longiMANUs]

I live in Thailand for many months a year the drone registration has not even got to the paperwork stage.

Many temples will give you permission to fly around them do not be afraid to ask especially the smaller less visited (and often more interesting ones) Two monks were buying a Phantom 4 in the DJI shop when i was last in there. asked why they said to film the temples lol.

Some hotels will very politely ask you not too. Most resorts in the mountains and national parks will give you permission if you ask them.

No one in Bangkok takes much notice of you flying them as most of them are too busy carrying 3 adults two kids and a chicken or two on there yamaha waves. (note RTH heights here need to be maxed out pretty much.

Drones are on most beaches now.

The rule in thailand is insurance does not count cash does (especially with the Thai police).

The laws on drone flying are rarely if ever known to have been enforced, except do expect to be shot around goverment buildings and military bases (This is after all the country that has more pokestops than any other but banned pokemon around goverment buildings).

National parks include islands which you pay a fee to get on too, the army then stand and watch you fly your drone everywhere and say nothing.
Security guards in the parks if they see you in Bangkok they will very politely ask you not to fly ( but like they told me if they cant see me they wont be looking for me that was in Lumpini park. I walked to the other side of the park and even though Lumpini is surrounded by security all in radio contact, No one came looking for me.

Palaces are a complete no and any temples with real objections have no drone signs going up.

Outside of bangkok there is miles and miles of free air space if you know where to go and its not hard to find especially in the north or north east.

Islands are great you can use the plastic beach tables to take off fromView attachment 14766

View attachment 14765

Thanks a lot Gary Cato,
I'm really worried about someone at customs seizes the drone.
I really appreciate your help.
Paperwork for registration seems to be active, but only on Thai language which is difficult for tourist.
I'm very confused about to bring or not to bring the drone[emoji51]

 

[Gary cato]

Thanks a lot Gary Cato,
I'm really worried about someone at customs seizes the drone.
I really appreciate your help.
Paperwork for registration seems to be active, but only on Thai language which is difficult for tourist.
I'm very confused about to bring or not to bring the drone[emoji51]

Thailand Customs rarely seize anything they are asleep its too hot to do anything. Seriously you will have no trouble at customs over a drone unless you are importing one and even then that has to be by post. I take mine in and out no problems at all

 

[MadValley]

Restart:

I'm heading to Thailand in a couple of months and have found the following.

Registration is required and they do have an English form (https://www.caat.or.th/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/UAV-Registration-new.pdf) and the current regs in English (https://www.caat.or.th/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Announcement-of-the-Ministry-of-Transport.pdf). But they don't have instructions as to where to send it in and if you can do so in advance.

It appears pretty easy to slip through the cracks as the coordination between immigration, customs, the police, and CAAT is marginal at best. I'm sure most of the first three don't know that the last one requires registration.

However... I'm guessing that if you wanted to shoot in some "restricted" areas having a registered drone would provide significant cred and might open doors that would otherwise remain closed.

Lumpini park

Nice shot in Lumpini. Given your camera angle I'm surprised the Marines didn't come out of the US Embassy and take you in for a little talk.

 

[OrAnanas]

Hi, I am going to Thailand in about 2 weeks now, and I want to bring my DJI Spark. I will be on a boat the whole time (With a few stops on some islands) and I was wondering if I could bring the drone with no issues. Thanks!

 

[MadValley]

Hi, I am going to Thailand in about 2 weeks now, and I want to bring my DJI Spark. I will be on a boat the whole time (With a few stops on some islands) and I was wondering if I could bring the drone with no issues. Thanks!

Depends where you're going. If you'll be in the islands many of them are designated as national parks and flying is a big no-no. Check your itinerary and decide if you'll have an opportunity to fly. From other reports getting the drone in is no problem, finding a place to fly can be.

 

[OrAnanas]

I mean the DJI Spark is quite a small drone, so if I take off from the boat I should be alright? Are you 100% sure bringing it in will be fine? I'm very stressed as I just found this out now, and I am going soon. Thanks!

 

[MadValley]

I mean the DJI Spark is quite a small drone, so if I take off from the boat I should be alright? Are you 100% sure bringing it in will be fine? I'm very stressed as I just found this out now, and I am going soon. Thanks!

100%? No. Thailand (see the links I posted above) does require registration of any drone with a camera. If you take off from the boat and fly to land and somebody in any official capacity sees it and follows it back to the boat the outcome will not be what you hoped for from your vacation. But it's like anyplace else; you can follow the rules, you can ignore the rules and get lucky, or not.

 

[OrAnanas]

Oh, and is there no chance I can call them and get a permit in 2 weeks? I haven't heard from anyone who got it that quick, so I'm assuming no.. Is there a form to bring the drone into the country? I really don't want to go to Thailand Jail for my holiday

 

[MadValley]

I haven't seen any customs regs specific to drones so getting it in shouldn't be a problem. You could try just sending in the registration with some kind of receipt showing that you did send it. Then if you get hassled you could always just show them that. Assuming they can read English wherever it is you get arrested...

 

[OrAnanas]

Hahaha Thanks! Where could I get the forms to fill out? and where should I send them?