Hey everyone! So, I’ve been looking into bringing my drone to Uzbekistan, but I know drones are illegal there unless you have a permit. From what I’ve gathered, those permits are usually just for media companies, so regular travelers like us are out of luck. I’m not planning to fly it in Uzbekistan, but I’d love to carry it along to the neighboring countries where it’s allowed.
I’ve heard from some tour guides that you can declare your drone at the Tashkent airport and leave it there until you fly out. Has anyone done this? If you have any links, photos, or contacts, that would be super helpful!
My other options are:
Would love to hear your experiences!
Hey everyone! I called the border control, and they confirmed that you can indeed leave your drone at Tashkent airport and pick it up when you leave. Here’s how it works:
Hope this helps!
We have landed landed in Tashkent couple of days ago, the procedure is exactly as Shovkat described. Everything’s gone smoothly! You can’t miss the RED lane—it’s super easy to find. The customs staff were really friendly and helped me fill out some documents. They even had a number posted on the wall that you need to call before leaving to arrange for your drone pickup.
I just got in yesterday with my FPV DJI Avata 2, and it all went well! When you get to the airport, go through passport control, grab your bags, and get a local SIM card (you’ll need it for the declaration). Head to the RED zone and tell them you want to declare your drone for storage. The staff are super helpful and will guide you through the process.
Make sure to call the day before you leave so they can prep your drone for pickup after check-in.
Hey everyone! I just returned from Uzbekistan and had a bit of a scare regarding drone laws. It’s totally forbidden to bring, use, or sell drones there! I traveled through Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan and saw all these epic drone videos, but didn’t think to check the rules for Uzbekistan.
While entering the country was fine, leaving was a nightmare! I didn’t even use my drone in Uzbekistan, and luckily they didn’t confiscate it, but it was super stressful. If you’re flying into Tashkent and out of Khiva, you might be able to leave it with customs, but I wouldn’t risk bringing it at all!
Thanks for the insights, everyone! I was worried about having to ship my drone from Kazakhstan, which sounded expensive.
I’ve got a few questions for those who’ve gone through this:
Would really appreciate any help!
Just picked up my drone after leaving it at customs on January 13. My hotel called the customs office the day before, and they said to call back a few hours before check-in. When we arrived, we dropped off our luggage and headed to customs, where they had my drone ready in about a minute!
They checked my passport, and the red tape on my drone bag was easy to remove. So, for anyone worried: bringing your drone and leaving it at customs is totally doable! Just make sure you check the rules before entering a country—it’s on you if you don’t!
I was in Uzbekistan in October and had to leave my drone with customs too. When it was time to fly back, I picked it up, but there was a slight delay since I didn’t call ahead. The officer had to contact customs to get my drone ready.
Hey all! I arrived with my drone in Tashkent and had no issues leaving it at customs and picking it up when I left. Just a heads-up, though: if you’re not arriving and departing from the same airport, it might get tricky. I had to call the customs office the day before to arrange for pickup. Here’s their number: +998-55-502-86-45. They might be able to help with any specifics!
that's our situation. We were transporting a quadcopter drone. Upon arrival, we went to customs, filled out the documents, and left it in storage. We picked it up when departing. It took an hour to process the documents upon arrival and 30 minutes upon departure.
May I ask you, why did you bring the drone to Uzbekistan then? When you do an online search for "can you use a drone in Uzbekistan," the very first result says that permission to use a drone can only be obtained by a narrow list of individuals, and unauthorized use of such a device carries criminal liability for everyone involved: both those who launched it and those who facilitated its launch.
Since a drone is definitely not an ordinary device like a camera when traveling, we check the legislation regarding drones at our destination before each trip. And in Uzbekistan, everything is quite clear. Why bringing it then?
Well, the thing is that we flew from Indonesia to Russia with a layover in Uzbekistan. The drone is a small toy for a child. But it has a camera. After reading the information, I realized that we could get into trouble for a toy that only flies around the apartment. But it’s also sad to take away a toy from a child. So we declared it at customs and handed it over for storage. The process is quite straighforward, though requires some paperwork.
Hallo allemaal,
Ik ben van plan binnenkort naar kyrgistan, kazachistan uzbekistan en Tadzjikistan te reizen en ik overweeg om mijn drone (dji mini 4 pro) mee te nemen. Van uzbekistan heb ik nou gelezen hoe het gaat op de vliegveld. Heeft iemand ervaring met het vliegen met een drone in Tadzjikistan? Weet iemand wat de regels en vereisten zijn bij het in- en uitvoeren van drones, en of er beperkingen zijn op waar je wel of niet mag vliegen?
Alle tips, ervaringen of links naar officiële informatie zijn van harte welkom!
Alvast bedankt!
Dutchtraveler
Drones are strictly prohibited in Tajikistan. If you bring such equipment into the country, the law requires you to register it with the KGB and obtain permission... The question is how this is enforced—it’s random... they might scrutinize you during departure inspections.
Back in 2016, President Emomali Rahmon decreed that all UAVs in the country must be registered, and that the permission procedure for absolutely all types of drones must be coordinated with the national security agencies.
According to Tajik authorities, this requirement was dictated by the need to protect the country from potential terrorists.
Only those who have permission are allowed to fly drones. Private individuals cannot obtain such permission—only state television and journalists are authorized. Under no circumstances should you fly a drone, even if by some miracle you managed to bring it across the border. The penalties for this are very severe!
Drones zijn strikt verboden in Tadzjikistan. Als u dergelijke apparatuur het land binnenbrengt, bent u volgens de wet verplicht deze te registreren bij de KGB en toestemming te verkrijgen... De vraag is echter hoe dit wordt gehandhaafd—het gebeurt willekeurig... ze kunnen u controleren bij vertrek en lastigvallen.
Al in 2016 vaardigde president Emomali Rahmon een decreet uit dat alle onbemande luchtvaartuigen (UAV’s) in het land geregistreerd moeten worden, en dat de procedure voor het verkrijgen van toestemming voor alle soorten drones moet worden afgestemd met de nationale veiligheidsdiensten.
Volgens de Tadzjiekse autoriteiten is deze eis ingegeven door de noodzaak het land te beschermen tegen potentiële terroristen.
Alleen degenen met toestemming mogen drones gebruiken. Particulieren kunnen geen toestemming verkrijgen—alleen staatsmedia en journalisten zijn bevoegd. Onder geen enkele omstandigheid mag u een drone laten vliegen, zelfs niet als het u op miraculeuze wijze is gelukt deze over de grens te krijgen. De straffen hiervoor zijn zeer streng!
