Eritrea ER
Eritrea has no codified civilian drone regulations, no public civil aviation drone portal (the Eritrean Civil Aviation Authority does not have a website), and is one of the most tightly controlled, permit-based travel environments in the world — tourists already need government travel permits just to leave Asmara. There is no confirmed legal pathway for a tourist to import or fly a drone; treat it as banned in practice, since undeclared or unclear equipment is likely to be confiscated at the discretion of customs or security officials in a state that is generally wary of unsupervised photography and surveillance-capable equipment.
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Visitors can't fly drones in Eritrea
- Flying not allowed for visitors
Eritrea has no codified civilian drone regulations, no public civil aviation drone portal (the Eritrean Civil Aviation Authority does not have a website), and is one of the most tightly controlled, permit-based travel environments in the world — tourists already need government travel permits just to leave Asmara. There is no confirmed legal pathway for a tourist to import or fly a drone; treat it as banned in practice, since undeclared or unclear equipment is likely to be confiscated at the discretion of customs or security officials in a state that is generally wary of unsupervised photography and surveillance-capable equipment.
Flying
- No codified civilian drone regulation has been found for Eritrea; the Civil Aviation Authority has no public website and secondary sources report it can be reached only by phone
- In the absence of any tourist framework, and given Eritrea's tightly controlled, permit-based approach to travel and photography, any drone flight by a visitor should be treated as banned in practice
- Tourists already need a government travel permit (from the Ministry of Tourism, reportedly about USD 10 and specifying exact dates and locations) just to travel outside Asmara — there is no equivalent lighter-touch process confirmed for flying a drone
- Ordinary photography is already sensitive in parts of the country (especially of anything government-, military- or infrastructure-related); a drone would draw significantly more scrutiny
- No functioning tourist or hobbyist drone infrastructure was found
Commercial use: No public commercial drone authorisation pathway was found. Any professional or research use would need direct, case-by-case coordination with Eritrean authorities (likely including the Ministry of Information and/or security services given the country's tight control of media and surveillance-capable equipment) and is not realistic for a visiting operator to arrange independently.
Registration & classes
| Registration | Unknown No public registration portal or scheme was found for Eritrea. |
|---|---|
| Pilot test | Unknown No public pilot test/certificate scheme found. No publicly documented pilot-certification scheme was found for Eritrea. |
| Remote ID | Unknown No Remote ID requirement was found; there is no codified civilian drone framework at all. |
| Insurance | Unknown No public information found on drone insurance requirements in Eritrea. |
| Foreign registration accepted | No Tourists already need a Ministry of Tourism travel permit (with fixed dates and locations) just to leave Asmara, and public transport for independent travel has reportedly been further restricted — this is not an environment where an unplanned drone flight is realistic. No tourist drone-permission pathway with any Eritrean authority was found; a visitor should assume flying is not possible without direct prior written confirmation. Given the country's Level 2 'Exercise Increased Caution' advisory (with 'do not travel' zones within 25 km of all land borders due to tension with Ethiopia and landmines), a drone should not be carried into border regions under any circumstances. |
Weight classes
| Class | Weight | Rules |
|---|---|---|
| All drones | any weight | No codified civilian rules exist; treat all drone flight as banned in practice given the lack of any tourist framework and the country's tightly controlled, permit-based approach to travel and photography. |
Import & export
- None confirmed. There is no established personal drone allowance; given the discretionary, security-conscious approach to customs and the lack of any codified drone framework, do not attempt to bring one into Eritrea without direct prior confirmation from Eritrean authorities.
- No public import/certification scheme was found for drones specifically.
- Batteries: Standard international lithium-battery air-travel rules are expected to apply for the flight itself; no Eritrea-specific drone battery rule was confirmed.
- Equipment resembling a drone or containing cameras/radio transmitters can draw serious scrutiny at customs in a state that closely controls media, photography and surveillance-capable equipment.
- With no codified rules, confiscation is at the discretion of individual customs or security officials, and there is no formal appeal process confirmed.
Export
- Not applicable in the ordinary tourist case; no codified drone framework or export process was found.
Costs
| Operator registration | Unknown Validity: Not applicable — no codified civilian registration scheme was found. |
|---|---|
| No public pilot test/certificate scheme found | Unknown |
| Import taxes | ? % duty + ? % VAT Usually only for drones you buy abroad and bring in to keep. |
Guides
Drones and travel to Eritrea — assume you cannot fly one Visitors
- Contact Eritrean authorities directly before travelling
There is no public civil aviation drone portal; if you have a genuine professional need, you would need to reach the Civil Aviation Authority or Ministry of Information directly and get written confirmation before bringing equipment.
- Assume you cannot legally fly
No codified civilian drone framework exists, and there is no tourist or hobbyist pathway confirmed anywhere.
- Expect scrutiny of camera and radio equipment generally
Photography is already sensitive in parts of the country; a drone significantly raises the chance of questioning or confiscation at customs.
- Remember tourists need permits just to travel outside Asmara
Even without a drone, independent movement is tightly controlled via Ministry of Tourism permits with fixed dates and locations.
- Stay well away from border regions
The UK FCDO advises against all travel within 25 km of Eritrea's land borders due to tension with Ethiopia and landmines — do not carry a drone into these areas.
Sources
- GOV.UK - Eritrea travel advice (FCDO) · accessed 24 Sept 2026
- drone-laws.com - Drone Laws in Eritrea · accessed 24 Sept 2026
- Against the Compass - How to travel to Eritrea in 2026 · accessed 24 Sept 2026
How the score is built
- Drone flying banned for visitors−95
- Drone import banned−95
Every score starts at 100 and loses points for each requirement. How scoring works