Before bringing your drone into Rwanda, you must first get special drone filming permits and approval from the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority (RCAA), the Rwanda Defense Force, and/or the Rwanda Police.
Even after receiving the required permits and approvals, you must still follow a set of drone filming rules and regulations in Rwanda.
Your drone filming experience in Rwanda will follow these rules:
- Drone Registration: Before flying, all drones must be registered using form RCAA-Form-UAS001. Only Rwandan citizens who are at least 21 years old can register drones. The registration fee is 110,000 RWF (about $130 USD). It usually takes around three months to complete the process.
- Local Contact Required: If a film crew wants to use drones, they must have a local contact in Rwanda to help with registration. More information and terms are explained on the RCAA website.
- Maximum Altitude: Drones are allowed to fly up to 100 meters (328 feet) above the ground.
- Maximum Distance: The drone must stay within 300 meters of the pilot, and the pilot must keep direct visual contact at all times.
- Drone Insurance: You must have insurance for your drone. The RCAA will not approve drone filming permits without insurance.
- Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW): Drones in Rwanda must not weigh more than 25 kilograms.
- Distance from Airports: Drones are not allowed to fly within 10 kilometers (6 miles) of an airport unless you get special airspace permission.
- Safety Distances: You must stay at least 50 meters away from people, buildings, vehicles, animals, or boats unless those are part of your filming project. You need special permission from the RCAA to fly over people not involved in the project.
- Flight Hours: Drone flights at night are not allowed in Rwanda.
- Flight Speed & Identification: Drones cannot fly faster than 100 km/h (87 knots). Each drone must have a visible identification number issued by the RCAA. You can mark it using a sticker, engraving, or permanent marker.
- Use Type: Rwanda does not make a difference between private and commercial drone use. The same rules apply.
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