Drone & Flycam Rules in Ha Giang

The short answer: you need a permit from the Ministry of National Defence to fly anywhere on the Ha Giang Loop — whatever your drone weighs.

Not a few spots. The whole province sits inside prohibited or restricted airspace. HagiangTrips does not apply for permits and cannot authorise a flight. If you fly without one, everything that follows is on you.

Almost every week someone asks us this at the safety briefing, usually with a drone already in their bag. Here is the honest picture, with the sources, so you can decide before you travel rather than at the roadside with a police officer.

1. All of Ha Giang is controlled airspace

The Ministry of National Defence publishes the official map at cambay.mod.gov.vn. Open it and zoom to Ha Giang — the province is covered edge to edge.

Red	Prohibited zone. Permits are issued only for official State duties — never for tourism or recreation.
Amber	Restricted zone. Flying is possible with a permit, applied for in advance. Without one it is an offence, same as the red zone.

A common misreading: amber looks like "be careful" rather than "ask permission". It is not. The application file required for a prohibited zone is described in the law as the documents needed in addition to those in points (a), (b) and (c) — which means points (a), (b) and (c) are the baseline for every flight, restricted zones included.

2. "But mine is under 250 grams"

There is a real exemption: recreational drones with a take-off weight under 0.25 kg do not need a flight permit. The exemption applies only outside prohibited and restricted zones — and even there you must still notify the local military or police before you fly.

Ha Giang is inside a restricted zone, so the exemption does not reach it. A 249 g Mini and a 900 g Air need the same permit here.

3. If you want to apply anyway

The permit is issued by the Operations Department under the General Staff, Ministry of National Defence, under Decree No. 288/2025/ND-CP, in force since 5 November 2025. Applications go through the Ministry's public service portal, dichvucong.mod.gov.vn (procedure 7508).

Lead time	At least 7 days before the flight. 12 days if the flight affects air routes and a NOTAM has to be issued.
Processing	5 working days from a complete, valid file. An invalid file is returned within 3 working days.
Border areas	Flights in border airspace must additionally be notified to China under the land border management agreement. Much of the Loop — Lung Cu, Dong Van, Meo Vac — is border area.
Foreign applicants	A foreign organisation or individual cannot apply alone. The file must include a guarantee from a Vietnamese organisation or individual.

HagiangTrips does not act as that guarantor. A guarantor accepts legal responsibility for the flight, including liability for any aviation safety incident. That is a risk we are not able to carry on a traveller's behalf, and no guide, driver or office staff member of ours has authority to approve a flight or to stand in as guarantor.

4. Two different documents, often confused

Flight permit	Granted per flight, for a defined area, altitude and time window. This is the one you need for Ha Giang.
Pilot licence	Held by the operator, not the flight. Class A from 0.25 kg within visual line of sight; Class B from 2 kg beyond visual line of sight. Holding it does not permit a flight on its own.

A licence from your home country — an EU A1/A3 certificate, a US Part 107 — carries no weight here. Neither does a DJI geofence unlock.

5. What it costs if you fly without a permit

Penalties sit in Decree No. 282/2025/ND-CP, in force since 15 December 2025. Vietnamese legal press reports the following brackets for individuals; fines are doubled for organisations.

Flying without the required permit	20–30 million VND
Interfering with or endangering other aircraft	30–40 million VND
Aerial photography or filming without authorisation	8–9 million VND
Operating an unregistered device	2–3 million VND

On top of the fine: confiscation of the drone, and suspension of any flight permit you hold for three to six months. Border areas are watched closely, and a drone in the air near the frontier is noticed quickly.

For scale, 30 million VND is around USD 1,150. Losing the aircraft to confiscation is the part travellers tell us hurts most.

6. Where we stand

We tell you the rule, in writing, before you travel. It is Article 13 of our tour service agreement, which you sign before departure.

We do not apply for permits and do not act as guarantor. Our guides and drivers have no authority to approve a flight — if one tells you "it's fine here", that is a personal opinion, not a permission, and it does not protect you.

If you fly without a valid permit, you do so at your own risk and bear sole responsibility for the consequences, including fines, confiscation and any liability arising.

None of this is us being difficult. A drone incident near the border involves the border guard, and everyone standing next to you becomes part of the paperwork — your guide, your driver, the rest of your group. That is why we are firm about it rather than looking the other way.

7. The good news about photographs

The Ha Giang Loop was built for the view from the road, not from above. Ma Pi Leng from the Skywalk, the Nho Que river from the pass, Tham Ma's switchbacks from the top, the Lonely Tree at first light — our guides know where to stop and what time the light works, and they will take the photo of you rather than leave you flying a controller.

The boat through Tu San Canyon puts you inside the deepest gorge in Southeast Asia at water level. No drone shot matches being in it.

Sources

No-fly zone map, Ministry of National Defence — cambay.mod.gov.vn
Flight permit procedure 7508, Ministry of National Defence public service portal — dichvucong.mod.gov.vn
Decree No. 288/2025/ND-CP on the management of unmanned aircraft, in force 5 November 2025
Decree No. 282/2025/ND-CP on administrative penalties, in force 15 December 2025

This page is general information for our guests, not legal advice, and the rules change. Check the official sources above before you travel, or ask the authorities directly. Last reviewed: 21 September 2026.

Still unsure about something in here? Ask us before you pack the drone.

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