Traveling with Phantom : custom policies

[cheebs]

Yes you are right, but I can help it ( must be the German in me), if a country is treating me like that, I rather visit another one, as there are so many to choose...

Volkhard you can add Guatemala as one of the countries you CAN visit. A lot of tourists, journalists and production crews come and go with their UAVs with mostly no hassles. It's us returning Guatemalans that get hassled if we come in with a drone with no paperwork!
This country has amazing places to fly, film and photograph.

 

[dcabrera1983]

... that is just blatantly scamming tourists. When you come to the US as a tourist, you don't get charged taxes on anything you bring...

Yes you do! As a tourist you need to pay $300 to apply for the visa and there is no guarantee that you'll get one. Even if you don't you don't see your money refunded. Then when you go through customs there is a very low limit for items in dollar amount (I think it is around $200) on what you can bring to the US. It is by customs officer discretion who gets picked to pay the tax. And then, with the new FAA UAS registration system, if you are not a citizen, you can't fly your drone because you can't register it.

 

[Slash300zx]

Yes you do! As a tourist you need to pay $300 to apply for the visa and there is no guarantee that you'll get one. Even if you don't you don't see your money refunded. Then when you go through customs there is a very low limit for items in dollar amount (I think it is around $200) on what you can bring to the US. It is by customs officer discretion who gets picked to pay the tax. And then, with the new FAA UAS registration system, if you are not a citizen, you can't fly your drone because you can't register it.

That is not all true or accurate. You basically need to get a visa to go into most countries in the world. How, when and how much they are, all depends on the policy of that country. As a US citizen, you still need to get a visa to go into certain countries just like other people need a visa to come to the US. Some other countries issue the visa right on arrival, others require prior approval, others have waivers if the visit is less than certain amount of days (like if you are visiting for 15 days or less as an example). The US has a pretty tough visa program in which those applying for one must prove they are visiting for the purpose they are declaring and not just trying to come into the country and stay illegally, so they review who you are and ask for proof of things like having enough funds for the trip you are planning and where you are staying etc... which is why there is a charge for it, they perform checks on everyone who applies and that takes work. There is also what is called the visa waiver program here in the US which waives the need of a visa for citizens coming from certain countries like Italy, France, UK, Germany etc etc... there is a difference with this, you can stay up to 3 months as a tourist using this program whereas if you have a tourist visa you can stay up to 6 months.

So paying for a visa has absolutely nothing to do with getting taxed for something you bring along with you, which brings me to the next point. You do not get a low limit for items you bring with you. You get an $800 exemption per person for things you have bought overseas, meaning if you only bought up to $800 worth of things outside the US, you do not need to pay any duty on them. If you bought things and the total amount is over that limit, that's when you pay duty and only on things bought in another country. Anything and everything that you take with you that is already owned before the trip or bought within the US, you DO NOT pay any duty one them as you already own them (technically you paid taxes on them already when you bought them). Also, alcohol and cigars have a limit too and all this only applies to US Citizens/Permanent Residents.

When you come into the US as a tourist, you DO NOT get taxed on anything personal that you bring, there's no $200 or $800 limit. The only way you might get charged a customs duty is if you are bringing commercial items for distribution or sale.

The part about bringing your drone as a tourist into the US is what I don't know how the FAA is going to handle. As you said, only citizens can register and to fly a drone you need to be registered. They'll probably come out with some sort of temporary permit and I hope they do the right thing and make it free for those visiting since it's only for a few days most likely

 

[RVD98072]

I got back from Mexico last week. I brought my P3A in my hardshell backpack (DJI one) and had no problems. I just carried it on as a backpack.

At one of my stops coming back within the US (I think it was LA iirc), the bag did get put to the side on the conveyor belt but I just told the TSA person "it's a remote controlled airplane/helicopter thing" and she just smiled and gave it back to me. She didn't even open it up. Everywhere else, it just passed right through.

Video from my trip:

 

[MartyPilot]

Same thing here,
I'm currently in ecuador with my P3P and no problems at the customs

 

[WRXJIM]

And then, with the new FAA UAS registration system, if you are not a citizen, you can't fly your drone because you can't register it.

You can register your Drone as a tourist now.

Also you shouldnt be getting pinged for tax entering the US with "personal items" So long as you dont intend on selling it you dont need to declare it.

 

[AndreiST]

You can register your Drone as a tourist now.

Also you shouldnt be getting pinged for tax entering the US with "personal items" So long as you dont intend on selling it you dont need to declare it.

Hey,

I'm planning to come Miami on vacation and would love to take my p4 with me to shoot some of the roads and coastline, I read about registering this for visitors by going on the register links in this location Fly for Fun however when i click it it says "The Amazon CloudFront distribution is configured to block access from your country." So my questions are

1. how to register this before arriving
2. since I'm coming from Europe would it be fine to carry the bag with me on the plane and go through normal customs with it? Would they have any issue with me entering the country with the drone?

 

[John Locke]

Hey,

I'm planning to come Miami on vacation and would love to take my p4 with me to shoot some of the roads and coastline, I read about registering this for visitors by going on the register links in this location Fly for Fun however when i click it it says "The Amazon CloudFront distribution is configured to block access from your country." So my questions are

1. how to register this before arriving
2. since I'm coming from Europe would it be fine to carry the bag with me on the plane and go through normal customs with it? Would they have any issue with me entering the country with the drone?

I didn't think foreigners visiting the US were required to register if flying as a hobbiest, but I could be wrong. You won't have any problem coming to the US with a drone, they are on airlines all the time here. But you may want to bring a receipt for the craft with you, to get back into your country, proving it belongs to you and it was bought in your country.

If you visit Miami, I wouldn't bother flying there near the city. Consider driving 90min south to Key Largo. You'll find some phenomenal coastline to shoot, it's much safer too. It's an incredibly scenic area full of targets to shoot.

 

[WRXJIM]

Visitors need to register.
Just follow that link when you arrive in the US. It's easy.

As mentioned busters of times in a variety of thread. You can carry your copter onto the plane no problem providing it meets the carriers size and weight requirements.

You don't need to declare it as its a "personal item" you have no intention of selling in the US.

Customs will not even ask you about it if you don't mention it. You are not required to mention it either.

I fly internationally with mine on a very regular basis.

 

[AndreiST]

Great, thanks guys ! Those sure are some awesome shots

 

[tracor]

Hey all. I notice the thread has been silent for about a year, so I got some questions...
1. Are there any updates for entering Ecuador and paying this 'import tax' people have experienced? Is this still happening?

2. How about taking the drone apart? I know is a pain, but worth not paying the import tax! After all it is not a drone, just parts?

Thanks guys. Anyone with info would be greatly appreciated it. Perhaps to an actual document from customs regarding this import tax.

Not sure if this makes a difference, but I'm going on a medical/Christian mission trip to Ecuador.

 

[dhaymil]

You will probably think the same in any Third World South American country PS I may be Ecuadorian[emoji56]

In no way is Ecuador a "third-world" country (I am not aware of any, in fact). Countries that have fewer resources or are less developed than some (I suppose the poster means rich western ones) should respectfully be called "developing nations."

 

[tracor]

Anyone? Thoughts?