Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan restricts freedom of panorama to non-commercial uses and treats military, border, and strategic facilities as no-photography zones; drones require state registration.
Guidance, not legal advice
Drone Authority
Check the flight side
Photography access and drone permission are separate questions. Drone Authority covers the flight-law side for this country.
Permit
Conditional
Issuer: Municipality or site manager for commercial productions; special access regimes for strategic sites such as Baikonur
Cost: No permit for personal photography in ordinary public spaces; commercial crews and restricted sites need authorization
Personal street photography in Almaty and Astana needs no permit. Commercial productions coordinate with local authorities; Baikonur Cosmodrome is a leased, closed facility where access and photography happen only on authorized tours or accreditation.
Drone / airspace
National rules via the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan and Civil Aviation Committee: UAS registration runs through the e-government portal (free, up to ten working days), and flights over crowds, government buildings, military bases, and industrial infrastructure are prohibited without written approval
The framework was updated again by 2026 amendments covering unmanned aviation. For detail, see Drone Authority.
Street / public space
Yes to photograph in ordinary public spaces; military sites, border areas, airports, and some official buildings are prohibited subjects
UK government travel guidance flags photography restrictions near military and strategic sites, with equipment confiscation a real risk. Publishing identifiable people commercially needs consent under personal-data and image provisions.
Freedom of panorama
Non-commercial only
The 1996 Law on Copyright and Related Rights (as amended in 2015) permits reproducing and communicating works of architecture, photography, and fine art permanently located in publicly accessible places, except when the image of the work is the main object of the reproduction or is used for commercial purposes. Soviet-era and older architecture is generally out of copyright; Astana's contemporary skyline (Bayterek, Khan Shatyr and similar works) is the live issue for commercial licensing.
Practical notes
- Astana's signature modern architecture is in copyright, so commercial sale of images where one building is the subject is not covered by the panorama exception.
- Do not photograph military installations, border zones, or airport infrastructure; police checks of cameras near sensitive sites are documented in official travel advice.
- Baikonur launches can be photographed on authorized tours only; the city itself is access-controlled.
Sources
Keep shooting
Knowing the rules is half the job. The craft side: