Mongolia
Mongolia's 2021 copyright law allows photographing and selling images of architecture and statues in public places, and its vast landscapes are largely permit-free, with drone registration through the CAAM.
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: Protected-area administrations and site managers for commercial shoots; no permit for personal photography
Cost: No permit for personal photography; some monasteries and museums charge camera fees, and commercial crews need clearances
Personal photography needs no permit almost everywhere. National parks and strictly protected areas require entry fees and, for commercial filming, the protected-area administration's consent. Monasteries such as Gandan in Ulaanbaatar charge interior photography fees.
Drone / airspace
National rules via the Civil Aviation Authority of Mongolia (CAAM): registration required for drones over 250 g, roughly 120 m ceiling, VLOS and daylight only, 4 km from aerodromes, with permits for commercial operations
Rules are enforced most visibly around Ulaanbaatar and border regions; the open steppe is operationally easy but the same rules apply. For detail, see Drone Authority.
Street / public space
Yes to photograph; ask before photographing people, and expect small fees or refusals at religious sites
There is no general restriction on street photography. Commercial use of a person's likeness needs consent; herder families generally expect a courtesy ask, and sometimes payment, for posed photos.
Freedom of panorama
Yes for architecture and statues, including sale of images; 2D works not covered
Article 46 of the 2021 Law on Copyright and Related Rights permits painting, filming, and photographing works of architecture, fine art, and statues permanently located in public places, and exploiting the results; what it prohibits is reproducing an identical structure or statue for direct or indirect commercial purposes. The exception does not clearly extend to 2D works such as murals.
Practical notes
- The Chinggis Khaan equestrian statue at Tsonjin Boldog is the marquee modern monument; photographing and selling images of it is covered by the Article 46 exception.
- Gandantegchinlen Monastery charges a fee for interior photography of the Migjid Janraisig statue; flash is restricted.
- Stay well away from border zones (Russia and China) with cameras and drones; permits for border-area travel are a separate system handled through the General Authority for Border Protection.
Sources
Keep shooting
Knowing the rules is half the job. The craft side: