Guide to Legally Importing Film Equipment to Thailand

Thailand Film Benedict Studio
Location permits in Thailand are one of the most commonly misunderstood regulations for teams wanting to film in the country. A location permit and a filming permit are not the same things, as they cover 2 completely different areas.

A Film Permit is required by the Government and The Kingdom of Thailand. However, a Film Permit is completely different from a Location Permit. Learn more about your film permits here.

Thailand Location Permits

A location permit is an actual permission given by the land or location owner or management. This can often overlap with local city police districts as well as road jurisdictions and also National Park jurisdictions.

A good example of this would be to assume you would like to shoot at a restaurant on a street. For this, we would get permission from the owner of the restaurant. Furthermore, if it also involves shooting on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, a location permit is required. The permission can be obtained from the local police district.

In another scenario, let’s say it involves shooting at a restaurant in a National Park area. In this case, it is required to obtain permission from both, the restaurant and the National Park. While the permissions from the restaurant are relatively simple and quick, National Park is a 2-3 week process. This process has to start with the Thai Film Board Commission issuing a film permit.

Also, some locations may be located in the ocean. Such projects requires obtaining additional approval from the Environment Protection Agency, to ensure no damage is done to the environment or its surroundings.

How To Expedite Thailand Location Permits

Contacting a local production company to obtain a location permit is highly recommended. It is a very challenging task to get any type of written permissions in Thailand. Most government entities issue a standard letter that informs you are permitted, but not a signed location release that you must provide.

Also, most small businesses or shops in Thailand are very reluctant to sign any releases as well as they typically speak no English. So it is a much easier route to having an experienced local production services company assist with these.

If you need any assistance with securing locations, please contact us and we will do our best to help ensure a successful shoot for you in Thailand.Thailand has locally available, top-notch crews and all major types of filming equipment (from DSLRs to Technocranes!). Still, you may choose to import your own equipment instead. If you want to legally import your film equipment to Thailand, read this guide to make sure you’re ready to go on arrival.

Import Film Equipment to Thailand

Fortunately, legally importing your own equipment is relatively easy, as Thailand is a member of the ATA Carnet Convention. This means that Thailand’s customs department accepts ATA carnets when you enter the country. This Carnet is essentially a passport for your equipment. Such a “passport” will list out all items, descriptions and serial numbers for any equipment being brought into the country.

Equipment checkout procedure while exiting Thailand

When you exit Thailand you will go through the same process again with the customs department. First, you will present the ATA form (equipment passport) to the customs department. Then they will check all equipment and serial numbers to make sure that you have not left any of the equipment in Thailand. If you do leave any equipment in Thailand it would then be expected that you pay for any duty on the value of the equipment that was imported.

How to obtain an ATA Carnet?

To obtain an ATA carnet, this has to be done outside of Thailand. This process is actually something that no person or company inside Thailand can help you with. Such equipment and hardware logistics have to do only with the people traveling with the equipment and also the customs departments.

Fast-track your arrival process to Thailand

In the event of needing assistance with customs, we can provide escorts from Airline arrival terminals. These professional escorts will fast-track you through immigration and customs to smooth out the process. At every step, we stay in touch as you go through the customs check, and your fast-track escort will help to navigate any challenges that you might run into.

Importing Drones or UAV to Thailand

Please do note, this DOES NOT apply to drones. Drones or UAVS, are NOT allowed to be imported to Thailand if you have not registered with the NTBC (Radio Communications Ministry) and CAAT(Civil Aviation Authority) prior. This process generally takes around 1-2 months and the forms are in Thai language.

If you would like assistance with this or any other production services, please contact us. We would be happy to help navigate this for you and register your drone. Whether you want to import your own gear or hire locally, do not hesitate to contact us. We are always more than happy to provide any assistance we can in order to help your production.

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