Lead times at a glance
| Scene | Who approves | Allow |
|---|---|---|
| Military vehicles, units and sites | Ministry of Defence | 15–30 days |
| Fighter aircraft at Taldykorgan | Ministry of Defence | 15–30 days |
| Planes, helicopters, stations | Ministry of Transport | 15–30 days |
| Street and road closures | City administration and police | 15 days |
| Border and restricted zones | Pass | 15–30 days |
| Drone registration | Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan | up to 10 working days |
We handle all of these. The longest item is usually not a permit at all: work visas for a foreign crew take 8–12 weeks, so they set the real start date.
Army on screen
Military vehicles, units and sites, including restricted and border zones, are arranged through the Ministry of Defence. The cover photo is from the set of the Telugu feature January 12 Vidudala (2026), which members of our team worked on.
For air-force scenes there is Taldykorgan Airport, 292 km from Almaty: a civil airport and an active fighter air base share one 3000 m runway at the foot of the Zhetysu Alatau. Filming with military aircraft goes through the Ministry of Defence.
Planes and helicopters
Aircraft can be in shot, carry the camera for aerials or move the crew. Boralday airfield on the northern edge of Almaty has a 1175 m runway, a small terminal, light aircraft and helicopters. It plays a small airport anywhere in the world: arrivals, departures, private aviation. Civil flights there run in daytime under visual flight rules, so we agree the shooting schedule with the airfield in advance.
Cavalry and kokpar
Herds, riders and stunt riders for chases and battle scenes. And kokpar, the traditional horseback game: real crowd and action that you can’t stage anywhere else. Put the riders in the open steppe 74 km from Almaty or at the medieval walls of Nomad City.
Car chases in Almaty
We close streets and roads in central Almaty for chases, crowd scenes and walk-throughs, agreed with the city administration and police 15 days in advance. With its boulevards and Soviet modernism, Almaty plays a European city. Astana, the city of the future, works the same way.
Gunfire, explosions and fire
Blank firing, replica weapons, explosions and fire, with licensed armourers and pyrotechnicians, under control and by the rules. Don’t bring your own prop guns: importing any weapon, even a blank-firing or prop one, needs permits and takes weeks. Locally available blank-firing weapons and replicas are faster and cheaper.
Drones over the action
- Registration is needed for drones over 250 g and for any drone with a camera.
- Without a separate permit: daytime, within line of sight, away from populated areas, at least 8 km from airfields and 100 m from people and buildings, no higher than 50 m in controlled and 200 m in uncontrolled airspace.
- Flying over cities, at night or for aerial filming needs a permit. Government buildings, military units and strategic sites are off limits.
- An unregistered flight costs 173,000 ₸ for an individual and 432,500 ₸ for a company. We register drones and get permits, or provide a drone with an operator.
The scene isn’t on the list?
Describe it in your brief. We’ll tell you honestly what can be arranged in Kazakhstan and how long it takes.