To me the docking stuff in planets was more of a manners thing. Nothing forbids someone from entering outside the docking ring or passing through the ring's arms if your ship is small enough -- the rings in lore were made by Ageira to FACILITATE the transfer of objects from planetary surfaces to space, not to *enable* them. Therefore, getting a transport into a planet wouldn't be impossible without docking authorization. Just would be harder, and potentially lethal.
