European foreigners moving in with competition handguns

Jacobo

Hello,

It seems that there's a possibility (remote, but there's one) that I'll be moving in to Ireland this year. I am Spanish, living in Spain, and I own a 4.5mm compressed air handgun and have just received a firearms license (for sporting purposes). I was about to buy a competition .22lr handgun, but due to all this "remote possibility" business I'm waiting before I do.

My question is: would I be able to legally import the handguns into the country and keep them? AIUI the Garda is quite reluctant to give licenses for handguns, even if they are obvious competition models (and therefore basically useless for anything else). If I joined an Irish target shooting club (with the appropriate facilities), would the European pass along with my Spanish license allow me to shoot targets while I try to acquire an Irish license?

Thank you in advance.

civdef

If I joined an Irish target shooting club (with the appropriate facilities), would the European pass along with my Spanish license allow me to shoot targets while I try to acquire an Irish license?

No, initially you'd need a visitor's firearms certificate, then aim to get a resident's one.

FLAG

Hi There

Attached is the application form that you will use to apply for a permit to transfer a firearm if moving residence.

The fact that it does not mention pistol is of no concern, it has not been updated since they had a policy not allowing the licensing of pistols.

Essentially the importation document will allow you to trnasfer and posess the firearms when you change residence and until such time as you apply and receive a firearms certificate, the importation document will have an expiry date and you will need to have your firearms certificate before expiry.

Good luck.

Regards
Declan Keogh
FLAG

Jacobo

Thank you very much for all your information and offers. I'll definitely be buying the pistol (Hämmerli SP 20 RRS if anyone's curious) and if I finally move, I'll start doing the paperwork to be able to bring it.

I'll have to look at what I need to do to bring my air pistol too, as it is unlicensed (a license is not required for air guns with a muzzle energy of less than 24 Joules) and I'd probably have to do some extra paperwork it prior to bringing it... but I'll ask when I go to pick my new pistol up :-)

Thank you again.

Jacobo

FLAG wrote:

Attached is the application form that you will use to apply for a permit to transfer a firearm if moving residence.

So, if I understand the information at http://www.justice.ie/80256E01003A21A5/vWeb/pcJUSQ5YBJWM-en correctly, I would have to obtain a firearms certificate and an "Article 7 Authority document" for my pistol (as it is a semi-automatic pistol), and then apply for a permit to import the pistol using the form you provided (also available at the website) and a copy of the certificate I'll hopefully receive.

In parallel I would have to do the necessary paperwork in Spain to be able to export the pistol.

Does that look correct? :-)

FLAG

Persons taking up residences in Ireland or persons resident in Ireland seeking to import a firearm

Every person wishing to hold or use a firearm in Ireland must obtain a firearms certificate from the Police Superintendent of the District in which the person resides or is intending to reside. Consequently, before bringing a firearm into the country the individual should obtain the necessary certificate by contacting the relevant Station of An Garda Siochana.

Should an individual wish to import a Category B Firearm under EC Directive 91/477/EEC they will also be required to obtain an Article 7 Authority document from An Garda Siochana.

The following is a list of category B Firearms:

Semi-automatic or repeating short firearms.
Single-shot short firearms with centre-fire percussion.
Single-shot short firearms with rimfire percussion whose overall length is less than 28 cm.
Semi-automatic long firearms whose magazine and chamber can together hold more than three rounds.
Semi-automatic long firearms whose magazine and chamber cannot together hold more than three rounds, where the loading device is removable or where it is not certain that the weapon cannot be converted, with ordinary tools, into a weapon whose magazine and chamber can together hold more than three rounds.
Repeating and semi-automatic long firearms with smooth-bore barrels not exceeding 60 cm in length.
Semi-automatic firearms for civilian use which resemble weapons with automatic mechanisms.
Upon receipt of the Firearms Certificate, the individual if importing the Firearm from an EU member state, must obtain an EU transfer document from the Firearms & Explosives Section of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. This can be done by submitting a completed application form from the Department website alongwith a copy of the certificate to the Firearms & Explosives Unit.

If the individual is importing the firearm from outside the European Union, the valid Firearms certificate alone will suffice to import and no further documentation will be required from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform."

"This gem of information is news to me, it must have only recently been posted on the Justice web site, how times have changed, at last it appears that there is recognition that Category B firearms can be transferred in to Ireland legitimately"

Well if that is what it says that is what you need to do, remember as soon as a Firearms Certificate is issued the Superintendent must issue and Article 7 on request!

Good Luck, seems straigh forward enough to me!