Importation Rules & Regulations

mickeyr1

Hi i know this discussion has come up before i could'nt find any current threads on the subject. Whats the story on buying a shotgun from england any permission needed or special paperwork needed i was hopeing it would be as simple as getting the licence thanks for any info.

rrpc

No, it's not that simple but almost.

When importing a firearm from an EU member state you need your licence and an appplication form issued by the Dept of Justice.

You can get all the info here http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/WP07000541

The reference to category B firearms does not apply in the case of shotguns.

mickeyr1

from what i understand after reading the link if you buy a gun outside the eu you dont need the export licence i am open to correction

Our man in Havana

Certainly seems that way. If that is the case it would be far easier to import from the states rather than the EU.

Clare gunner

mickeyr1 wrote:

from what i understand after reading the link if you buy a gun outside the eu you dont need the export licence i am open to correction

You mean an import liscense???:) And No if you purchase it in the US or outside the EU you dont need it.As the liscense you get here covers the import liscense.

rrpc

I'm in the process of doing just that at the moment, but importing from Switzerland.

No Article 7, No app to the DOJ, just my licence and a copy of my passport.

I didn't choose to do it that way, it's just that for the firearm concerned it's the only way to get one.

Croppy Boy

I recently bought a shotgun in the States. I had to sent a copy of my licence which they fixed to the outside of the parcel. The postman delivered it to my door the following week.

dimebag249

Croppy Boy, might i ask how much the process of getting it in from the States cost you on top of the price you paid for it over there? Did you go over yourself or order it online, and who did you purchase from? Sorry for the deluge of questions, but I think a lot of people are unsure about the particulars of importing. Maybe if everybody imported their own guns the dealers over here would stop ripping us off!!

Trojan911

dimebag249 wrote:

Maybe if everybody imported their own guns the dealers over here would stop ripping us off!!

That's not a bad idea. I priced up a Stoeger M2 on a US website which was costing $435.00 which converts to €318.75. I got quoted €625.00 by my dealer here in Cork, that's very nearly twice the price.

Now, I haven't taken into consideration any costs, i.e. UPS, Tax etc but I shouldn't think it would come to €625.00...

If I could buy direct from the US then a Beretta wouldn't be an issue.....

Any thoughts?


TJ911...

rrpc

Try mainland Europe first. Some dealers in the US do not ship to Europe at all and it's a painful process trying to find one that will.

THe process of getting an Article 7 is not that difficult, your district office will issue one once you have a licence.

Clare gunner

Guys,I am going to post this and hopefully the Mods might make this a sticky about importing from the US.As I have done this andI have advised on how to do this in previous posts.

JuJuYNWA

Croppy Boy wrote:

I recently bought a shotgun in the States. I had to sent a copy of my licence which they fixed to the outside of the parcel. The postman delivered it to my door the following week.

Sorry guys, im not really understanding this. Which license did you send a copy of?

Was it your current license for your current guns, or was it a new license for the specific gun from the states.

If the latter, how does one go about getting the new license? is it a similar process to getting a license for a gun from a smiths here in good old eire?

If it is your current license that you send, i am very surprised how easy it is to import a shotgun.

I've been interested in getting a new shotgun for the past two years but i couldnt bring myself to paying over the odds when i could see the shotgun i wanted for so much cheaper online. At the same time i havent been arsed to looking into importing a gun as i just assumed there would be a hell of a lot of hassle and paperwork to go through.

Can anyone reccommend dealers sites from the states that they have used...

Cheers guys.

Clare gunner

Croppy Boy wrote:

I recently bought a shotgun in the States. I had to sent a copy of my licence which they fixed to the outside of the parcel. The postman delivered it to my door the following week.

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: Talk about a major breach of security!
Yours,by putting your liscense on the outside of a pretty obvious box and telling all and sundry what is in it and where it is going and to whom!!!! Sort of like sending small ,very heavy packages,to the Royal Mint,marked extremly valuable.Not blaming you Croppy in any way.But I would have a gripe with that dealer.
Second,violating US and State dept export laws by using an unapproved courier system.Am amazed US mail even accepted it,or that US customs or anyone else picked up on it either.
All in all that dealer was lucky,or the law has changed on shipping shotguns[Which I doubt] from CONUS to international addresses.

Croppy Boy

Before doing the deal is the US, I rang the Dept. of Justice, Firearms section and asked them the proceedure for bringing a shotgun into Ireland. I was told to send a copy of my firearm cert. for that perticular gun which was to be fixed to the outside of the parcel in an envelope. There is no need for an import cert. as this is only needed for sending guns within the EU. As this was a replacement gun, I went to the station and they amended the currant licence. I then scanned it into the computer and sent the file by e-mail, they printed it off and sent the gun by USPS Air Mail. Apparently that's the way they send all shotguns to Europe.

Croppy Boy

Incidentally, the envelope and the parcel were unopened when the it arrived.

kowloon

I am genuinely shocked by this.
Is it difficult for the dealer on the US end of things to export?
Did you get charged anything by customs?
I got shafted on a bunch of bike parts a few weeks ago.
Customs love to rip open every parcel that goes to my address, and theyve damaged things in the past.

JuJuYNWA

JuJuYNWA wrote:

Sorry guys, im not really understanding this. Which license did you send a copy of?

Was it your current license for your current guns, or was it a new license for the specific gun from the states.

If the latter, how does one go about getting the new license? is it a similar process to getting a license for a gun from a smiths here in good old eire?

If it is your current license that you send, i am very surprised how easy it is to import a shotgun.

I've been interested in getting a new shotgun for the past two years but i couldnt bring myself to paying over the odds when i could see the shotgun i wanted for so much cheaper online. At the same time i havent been arsed to looking into importing a gun as i just assumed there would be a hell of a lot of hassle and paperwork to go through.

Can anyone reccommend dealers sites from the states that they have used...

Cheers guys.

Wish i had read the other post in this forum before asking this:D

Clare gunner

Croppy Boy wrote:

Before doing the deal is the US, I rang the Dept. of Justice, Firearms section and asked them the proceedure for bringing a shotgun into Ireland. I was told to send a copy of my firearm cert. for that perticular gun which was to be fixed to the outside of the parcel in an envelope.

That is just totally GUBU!!!:eek: And coming from our lot as well who are so paranoid about things like this .If somone was light fingerd,they have a firearm and a copy of a cert which they could proably fob off on somone unsuspecting to buy ammo.Anyways,if this how the powers that be wish to do things,so be it.Makes importing shotgun barrels a lot easier then.:D
Good shooting with the new purchase BTW Croppy.:)

rrpc

Clare gunner wrote:

That is just totally GUBU!!!:eek: And coming from our lot as well who are so paranoid about things like this .If somone was light fingerd,they have a firearm and a copy of a cert which they could proably fob off on somone unsuspecting to buy ammo.Anyways,if this how the powers that be wish to do things,so be it.Makes importing shotgun barrels a lot easier then.:D
Good shooting with the new purchase BTW Croppy.:)

A photocopy of a licence will be obvious as the real thing uses different coloured inks and is printed on both sides, plus it's stamped and signed which would show up on a photocopy.

In addition as most parcels have an envelope on the outside containing shipping doc's etc. it would require an awful lot of envelope opening to come up with a cert.

Any dealer who sold ammo on a photocopied licence shouldn't have a dealers licence.

When I was getting my pistol shipped over, I had to put the license on the outside of the pack - it was couriered by USPS

Clare gunner

rrpc wrote:

A photocopy of a licence will be obvious as the real thing uses different coloured inks and is printed on both sides, plus it's stamped and signed which would show up on a photocopy.

In addition as most parcels have an envelope on the outside containing shipping doc's etc. it would require an awful lot of envelope opening to come up with a cert.

Any dealer who sold ammo on a photocopied licence shouldn't have a dealers licence.

Indeed.But there is always the remotest chance of this happening monkeys,in And then watch the sparks flying at US.Not the Govts or people who orderd this brilliant idea.Lets face it.Guns should be stored properly,but some fools do store them out in the cow brye,ehere they can be stolen.So it is quite possible that a dealer might sell on a photocopy.SH TE happens.

fat-tony

Deleted User wrote:

When I was getting my pistol shipped over, I had to put the license on the outside of the pack - it was couriered by USPS

Do you mean the courier service UPS?

USPS is the ordinary US Postal Service. Why I ask is that in the EU, firearms are usually shipped by the national postal services as registered mail, or recorded delivery.

mickeyr1

I was told that the department of justice can not issue a cert for importation if they dont like the look of what you are importing i believe the walther g22 cant be broght in the benelli m4 has also been banned, i am keen to get a saiga 12 i would be very happy eith a version with a standerd stock it might not look as f**k off as the pistol grip version i have a feeling alarm bells will go off when i try to get one also many thanks to clare gunner for the importation info

Clare gunner

mickeyr1 wrote:

I was told that the department of justice can not issue a cert for importation if they dont like the look of what you are importing i believe the walther g22 cant be broght in the benelli m4 has also been banned, i am keen to get a saiga 12 i have a feeling alarm bells will go off when i try to get one also many thanks to clare gunner for the importation info

Not true at all.The Benelli isnt banned.It is available here,just that some dealers have had problems with importing masses of them ,or have benn putting out BS that the DOJ banned them.Because they are either not making money on the guns or said they could get them and cant for whatever reason so the excuse the DOJ banned them.Nothing is banned here.If you have recived the FAC for the gun the DOJ will issue a defacto import cert on the strength of the Garda super being happy with it,is good enough for them. As I was told personally by DOJ firearms import dept/export section.
Even if they were banned per se ther is NOTHING [apart from money and dealership problems]stopping you from ordering all the black parts and converting a civvie Benelli to milspec.Or ordering one personally on an individual basis from an eU dealer.Ditto the G22 story.But from what I have read and seen on the boards ,you would be better off with it staying banned.:)

The Saiga,well all you have to do is send them[Gardai,DOJ] a nice PC pic of the hunting version.Which IS what you are ordering anyway?;)
Go forth and purchase thy Saiga 12.;)

rrpc

In any event if you import from outside the EU, the DOJ have nothing to do with it.