NVG import restrictions

Lacertus

Right Lads, i have asked bout night vision goggles plenty of times here, but im always hearing about restrictions on importing any night vision goggles that are more than 1gen will be stopped,

has anyone ever tested this fact, or does anyone know were its written bout not letting anything over 1gen in, because i am really eye balling a 2gen monocular up for my lovely nvg helm,

cheers

andy_g

hey simon your bet is do what i did go down to you local garda station talk to them and see what they say i remember trying to get some of the gear we use on search and rescue for private use and was told to apply for a licence for it as it fell under mil spec over gen 1.

Lacertus

andy_g wrote: »

hey simon your bet is do what i did go down to you local garda station talk to them and see what they say i remember trying to get some of the gear we use on search and rescue for private use and was told to apply for a licence for it as it fell under mil spec over gen 1.

oh sweet so il apply for a license no prob, cheers for that andy, must get around to beating ur ass on xbox sometime soon again.

Gatling

apparrently you only need a licence when mounting nvg to a device ,, but not to a helmet
found 2/3 retailers based here that does gen 2 and gen 3 nvg ,:):):)

would love to see the exact legislation on nvg restriction

Lacertus

Gatling wrote: »

apparrently you only need a licence when mounting nvg to a device ,, but not to a helmet
found 2/3 retailers based here that does gen 2 and gen 3 nvg ,:):):)

what no im pretty sure its just buying nvg thats over 1gen is restricted??

even so the retailers that sell it here price it way to high yet u can way cheaper off American sites

Gatling

apparrently not so simon , as long as its not mounted to say an aeg its ok ,apparrently licence is required when you want to mount nvg to an aeg or similar device

andy_g

i'll get ya a copy of the regulations/legislation on it guys

Lacertus

andy_g wrote: »

i'll get ya a copy of the regulations/legislation on it guys

cheers andy, thats cool so graham, found this aaaawwesome nvg that fit rhino arms greatly

andy_g

ohhhh give me a goo :P

fayer

Night vision is not illegal unless it is designed to be mounted on a firearm.

Any Gen of night vision (providing it complies with the above) can be imported and is legal. The problem is America (main manufacturer of NV and holder of the patents), the US government will not allow export of the components or complete kit of gen 3+ and above. There is other versions available from Asia and Russia above gen 3 but they are much more expensive and harder to find.

Gatling

would you beleive there's an irish company that supplies nvg to the us military in large quantyties

G3-Nut

Gatling wrote: »

would you beleive there's an irish company that supplies nvg to the us military in large quantyties

didnt it turn out that wasnt really an Irish company, but some other foreign company came here to save costs on manufacturing? which i bet didnt turn out too well:rolleyes:

irishlostboy

Gatling wrote: »

apparrently not so simon , as long as its not mounted to say an aeg its ok ,apparrently licence is required when you want to mount nvg to an aeg or similar device

aeg is not a gun. its illegal to mount nvg on a gun, without it being specified on your gun licence. and you need to prove why you need it on your gun licence, which of course you cannot. etc.
there is no law on owning something that can be mounted on a gun. cos every nvg can be gun mounted, usually with a second-buy bracket.
there is no limitation on gen of nvg, except your wallet.
your best bet ordering is to talk to your garda to help out so it does not get stopped by customs. just like suppressors.
i remember a previous thread here on this subject discussing the legalities of NVG on aeg. there was lots of argueing and i think it eventually got closed. ended on a "law says this, but we say that. do what we say now shutup", kinda note. for airsoft a head mounted nvg system is probably more useful anyway.

Lacertus

ah that makes a few things clear now, cos my current NVG are 1GEN+ and i thought it was 1GEN only to be let into ireland so was wondering all this time why they were let in,

just aswell bout the 3GEN+ cos the beauty i found is 3GEN,

but will go into the gards before hand just to be sure cos there like a grand :eek:

Sparks

irishlostboy wrote: »

aeg is not a gun. its illegal to mount nvg on a gun, without it being specified on your gun licence. and you need to prove why you need it on your gun licence, which of course you cannot. etc.
there is no law on owning something that can be mounted on a gun. cos every nvg can be gun mounted, usually with a second-buy bracket.
there is no limitation on gen of nvg, except your wallet.
your best bet ordering is to talk to your garda to help out so it does not get stopped by customs. just like suppressors.
i remember a previous thread here on this subject discussing the legalities of NVG on aeg. there was lots of argueing and i think it eventually got closed. ended on a "law says this, but we say that. do what we say now shutup", kinda note. for airsoft a head mounted nvg system is probably more useful anyway.

Sticking my nose in, this has come up a fair bit in Shooting. The relevant section of the law is part (g) of the definition of 'firearm' in the Firearms Act, section 1:

(g) except where the context otherwise requires, any component part of any article referred to in any of the foregoing paragraphs and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the following articles shall be deemed to be such component parts:
(i) telescope sights with a light beam, or telescope sights with an electronic light amplification device or an infra-red device, designed to be fitted to a firearm specified in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (e),
(ii) a silencer designed to be fitted to a firearm specified in paragraph (a), (b) or (e), and
(iii) any object—
(I) manufactured for use as a component in connection with the operation of a firearm, and
(II) without which it could not function as originally designed,

The upshot of that is that if the NVG scope has a fitting for a pitacinny rail or is otherwise designed to bolt to a firearm, then it is itself a firearm under the Firearms Act and you need a licence for it (the fact that an aeg isn't a firearm doesn't come into it). The same is true of laser sights, sound moderators and so on, but rather than issue licences for these things, the Gardai use authorisations instead for operational efficiency (ie. you get a letter from the super saying you can have whatever the item is).

The laser sights bit was clarified seperately earlier by the DoJ, so that's a different ball of wax really, but the NVG stuff hasn't seen any seperate consideration by them that I know about.

If, by the way, the NVG stuff isn't a scope, or designed to bolt to a firearm, then it's just another commodity which you can buy and use, no legislation applies specifically to it. You will find export restrictions for the latest stuff from the US to anywhere else though, but that's not Irish law.

G3-Nut

Lacertus wrote: »

ah that makes a few things clear now, cos my current NVG are 1GEN+ and i thought it was 1GEN only to be let into ireland so was wondering all this time why they were let in,

just aswell bout the 3GEN+ cos the beauty i found is 3GEN,

but will go into the gards before hand just to be sure cos there like a grand :eek:

il be willing to buy youre gen 1

Lacertus

G3-Nut wrote: »

il be willing to buy youre gen 1

sound if u want, when i get the new ones il get bk to ye,

Rew

Lacertus wrote: »

just aswell bout the 3GEN+ cos the beauty i found is 3GEN,

Must have a beauty of a price!

Ghostwarrior

Oi, i got first dibs on your NV gear seing that ive used it more than you

hrta

just to let poeple know most shops in the US will sell NVG's to any one, but is up to the buyer to have the paper work, you must have an ITAR end use form, to get it out of the country.

Export Regulations: Export of night vision equipment and optical sighting equipment is controlled by the U.S. Department of State Office of Defense Trade Controls, in accordance with International Traffic in Arms (ITAR), Title 22, Code of Federal Regulations Part 120-130 and/or the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) U.S. Department of Commerce.

Lacertus

Ghostwarrior wrote: »

Oi, i got first dibs on your NV gear seing that ive used it more than you

yeh mr u gota pay for em:D

hrta wrote: »

just to let poeple know most shops in the US will sell NVG's to any one, but is up to the buyer to have the paper work, you must have an ITAR end use form, to get it out of the country.

Export Regulations: Export of night vision equipment and optical sighting equipment is controlled by the U.S. Department of State Office of Defense Trade Controls, in accordance with International Traffic in Arms (ITAR), Title 22, Code of Federal Regulations Part 120-130 and/or the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) U.S. Department of Commerce.

yeh i done the paper work before for my other goggles, new ones are 2gen+ so there not really army issue so with abit of luck il have no trouble getting them, il go to the gards though see what they advise first.

G3-Nut

Lacertus wrote: »

sound if u want, when i get the new ones il get bk to ye,

thats grand man make sure you do im in need for them as soon as possible!!