Firearms Regulations by Country

[Panamajames]

Do not take a Gun to Mexico period. My advice. The whole country is nuts. I declared my gun and had receipt and permit from Panama and went straight to jail.
In fact my advice is skip Mexico. Beautiful and the people are nice but the political and drug situation is insane.

[goboatingnow]

The gunlaws for the EU are equal per country and there are no individual laws specified per EU country. There is one general ruling.
The final execution of the EU law may differ per country.

In the daily life you cannot import any type of firearm within the EU outside some very small exceptions (i.e. Very pistol, if licensed and specified on your ship's documents.

It is different when you have an official registered vessel (Merfchant Register) with all certificates and complying to all regulations which may differ per country. In such a case there are different regulations.

In general the EU law is based on the Dutch gunlaw which has always been the most sharpest and restricted in the EEG, which is now EU.

Guns are outlawed in the EU to put it simple.

Jesus. absolutle rubbish rubbish rubbish rubbish

Gun laws are NOT harmonised, The trade BETWEEN EU countries is, but the rules and regulations as to who can and what gun they can own is country by country specific.

As to the comment "Guns are outlawed in the EU to put it simple" , more nonsense, funny I have two shotguns and a rifle and I can license any long bore upto 7.92 mm easy no prblems and I live in a EU country with one of the most draconian laws. Italy the UK etc all have less draconian laws.

PS most EU countries actually allow both merchant ships and pleasure yachts to carry UNLICENSED firearms aboard, but they require you to declare and hand it in in each country you visit. ( thatsthe pain).

Europe has just as much "gun " culture as the USA, just a bit differnt that all ( generally the absence of handguns, though there allowed in my EU country too!).

[MacG]

With a Mossberg 500 on board you'll land before the Kadi in a blimp. Some countries may fall a bit easier with the execution of the law but in the Western EU countries you are jailbait if you come along with firearms.
They make exclusions for people sailing to Nova Zembla, Spitsbergen and the like because of the bears. But otherwise .......
USA is a total different kind of cake.
The drug invested Caraïbic waters, the fact that having a gun is more rule than exception - it cannot be compared with the EU because only the outlaws have guns (in the EU).

[rourkeh]

Great job on this Gord, you covered off most of the caribbean countries we are planning on hitting in the next year. I am of the school of thought that I would rather jump through the hoops to carry the guns, than end up in a situation where I need to protect our lives and don't have the guns onboard. The world is getting crazier every day and current economic curcumstances have created a huge increase in crime in places that were formerly very safe.

[capn_billl]

Every cruise ship I have been on has had several shotguns aboard for "skeet" shooting. They are kept in a secure locker when not in use. They have to have an agreement to land in port in these countries somehow? I see a coorelation between the countries that have the strictest gun laws and the ones a visiting yacht is most likely to need one. I think it would be best to avoid those countries.

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by Panamajames

Do not take a Gun to Mexico period. My advice. The whole country is nuts. I declared my gun and had receipt and permit from Panama and went straight to jail.
In fact my advice is skip Mexico. Beautiful and the people are nice but the political and drug situation is insane.

You where supposed to pay the bribe first.

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

You where supposed to pay the bribe first.

What is the Mexican bribe rate now? Is it a function of boat length? I wonder how an honest Mexican cop would react to such an offer.

[goboatingnow]

but in the Western EU countries you are jailbait if you come along with firearms.

Hey MacG. Do you actually know anything about this areas. Most Western EU countries will permit you to carry a firearm on a yacht , but you must declare it on entry and it will be removed and stored and returned to you when you leave the country. Generally it needs to be licensed in your own home country and must not be carried contary to your own countries laws. You are jailbait if you fail to declare it though , serious jailbait.

Its not a common thing in the EU ( in fact never is better) but then most EU citizens agree that guns are "not a good thing" and their laws reflect that. The paperwork can be daunting,but your comments are misleading in the extreme.

Dave

[GordMay]

Do any of you self-declared EU experts dispute any of the individual European regulations, as cited in the original post?

Can you add any specific information?

United Kingdom:
Firearms and ammunition, including gas pistols and similar weapons, may not be imported.

Spain:
Firearms must be declared.

Italy:
Firearms must be declared on arrival. The penalty for non-declaration is imprisonment.

Greece:
Firearms must be declared.

Denmark:
Firearms must be declared.

Netherlands:
All firearms must be licensed, and a copy of the licence carried. There are restrictions concerning signalling pistols. Very type flare pistols must be accompanied by a firearms certificate issued in the country of origin.

Norway:
Firearms must be declared. All firearms must have a licence from the country of origin. Firearms must be re-exported within three months, if not an application for a permit must be made.

[goboatingnow]

Gord, these are regulations pertaining to the temporay importing of firearms, ie where you bring them into the country. Vessels carrying firearms and arriving at a EU country come under completely sperate firearms regulations. Most of what you write is rubbish

For example UK,

"

6.12.3 Pleasure craft

Foreign registered pleasure craft temporarily visiting UK waters having arrived directly from a non EU port must declare any firearms held on board on form C1331. Although vessels arriving directly from a EU port are not required to complete form C1331 they must report any firearms held on board. In the case of foreign registered vessels provided any firearms held on board are lawfully owned abroad they may remain on board, under HMRC seal in secured conditions, e.g. metal gun cabinet lockable and bolted to the fabric of the vessel. The vessel must have a 24-hour security watch, its contents not left unsupervised and boarders challenged. If these conditions are not met the firearms are to be detained and removed into safe custody, namely a Queens Warehouse "

You must understand the distinction, importing a firearm is permission to use/own that firearm in the country. Furthermor ethe stipulation you quote for the UK , is commercial importation, for example I cannot buy a firearm over the internet and "import" it into the UK. But if I am a EU citizen I can bring my personal firearms in under the EU firearms passport system, if I am outside the EU I have to complete some paperwork etc. This is not the "importation mentioned in you original article.

Unfortunately you dont understand the issues.

[Capt Phil]

Great post, GM... all I could add is that on cruising from the lower 48 in the US into Canada on your way to Alaska, the Canadian customs agents used to suggest packaging up your hand guns and mailing them from Friday Harbor, WA to yourself c/o General Delivery at your first port of call in Alaska. At that time you were allowed one long gun (rifle, shotgun) to register and bring into Canada, the rest you needed to send on by mail. On the firearm issue in Mexico, I recall asking an owner prior to delivering his yacht from PV to San Diego if there were any firearms on board to which he replied... 'of course not'... only to have him on meeting the boat in San Diego, ask me to fetch his 9mm Glock and ammo from its hiding place in the master head! It was unlikely the Mexican Navy would have found it but it really shook me up knowing how exposed I was to arrest and certain jail time. He would also have forfeited his boat as I understand the mexican maritime law. What an idiot! Needless to say, his name made the rounds to many of the delivery skippers in Southern California. He would have a tough time finding one to take his boat south again!

[goboatingnow]

Ogh By the way Gord, Your opening statement

"Every country you visit on your cruise will be less tolerant of guns than is the USA. All will require you to declare them upon entry, and some will require you to turn them over to the authorities while you are in the country. Some even require you to account for every round of ammunition. Some countries require you to clear in and out of customs at each port of call. That means you are constantly turning in and picking up your guns. "

Perhaps you might read your own countries rulesfor foreign yachts

"FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION. Non-residents arriving in U.S. waters with a firearm must apply for permission to enter with the weapon by obtaining an approved ATF Form 6 in advance of arrival. It can take up to 6 weeks for ATF to approve the temporary importation, so masters of vessels are advised to submit their application well in advance. Failure to have an approved ATF Form 6 will result in firearms being detained or seized. CBP will hold the firearms to allow you an opportunity to apply for an ATF Form 6, but you will be liable for storage charges and you will have to make arrangements to personally retrieve the weapon from CBP custody once you receive the approved form from ATF. "

Thats MORE SEVERE then most EU countries for example, who have NO REQUIREMENT FOR PRECLEARANCE.

In always amuses me that US peeple they have all the freedoms, such nonsense, you live in one of the most policed places I know ( and I know I have lived there)

Dave

[markpierce]

How does one come up with a gun license when the home country/state doesn't issue licenses for typical firearms? For instance, California, with about the most strict state-wide gun laws in the country, doesn't issue licenses. Guns are registered, but that's not the same as being licensed with a document one can show a third party proving one's legal right to possess the firearm in question. Licenses are (rarely) given by local government authorities for hidden carry but not for possession.

[MacG]

Amerikanen met automatisch wapen op Wadden

• LC | Gepubliceerd op 21 juli 2010, 18:07
• Laatst bijgewerkt op 22 juli 2010, 07:49

VLIELAND - Op een Amerikaans jacht tussen Vlieland en Terschelling heeft de marechaussee een automatisch wapen en patronen in beslag genomen.
De marechaussee en de douane waren in de nacht van dinsdag op woensdag bezig met een grenscontrole, toen ze een melding kregen. De marechaussee vond een automatisch vuurwapen, vijf patroonhouders, tweehonderd patronen en een vizier.
De 67-jarige Amerikaanse eigenaar verklaarde dat hij het wapen en de munitie bij zich had om zich te beschermen tegen piraten. De man is aangehouden, maar mocht na het betalen van een boete van €1200 weer verder varen. Het jacht is in Harlingen onderzocht, maar er werden verder geen verboden zaken aangetroffen.


The owner of this US registered yacht was hold up on open sea between the Islands of Vlieland and Terschelling when police and customs and excise checked his yacht and found an automatic gun and some clips with ammo.
After being hold and paying 1200 Euro fine he could continue his travel.
The gun and ammo were impounded.

You cannot keep your firearms on board and have to hand them over to the customs. No way you may keep them on board.

[goboatingnow]

You cannot keep your firearms on board and have to hand them over to the customs. No way you may keep them on board.

afw god sake the man had an automatic weapon. We're talking about basic stuff here.

MACG, READ THE UK REGs for example. stop spouting nonsense

PS: I never said you could neccessaryily keep them on board while visiting a EU country, WHy in gods name would you want to. the idea is they are for deep sea protection