Gun Purchase in Europe

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Citadel

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Hello,

I currently do not own a Real Imitation Firearm license.

I have found a RIF on a website in Poland which I would like to buy. However, I do not think that I will need a RIF Licence.

Do I need a license to buy a weapon in Poland which will be delivered to me through courier?

 
It isn't a license, it's a defense. Which Polish site is it? Gunfire and TaiwanGun both require a valid UKARA number.

 
Summer holidays have started then ?

 
Citadel said:
Hello,

I currently do not own a Real Imitation Firearm license.

I have found a RIF on a website in Poland which I would like to buy. However, I do not think that I will need a RIF Licence.

Do I need a license to buy a weapon in Poland which will be delivered to me through courier?
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As above it’s not a licence but a defence under the VCRA, with the UKARA being the primary method

If you buy a RIF from a Polish airsoft site then they will most likely be aware of the UKs requirements and will request your UKARA reference

On arrival in customs it will be ignored for import VAT purposes as it is coming from an EU country. But they will look at the declaration and check for any VCRA defence details, if there are none then they send you a form asking you to confirm if you are importing a RIF (they are unlikely to open the box) and ask for your defence

Fail to satisfy them and the package either gets destroyed or returned to Poland. Not the sellers problem. They might give you a partial refund if it gets back to them (with a restocking charge deducted)

 
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Something that's just occurred to me is that when you buy within the UK, it's the seller that's committing the offence and who needs the defence.

When you buy from Abroadland, it's the act of importation that's the offence, so it's you that needs the defence.

Not that I think you're likely to be prosecuted, let alone convicted, just something to bear in mind if you're minded to get cute with defences.

 
Hi, all

I got similar problem.

I own a gun (bought it few years ago) and I have it in Poland. Now if I would like to transport RIF could I do it by private transport company or I need to send it by courier ?

I don`t have UKARA number..

 
I think you need UKARA to import it unless you send it one piece at a time. ?

Just play 3 skirmishes over 56 days at one site with rental guns and get one.

 
minc0 said:
Hi, all

I got similar problem.

I own a gun (bought it few years ago) and I have it in Poland. Now if I would like to transport RIF could I do it by private transport company or I need to send it by courier ?

I don`t have UKARA number..
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You need a defence to import a RIF. Commonly accepted and easiest to prove is UKARA, but there are loads of others

 
I am planing to get one but still want to get my stuff.

Do you think that I could send it to my friend who already got one ?

 
Wow, that's even weirder.  If OP sends it to someone in the UK unbidden, then nobody in the UK caused it to be imported, and so no offence is being committed.  Mind blown.

Sorry, that's off topic.  Pragmatically, if you send a RIF from outside the UK to someone inside the UK and put their UKARA code on it, then you've done as much as possible to ensure that it will get through OK.  Based on recent Freedom of Information request, I personally suspect that few RIFs are actually intercepted and have their UKARA defences[*]checked by Border Force anyway.

[*]Funkier yet: "The VCRA sets out a number of defences to prosecution which although do not technically apply at the point of import it is UK Border Agency policy to apply them to private individuals as if they did."

 
I was thinking about using private bus company to transport it as I know they got rarely checked and just in case there would be UKARA code provided.

 
That was just loud thinking. I don`t want to do that. Just checking my options before spending some money for gear here, while I just could it get it from home.

 
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If you're actually sending it to a friend, who has a UKARA code associated with the address to which you're sending it, then you're fine both legally and practically.

 
Rogerborg said:
If you're actually sending it to a friend, who has a UKARA code associated with the address to which you're sending it, then you're fine both legally and practically.
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I see, nice.

Do you know if there are any special laws in EU countries for ASG RIF transport as I can`t find anything about it.

I can find law about buying it but not about transport.

 
For bringing it into the UK it counts as importing, so you would need a defence.  UKARA is probably the safest/easiest in the case of an importation.

For moving it around in country you need a valid reason to be doing so, e.g. taking it for repair, skirmishing etc.  A confirmation email of a booking on a smartphone would be an easily  demonstrable defence for example.

Also cannot be visible, so in a box /gunbag between house and boot of car, in the boot you are ok ? , then same again at your destination.

Cheers

G

 
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minc0 said:
I see, nice.

Do you know if there are any special laws in EU countries for ASG RIF transport as I can`t find anything about it.

I can find law about buying it but not about transport.
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If you or a friend are transporting through Europe as opposed to using a postage service then there are the laws in every country along the way.  You would be importing, transporting and exporting via every country along the way

Within the Schengen zone you are unlikely to encounter anyone unless you bring attention to yourself.  But there are legal issues that can apply to any country slog the way - for example Germany and the requirement of the F stamp on air weapons 

 
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