Handgun import from South Africa

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Hi there.

I hope I am not duplicating a thread here. If I am, please derect me to it... I have trouble finding anything on this.

I am in the process of setting up my immigration to Alberta and have a couple of questions on importing some firearms. I understand that most handguns are restricted or prohibited. For example, my 357 6" barreled revolver would be restricted right? And my Glock 19 (102mm barrel)? As far as I can gather, it is prohibited. Or am I mistaken?

From how I read the Canadian firearms laws, all handguns with a barrel lenght shorte that 105mm is termed prohibited. That means my Glock 19 cannot be imported?

My plan is the following: Please point out any problems you see with this...

1. Arrive in Alberta on a Work Permit. For the interim, I will arrange proper storage for all firearms in South Africa
2. As soon as possible do the PAL training, and join a sport shooting club.
3. Apply for non-restricted and restricted permits (licenses). How long does this take by the way?
4. Once permits is received, I will start making arrangements to import the firearms. (BUT, what about the Glock19's)

I am aware of the 10 round limited magazines, so needless to say, I will have to leave the 15 and 17 round mags in SA if I find a way to bring in the Glocks.

Also, I have Lee Enfield .303 which is sportarized. The magazines for this rifle have 8 round capacity. This is also a problem, since long rifles are limited to 5 rounds?

Thank you in advance for the advice!

PS: What is the going price for a new Glock 17 in Alberta? If not too much, I might as well just sell my Glocks here and just buy a 17 in Canada?
 
¸you can always replace the barrel on your glocks with longer ones and still import them. your mags will have to be pinned to 10 rouds and you can bring them over as well. Your enfiled is exempt from the 5 round limit as it is not semi-automatic.
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

In light of barrel replacement on the glocks, I think I will rather sell them here in South Africa due to 1. New barrel = new licence (In SA, you need a separate licence for each firearm and waiting time is approx 4 months); 2. Barrel and frame serial numbers will differ. It is honestly cheaper and less of a hassle to just buy a new gun than going through a barrel replacement in South Africa.

Any indications on a new G17 price?

Thanks!
 
Hey there, a new G17 will run you anywhere from 640-740$ depending on the model. I picked up a gen 3 for 640 last year and the majority of the gen 4s are priced 740$.
 
No problem! I hope everything works out for you. I don't think anyone answered your question regarding wait times on the PAL, but it took me, everything said and done, 9 weeks starting with training, and ending with my license.
 
All of the advice you've gotten is good, and your plan looks good. I would suggest another thing. Contact Canada Firearms Program and ask thm to send you the two booklets used to train people for the test to get your Possession and Acquisition License. They're on line and on the phone, but on line sounds more practical in your case. I don't remember the cost for the booklets, but there is one, and for the test as well.

Tell them you want to take the two tests for the PAL and for Restricted class. Since you obviously have a fair amount of experience with firearms, the two tests should not be difficult for you. I moved to Canada from the US in 2006, spent a day studying the two booklets and took the tests by challenge (didn't take the course preliminary to the tests). If you don't have a fair amount of experience, take the oourse. There are a few things that are particular to Canadian firearms licensing that you have to memorize, but it isn't much and if I could do it, anybody could. I got my license (RPAL) a few weeks after taking the tests. You should be aware that there are two parts to the test program. First is a written test and second a practical, where you're supervised and graded as you handle (memorize the safety procedures and make sure you use them), identify and answer questions about the firearms and ammunition you're being tested on. Good luck with it.
 
Unless the guns have some collectors or sentimental value it'll be much easier and cheaper to just sell them back home and buy new here. Get yourself signed up on the EE here, you'll be a poor man in no time! :) Welkom boet! ;)
 
I notice you're coming in on a work permit. Are you planning on staying permanently? If not it might be better just to befriend a cgner in your intended destination and go to the range with them. If not, good luck, and keep us updated.
 
You need a landed immigrant status first - then you can do the pal / however you can do a core course and get a hunters licence and bow hunt while you wait the -18 months / two years to get your landed immigrant status.

I left my rifles and handguns at home (PE) where they still live my brothers gun safe.

Send me a pm if you need more information - good luck with the move boet!
 
Kudu said:
You need a landed immigrant status first - then you can do the pal
Click to expand...

I'm not 100% sure about that--the only reason I say that, is because; when we had the long gun registry. American hunters coming for a hunt had to have their PAL. The link below is for non-restricted and directs the reader to contact the RCMP for restricted/prohibited

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/fs-fd/moving-emmenager-eng.htm


Also, here are the links to the non-restricted and restricted PAL handbooks

non-restricted-- http://www.gov.pe.ca/photos/original/CFSCmanualVer2.pdf

Restricted---- http://www.gov.pe.ca/photos/original/CRFSCmanualV2.pdf
 
To avoid the problems with changing the barrel in SA, maybe you could just bring the frame to Canada with no barrel. Then buy a 105mm barrel after you get here.

Anyone see a problem with this? You can register a gun as "frame only" in Canada, right?
 
mdmaroon said:
To avoid the problems with changing the barrel in SA, maybe you could just bring the frame to Canada with no barrel. Then buy a 105mm barrel after you get here.

Anyone see a problem with this? You can register a gun as "frame only" in Canada, right?
Click to expand...

Nope. You have to swap barrel first and then change the status from prohib to restricted. Make no sense i know.
 
To be fair since you're overseas it may take a while longer since they'll likely want to request the searches and that'll require that they contact the SA authourities. All that sort of stuff takes time to travel through the procedural red tape. And since you don't know anyone over here I'm not sure how you'll be able to deal with the personal references. So don't expect them to be able to process your RPAL in as short a time as for someone that's been in Canada for many years.
 
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