Temporary Import of a Prohibited Rifle to the U.S....

M

Muddy

New member
EE Expired
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
Atlanta, GA
Sorry if this topic has been covered before but I have a friend who's a Canuck and has both a hunting license and membership at a local range. He's wanting to import a rifle that is prohibited in Canada temporarily to the U.S. for purposes of shooting a sanctioned match. I believe some time back there was a thread regarding how to do this, even if the rifle would otherwise be classed here as a "semi-automatic assault rifle" but was NOT covered under are National Firearms Act (full auto, barrel less than 16 inches, etc...).

Can someone please clarify the process on filling out the form 6 so it doesn't get rejected out of hand. Also, I believe that somebody had even posted an opinion letter from our ATF stating that this was acceptable. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
 
Here's a really handy resource for Form 6's.

http://www.losttarget.com/form6.html

Hurdles that your friend may encounter may depend on where the firearm was manufactured. Even if it is a non-NFA firearm, there are other restrictions as to what they allow in for "sporting purposes". The best thing to do is to contact the BATFE Firearms and Exposives Import Branch to see if they will even let the thing in first. The contact person there is:

Ms. Ridley at Wonjiri.Ridley@ATF.GOV or at (304) 260-1102.

Another potential mess is getting a SAP to get to to the border within Canada.

As long as the paperwork is all in order, it should not be a problem re-importing the prohib back into Canada. The only requirements are proper licensing, registration and a SAP allowing transport from the border crossing to back home.
 
dont foreget to cal the CFC to see if they'd allow an SAP to the boarder.
normally all you do is get a hunting license and fill out the info on a form6. fax it off. and wait for a reply. i know someone who filled out the form with a norinco handgun among other firearms. he got the form back but with the norinco crossed off. on the ammo section just put down 500 rounds of ammo per manufacturer per gun. EG 500 federal 9mm, 500 fiochi 9mm etc.

send off the form and call the CFC. by the time the CFC figures out what to do the form will be sent back, 3-6 weeks. worst case is someone somewhere denies one of the permits. tell the CFC the SAP is needed for a gun show in the states :wink: .

http://www.losttarget.com/flier/120903form6NIA-emptyfields.pdf

license

http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/

you only need the hunting license to get a valid form6. then you need to get an invite to be able to go south unless you are hunting in the licensed state
 
Thanks...

Thanks for the info on this. I will refer him to the info posted. I'm sure he's aware of the nuances regarding the changes with getting an SAP for a prohib up north.

I just seem to remember a letter that someone posted from the US ATF (maybe it was Cybershooter???) stating that weapons imported under a temporary form 6 that were not covered under the NFA were not required to undergo the "sporting purposes test". If anyone has a copy of that letter, a post or email of it would be greatly appreciated.
 
A while ago someone posted info on this issue but, from what they were saying if the prohib crosses the border it cannot be taken back into canada again as this would be a violation of the customs act regardless of paperwork. You would be re-importing a prohibited firearm in legal terms.

If anyone has the exact words from Canada customs fire away!
 
On a sort of opposite problem, I was asking the BATF about whether I could temporarily import destructive devices and NFA type guns for a temporary display to the US. Her answer was yes, but to start very early; six months would be just about the minimum window to achieve it.
Sometimes the grass is greener on our side of the fence. The Boyes rifle is non-restricted here (and classed as a destructive device there) and dewats like stens and brens are non-controlled here whereas they would be NFA controlled weapons there and if not registered during the amnestey, illegal. Mind you, if they are registered, then they are worth a great deal of money as they can be re-activated in the US.
 
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/rc4227/rc4227-e.html

Quote:
If you are a Canadian resident, you can re-import prohibited firearms (not prohibited weapons, or devices) as long as you meet all of the following conditions:
*you previously exported the firearms from Canada; and
* you have an authorization to transport from a chief firearms officer when you re-import.
Click to expand...

So I have another hypothetical question that arises from this rule. The quote refers to residency not citizenship.

So say I leave Canada changing my residency, take a 12.6 with me, for example, and of course retaining my Citizenship.

It looks like as a non-resident citizen I would be unable to import said 12.6 for a temporary stay, but if I were returning and claiming to then change my residency back to Canadian, I would be able to import the prohib? Or is there some other rule about the need to have uninterrupted residency in order to re-import the orginal Canadian prohibited weapon?

Just curious.
 
just leave the canadian paperwork at a canadian address. the US doesn't have a registry. as long as you have the proper permits for a temporary visit to the states, there is no time limit from the canadian side.
 
This is a bit out-of-date now but it still contains the relevant info:

ATFletter.jpg

ATFletter2.jpg


Obviously as the assault weapon ban has now expired ignore that bit of the letter. However the general point is that if you can legally buy it in the US under federal law and it's not an NFA weapon, you can legally import it temporarily, if it is generally prohibited from importation as not being "suitable for sporting purposes".

So a semi-auto AK-47 (not a converted one) can be legally imported into the US temporarily.

So in essence it's pretty straightforward, he does it the exact same way anyone who was taking a handgun for example into the US would do it, gets an ATT to take his prohibited firearm to the point of export (or it might be an SAP, not sure when it comes to exports), and he also needs an approved Form 6NIA to get it into the US. On return, he just shows customs his PAL, registration and ATT.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom