Traveling through UK to France via Land Bridge with Firearms

cookimonster

Ok I need some advice.

Can anyone fill me in on the procedure for traveling through the UK with firearms using the land bridge route.

My problem is that any information that I can get about UK visitor permits all require the following:


An application for a visitor’s firearm or shotgun permit will need a Great Britain resident to act as a sponsor and to submit the application to their local firearms licensing department on behalf of the visitor.


Any insight into this would be appreciated

tac foley

You are NOT visiting the UK in order to shoot - you are passing through the UK on your way to shoot in another country.

The possession of a valid EFP should be sufficient to allow you to do this. Many of us here in mainland UK travel to continental Europe to take part in shooting sport of one kind or another and don't seem to have any problem passing through one country to get to another using our EFP. For instance, ging to Hungary to shoot involves passing through The Netherlands, Germany, and Austria before getting to the shooting venue, but then it's usually a very pleasant three- or four-day drive with good company.

Might be easier, if you foresee problems, to take the plane and go in one step. All it takes is some French truck driver getting the hump, calling out his pals for a strike or go-slow, and you can be stuck in the Channel Tunnel depot for longer than you'd like, with nowhere to go except the back seat of your car.

cookimonster

Tac, I was under the impression that you required a visitors permit to legaly possess a firearm if not a resident with the UK equivalent FAC


From the BASC website:

'Under Section 17 of the Firearms Act 1968, a visitor to Great Britain may, if granted a visitor’s permit, have in their possession firearms, shotguns or ammunition without holding a certificate.

The holder of a visitor’s firearm permit may have in their possession (but cannot purchase) a firearm and they may purchase, acquire or have in their possession any ammunition to which Section 1 of the 1968 Act applies (e.g. rifle ammunition)

The holder of a visitors’ shotgun permit may have in their possession, purchase or acquire shotguns and is exempt from the requirement to produce a shotgun certificate when purchasing cartridges (which must contain 5 or more shot, none of which exceeds .36 inches in diameter).

Visitor’s shotgun permits do not allow the borrowing of shotguns for 72 hours as with UK shotgun certificates.

Visitor’s permits are not only issued to enable firearms to be brought into the UK. They may be issued to allow possession of firearms and shotguns already held in the UK where the visitor needs to possess them without supervision in the same way as if they had brought their own gun from abroad.'

Flying is not an option due to logistics etc etc.

Hack12

You need a British Pass to travel though Britain and a separate pass if travelling in NI.

cookimonster

Hack12 wrote: »

You need a British Pass to travel though Britain and a separate pass if travelling in NI.

Yes, but how do you get it?

Victor

Check that your ferry company accepts people carrying firearms.

cookimonster

Victor wrote: »

Check that your ferry company accepts people carrying firearms.

Not an issue, Stena / Irish Ferries are ok.

The issue is the legality of having firearms in the UK and the relavant UK permits.
I have emailed the Home Office on the foot of some quick digging.
I was hoping some one here had experience land bridging it to mainland Europe via UK.

Baker.22

Why don’t you get the ferry from Ireland to France? This is what I’m doing. From my understanding if you get a Uk permit you must name where you are shooting in the UK, they do not appear to have a transit pass like in the Republic.

When traveling from NI to say Dublin Airport you can apply for a transit pass

cookimonster

I've done Ireland to France with firearms via the direct ferry route before, no problems.
I'm hoping to cut down on my total travel time from door step to door step by eliminating the over night ferry and the lateness of the land fall in France. So the land bridge to France seems a more flexible option for my final destination.

tac foley

Apologies for giving you incorrect or ill-advised information. I've never tried to go from Ireland to continental Europe using mainland UK as a stepping stone, only from mainland UK directly to mainland Europe.

My best advice is to miss out mainland UK totally.

There is some confusion here about your use of the term 'land-bridge', as well. How long do you propose to stay in mainland UK - from arrival to departure?

You'll note that there is no mention anywhere in the application form about using the UK as a 'step' to get to Europe.

tac foley

Hack12 wrote: »

You need a British Pass to travel though Britain and a separate pass if travelling in NI.

There is no such document as a 'British' pass. The UK includes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The first three elements constitute Great Britain. I did not know that a separate EFP was needed to travel from mainland UK to Northern Ireland - my UK-issued FAC has always been deemed sufficient.

cookimonster

Tac,

Thanks for getting back.

Land Bridge is a term used by travel, companies, haulers, tourists etc when traveling from Ireland to mainland Europe via UK ie Dublin to Holyhead, Holyhead by road Dover and Dover to Calais.

So effectively, to answer another of your questions, my stay in England would be approximately 8 hours, the time it took me to drive from Holyhead to Dover / Tunnel and consume a pork pie, Cornish pasty or some such delight or two along the way.

I mused over this before and came up against the UK Firearms Form 107 Application for a Visitor's Firearm/Shot Gun Permit Part A Sponsor Details. No problem if I want to organise a shooting trip over the water as the guide services or competition organizers would be your sponsor. But in this case your transient.

I would assume flying on to international destinations from Dublin via Heathrow is a different process as your checking firearms here in Ireland and they should travel on through as would any other checked luggage and therefore do not need a visitors permit? I do know of a case where firearms were stoped at Heathrow even though all paper work was correct and right for a trip to Africa.

I have recieved a automated reply from the Home Office and will have to wait 20 days for an answer.

You may be right and I will have to opt for the direct ferry to France and factor in arrival times and travel time to final destination.

tac foley

Thanks for taking time to provide me an explication - I appreciate that. Sometimes it must be a real PITH living in the last outpost of humanity to the West of mainland Europe, and want to go to Europe, only to find that the UK gets in the way!

Of course, living less than a hundred miles from an East Anglian ferry port to The Netherlands or Belgium, I've never encountered this problem.

It has always been a source of amusement - of the wry kind - that whereas you can receive a response in seconds, the REAL response can take weeks - often months...

Thanks again.

cookimonster

I shall await my reply with bated breath and report back any and all news.

Hack12

tac foley wrote:

There is no such document as a 'British' pass. The UK includes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The first three elements constitute Great Britain. I did not know that a separate EFP was needed to travel from mainland UK to Northern Ireland - my UK-issued FAC has always been deemed sufficient.

There is a seperate pass for Britain and NI for visitors (I have both).

England, Scotland and Wales constitute the island of Great Britain and the United Kingdom includes Northern Ireland with England, Scotland and Wales.

tac foley

Hack12 wrote: »

There is a seperate pass for Britain and NI for visitors (I have both).

England, Scotland and Wales constitute the island of Great Britain and the United Kingdom includes Northern Ireland with England, Scotland and Wales.

Never been asked to produce one for NI. I already wrote that GB = England, Scotland and Wales, and that the UK included all four parts.+

fathersymes

Ok, you're going to need a sponsor in the UK, the easiest way would be if you are a member of the ICTSA (https://www.ictsa.ie/), their counterpart in the UK CPSA (https://www.cpsa.co.uk/), will act as your sponsor.

Bit of a roundabout way of getting your UK visitors permit!

PS. not sure if you're bring shotguns or rifles, CPSA will only sponsor for shotguns, but the equivalent of the NASRPC would sponsor you for other firearms.

cookimonster

fathersymes wrote: »

Ok, you're going to need a sponsor in the UK, the easiest way would be if you are a member of the ICTSA (https://www.ictsa.ie/), their counterpart in the UK CPSA (https://www.cpsa.co.uk/), will act as your sponsor.....

Thanks for that, but its a hunting trip, rifles not shotguns. Your right in your recomendation as I have been advised that like minded shooting organizations can organise a sponsor.

But for everyones general info: individuals or groups / teams can be sponsored by those organizing shooting events wether target shooting or hunting. Sponsors can be private individuals, such as a friend etc either way they, the sponsor will apply on your behalf to the local police force where you will be using the firearm for your visitors permit.

The issue here is when an individual wishes to travel through the UK and continue onto a European country using ferry and over land routes .

So no issues for people to go hunting / shooting there and as it transpires no issues if your traveling onwards to a EU country if you have assistance with similar national shooting organizations collaborating (target / clay shooting).

Luckysasha

cookimonster wrote: »

Not an issue, Stena / Irish Ferries are ok.

Just remember Irish Ferries wont let you bring ammo. Stena will but its limited to 250 rounds per gun

cookimonster

Yep ammo restrictions on the ferry are a pain in the hole, but my limited experience with Irish Ferries and traveling with firearms won't put me off doing it again or not recommend them to someone else.
I personally know lads who travel ever year with firearms on Irish Ferries and never had any issues.

Hack12

tac foley wrote:

Never been asked to produce one for NI. I already wrote that GB = England, Scotland and Wales, and that the UK included all four parts.+

You have a UK licence and live in Britain? NI will recognise British licences but won't ROI licences so we need the pass for GB and NI.

tac foley

I have a UK FAC and I live in England.