Moving from Canada to Texas - How do I bring my handguns with me?

[baitzeem]

Hello All,

I am a Canadian Citizen. I am making a permanent move to the US. I'm being transferred to my company's operation in Austin, Texas. I legally own 4 handguns in Canada. During my move I will be driving through many States between the Canadian border and Texas. I want to legally import them and transfer them.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[JCF]

Do you have permanent resident alien status (a green card) already?

 

[frankie_the_yankee]

All you need to do to legally transport them through the various states between Canada and TX is to place them in a locked case in the trunk of your car. Make sure they are unloaded. Any magazines you are carrying with you should be unloaded as well.

In TX there is no issue. You don't have to "transfer" them. You own them, that's all there is to it. There is no license required to own them. There is no requirement, or even any provision, for registering them.

In TX you can carry a loaded handgun in your car so long as it remains concealed. If you want to carry a handgun on your person, all you have to do is apply for a TX Concealed Handgun License. If you have a clean criminal record, they can't refuse to issue the license. The whole process takes about 3 months.

I am assuming that you have or will soon have permanent resident status - i.e. a green card. If you don't have a green card, getting a CHL might be a bit more complicated. But all of the other stuff above still applies.

This all probably comes as a shock considering the repressive regime you are leaving. If I were you, I would never look back regardless of my employer, where I might be assigned, etc. This is the best and most free place on Earth. Enjoy!

 

[Fast Frank]

Welcome to Texas.

I suspect you are going to like it here.

I know I do!

 

[dogma512]

This issue isn't transporting the weapons across States. It's the initial importation of a firearm from a foreign country.

You should try to get in touch with an FFL that specializes in the importation of forgein arms.

 

[The_Shootist]

Grin

Left Canada for Texas over 10 years ago, became a US citizen.

I certainly didn't let the door hit me on my way out

 

[NavyLCDR]

All you need to do to legally transport them through the various states between Canada and TX is to place them in a locked case in the trunk of your car. Make sure they are unloaded. Any magazines you are carrying with you should be unloaded as well.

They do not have to be in a locked case in the trunk. They just have to be locked in the trunk - that means the trunk is locked, not necessarily even in a case. And the magazines do not have to be unloaded, only the weapons. The locked case is only a requirement when the vehicle has no trunk and the guns are going to be carried in the passenger compartment, then both the ammo and guns must be in a locked container.

It's a no-no to have the ammo in the passenger compartment if the guns are in the trunk - the ammo must be seperated from the driver but may be stored with the guns. Just do a search for FOPA on here or on google, you will quickly find a quote of the exact law.

I have no idea as to the initial importation into the US at the border.

 

[Winchester 73]

Oh heck,I'll just throw it up again.FOPA:

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00000926---A000-.html

TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 44 > § 926APrev | Next § 926A. Interstate transportation of firearms
Notwithstanding any other provision of any law or any rule or regulation of a State or any political subdivision thereof, any person who is not otherwise prohibited by this chapter from transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm shall be entitled to transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm if, during such transportation the firearm is unloaded, and neither the firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily accessible or is directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such transporting vehicle: Provided, That in the case of a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver’s compartment the firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.

These links may help on crossing the Canadian/US border.Good luck:

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/report-en.asp?country=308000

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_security/

 

[ccd]

As noted by dogma your problem is that you have to get the correct paperwork from US Customs to bring any firearms into the country from Canada. Call US Customs and ATF and ask around on what the correct forms are. Once you leave the US and cross into Texas you are pretty much without worry..

 

[Radagast]

I'm pretty sure Questar handle individual imports & exports from Canada. Go ask on www.Canadiangunnutz.com It may be simpler for you to have them exported to an FFL in texas for collection.

 

[Big Boomer]

Welcome to Austin, If you need a range partner let me know

I can show you around town! Austin is a great place to live, er ax that, visit. Round Rock just North of Austin in the bedroom community is a great place to live

If you have any questions about the area let me know.

 

[JCF]

+1 to Dogma.

Transportation isn't the big issue. Importation from Canada is.

If you already have permanent resident status you can go through the process of importing them to your own possession via the BATFE. If you don't have permanent residency status, then you likely won't be able to bring them in yourself in any manner.

 

[jfh]

About twenty years ago (prior to the latest antigun legislation), I was the executor of a Canadian estate. Among other estate items located in Canada was a collection of firearms which ranged from from the sublime (SAA 1st issue with a single digit serial number up through Colt Detective's Specials, a Win 52B Sporter built as a custom order in 1935, new S&W revolvers, and on and on. I believe it was 109 firearms in all.

My cousin and I (heirs to the guns) and I dug into this: The problem wasn't importation; it was the exit requirements from Canada. Export permits were required, and eventually we got them all except for the sporterized Mauser 98s--they were "weapons of war." My cousin was a lifelong US Gov't employee, and we believed this helped as well--more credibility.

My cousin and his father drove out to personally transport them back to MN. The RCMP, IIRC, prepared the export list and sealed it; they were required to check in at certain stations along the TransCan, and check them out at the border. I also believe they found a fairly heavy RCMP highway patrol presense as they drove Eastward....

Further, on the US side, these had to be processed through an FFL--although that may have been a discretionary requirement because of the estate transfer. In effect, my cousin and uncle functioned solely as a licensed carrier.

So, start by reading up on the Canadian export requirements, and then read up on the US import requirements as they apply to your resident alien status.

UPDATE: SEE CFriesen's post following this one.

Jim H.

 

[JCF]

I recently imported personal firearms from Canada. There is no exportation issue from the Canadian side if they are in fact your own personal property and you have the legal right to possess them in Canada as a resident, as in the case of the OP.

Taking possession and exporting them as a non-resident is another matter altogether; much in the same way it would be a bit complicated for a Canadian resident to inherit handguns in the USA and drive over the border to pick them up and take them home.

I was unable to import one firearm into the US from Canada due to it's "weapon of war" status; a sporterized Portuguese Mauser. The problem was not a Canadian export restriction, it was American import regulation. You can (at least you could several years ago) import and export the guns from Canada, as far as they're concerned, all day long insofar as the origin or prior use of the weapon is concerned. The "weapon of war" restriction is a US peculiarity.

The guns do indeed need to be processed by an FFL on the US side regardless of how it is done.

 

[BAT1]

Canada to Texas

Ye haa! Come on down, you like deer? Just travel wisely, and enjoy another country. .

 

[gym]

Ask the RCMP, local station, they may help you with and forms etc

 

[jfh]

Thanks for your corrections and clarifications, CFriesen. Obviously, my recollection of a procedure from twenty years ago had some errors in it.

The irony of the situation was that all of these firearms had been exported from the US some eighteen years earlier, in the early Seventies--that is, including the Sproterized Mausers--which, IIRC, had been built by a gunsmith in California.

Jim H.

 

[JCF]

The irony of the situation was that all of these firearms had been exported from the US some eighteen years earlier, in the early Seventies--that is, including the Sproterized Mausers--which, IIRC, had been built by a gunsmith in California.

Sickening isn't it?

That was the case with my Portuguese Mauser. The rifle came, in military form, from a US distributor, and was subsequently customized in Canada. The customization, for whatever reason, is apparently what makes it restricted from importation. Were it in its' original form, I would be able to bring it in. Craziness.

On the other hand, 20 or so years ago, while a Canadian citizen, I bought a Colt Trooper at a pawn shop in Minnesota. I left the gun at the shop while I returned to Canada to arrange the paperwork. When I returned, I stopped at the Canadian side of the border to advise the officer on duty that I would be returning shortly with a legally-purchased handgun for importation and showed him my documents.

Upon arriving back at the Canadian border with the Colt (locked in the trunk) the officer put me through the typical line of questioning: purpose of visit, etc. I reminded him that I had the firearm for importation, at which point we went to the trunk to inspect it. He requested assurances that the gun was unloaded, called out another officer, and proceeded to open the case and peer inside like he was at risk of releasing demons from the portal to hell. I reiterated to him that it was an unloaded weapon, but he seemed exceptionally unclear on the theory behind what makes a gun go bang. I managed to get it through the border, but to watch the hour-long process you would think they were handling vials of ebola. I'm not sure what things are like anymore, seeing as some Canadian customs officers are actually armed now, but it was comical at the time.

 

[baitzeem]

Thank you

I'd like to thank everyone who responded to my question. I'd also like to thank all for the kind words of welcome.

 

[rodregier]

GCA '68 factoring criteria may impact on US importability of some/all of the handguns :-(

ATF form 4590

http://www.atf.gov/pub/treas_pub/assault_rifles/exh4.pdf

Don't let the URL name mislead you, it has a pistol section too.

 

[John828]

Once you leave the US and cross into Texas