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Permits and Licenses

If you wish to travel with firearms and ammunition, you must apply for the relevant permits and licenses. Read more about the exceptions and the application procedure here.

Exceptions

The following passengers are not required to apply for a permit:

  • Hunters residing in the Netherlands, if they are traveling from/to the Netherlands and are able to present a valid hunting license. The rifles to be transported must be documented on the hunting license  
  • Members of a shooting club residing in the Netherlands, if they are traveling from/to the Netherlands and only if they are able to present a written invitation or declaration from a shooting club in the destination country of the passenger
  • EU passport holders traveling solely within the European Union, if they are able to present an official EU firearms license, in passport format, issued in their name for the weapon concerned. Some EU countries issue firearms passes that do not bear the EU mark. Holders of such passes do require a permit
  • Military personnel traveling on the orders of the government (NATO, UN)     

Application procedure

-To obtain permission, you must complete a seperate “application for a permit for the transhipment of firearms” for both the outbound and the inbound flight.
-Application forms can be obtained from the Dutch Customs based at the following address in Groningen:
 Belastingdienst Douane Noord
Centrale Dienst voor In-en Uitvoer
Postbus 30003
9700 RD Groningen
Tel: 31-50-523 2600
Fax 31-50-523 2183
Opening hours Monday through Friday from 08.30-17.00 local time
-Blank applications forms may be photocopied for future use
-The completed forms and a copy of your passport must be sent to the fax number given above.
-Dutch Customs will return the forms together with a permit and will inform Customs and Security at Schiphol about the shipment.
-The whole process will take 3 to 5 working days.
-You must carry the permit documentation with you when travelling and present it upon request.
-Any firearms and ammunition found in checked baggage are subject to confiscation unless the owner is able to furnish all the required permits.
  
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