I have an 1885 Mauser rifle and 1898 Mauser pistol and would like to import them as part of my personal goods. What is the process and procedure involved?
I also have a target air rifle and a black powder pistol that would like to bring as well.
I would NOT be importing ammunition.
This article might be useful. It was updated yesterday 9/8/2025
Unless you have a european nationality you may not be able to get the European card that Stella mentions above. However Google is your friend here, lots of info available depending in what class weapons they are.
And don’t forget you’ll need authorisation from airline/trainline/boat too.
Do you already have some sort of permit to own/house these weapons in whichever country you live at present?
might ease the paperwork
I have both American and Lithuanian citizenship. In the US these antique weapons fall under the “curio and relic” rules and there is no registration required. The air rifle is not considered a firearm at all.
I have owned the Mausers for over a decade and like most firearms in America there is no paperwork associated with them. The black powder pistol is a replica and I have owned it for over 50 years.
I have both a Lithuanian passport and national identity card.
Class D is a very low classification, it was the same as my air rifle which I was going to bring from the UK but my hate of red tape and even more of paying I gave up. It was about 18-20 years ago so cannot remember the details but it was doable
Ah… I think you’ll find things are a bit more regulated in France.
I have a friend who had his collection of firearms confiscated some years ago, because he hadn’t declared ownership properly … and he’s French (and still got things wrong).
He’s got the proper permit to hunt/shoot etc etc…
he just didn’t think about the things he’d inherited over the years (which don’t even work). He was devastated when they were taken from him.
How did they get confiscated?
If I recall correctly “someone” informed the authorities.
The Gendarmes (or whichever force of Law and Order) knocked on his door and spoke with him.
He didn’t realise he was in the wrong; the “old” arms were confiscated.
I can’t recall if he was fined or not… as I only heard the bare bones.
He was sad to lose family pieces, but also disturbed that someone would snitch on him rather than remind/inform him of what he should have done.
A really nice chap, he deserved better.
So on a different topic, one wonders where confiscated antique collectible firearms end up.
I’ve heard of similar happening to others and there à re also hints that such items may end up in ahem… other private collections.
A very long time ago my father found my sister and I playing with his father’s rifle19C (? - big, long barrel and very beautifully shiny carved wood to little girls) .
He immediately stuck it in a sack and marched us and it off to the police station to hand it in. I wish I could remember what they did when he took it out of the sack - but a different era so I guess we weren’t immediately thrown to the floor and handcuffed. But I remember how I liked it.
Air weapons that fall below 20 Joules are also permit free of regulations, anything more powerful will require a permit.
I imported seven handguns and five rifles and two shotguns over twenty years ago, when the rules were somewhat different, although I do remember that I had several hoops to jump through. The shotguns were, at the time, not restricted.
I now hold a Permis de Chasse, a Permis de Tir and a Permis de Collectionner des Armes which cover all bases.
We have an interesting octogenarian neighbour who’s a retired Belgian Colonel Aviator (and surviving Starfighter pilot). He used to represent his country in various categories of vintage military shooting competitions and still has a sizeable armory, but apparently some of his arsenal remains in Belgium because it can’t be brought into France,
Quite a rare breed.