1. A copy of your passport - photo and signature page of your passport. This copy must be notarized as a true copy of the original, stamped and signed by a notary accordingly.

2. Proof of ownership in the form of a US Customs form 4457 / A Firearm License / Proof of export (where applicable, please see notifications on the download page for each country). This must also be copied and notarized as a true copy of the original, stamped and signed by a notary.

IS this true? I have the copies but this is the first I have read of them having to be notarized?

What country/permit/license is this for?

I saw on it on the Air-2000 website. I assume it was for South Africa.

I did this with Air2000 last Spring. Just make copies of the said documents. Then take those as well as the originals to a notary public (my credit union does notarizing for free). They stamp the copies and put it into thier little registry.

Took me all of 5 minutes (my CU is about 1 minute form my office).

It's so Air2000 can get the paperwork through SAP, prior to your arrival. If you do it yourself upon arrival, I don't think that you have to provide notarized copies, but someone else can comment on that.

-Steve

If my memory serves me, Steve is correct. Notarized copies are required so your "agent" can obtain the firearm import permit on your behalf in advance. Obviously you don't want to (can't, really) send the originals to your agent. If you're not using an agent, just take all the originals with you and get your import permit in person at the time of arrival. At least that's the way it worked last year...

The proper term would be "Certified Copy", which only the issuing authority is able to provide. That said, having simply a photocopy of the document with a statement something like "'This is a true and correct copy', (signed) Jane Doe, Notary Public, County of Yonkers, State of Delaware, October 27, 2006", probably looks official enough for whatever low level bureaucrat will be doing the paper work.

A notary may balk at "notarizing" such a statement, but look around, you'll find one.

Of course you could write a statement attesting that it is a true and correct copy and have the notary notarize your signature, which is probably a more appropriate way to do it. Anything that gets the notary's stamp on the copy (and a ten dollar bill) will likely make the clerk in Timbuktu or wherever happy as a clam.

I'm going to wing it myself so I suppose I won't worry about the notary. A representative from the Afton House is going to meet me at the airport. I have heard they are great for assisting through customs so I am hoping this will work well for me. I am not pre-arranging my permits.

My last experience is a year old+ now but I made sure to have all applicable documents prepared in advance for each firearm. I did have to show my passport but since you're there that's no big deal. Having the documents prepared before hand make a huge difference though! The SAPS officer really appreciated it and made a point of saying so in front of some other poor un-prepared souls who were waiting when we arrived and still waiting when we left. Of particular importance (assumedly because it was new) was the letter of invitation from the outfitter. The other guys mentioned didn't have one and one of them was cruising the airport trying to locate their outfitter while the other stood waiting helplessly by the guns & SAPS office. I felt sorry for them.