Ladies and Gentlemen,

Received this from Afton Guest House.



NEW PROCEDURE FOR HUNTERS ARRIVING AT JIA WITH FIREARMS:

JIA= Johannesburg International Airport

SAPS= South African Police Services



The new SAPS import and export firearms office is now open.

It's located in the International Arrivals Terminal on the landside, between the Banks and the Post Office, between Terminals A1 and A2.

It's also opposite the sign board Food Court and Banks.

1. On arrival at Johannesburg International Airport, on an International flight, passengers proceed to Immigration.

2. Once you have cleared Immigration you go to baggage claim to the carrousel to pick up your luggage.

YOU WILL NOT COLLECT YOUR GUN CASE / FIREARMS HERE, AS THE SECURITY COMPANY (SECURICOR) WILL TAKE IT TO THE SAPS.

Check your bags against your luggage tag, and keep the tag for the Gun case / Firearms separate, as you will need it when you enter the SAPS office.

3. Proceed to clear Customs.
Exit Customs through the Red Channel into the General Meeting Area and go straight to the SAPS import and export firearms office.

If you arrive on a SAA flight from Atlanta, Washington, New York, etc. it will be on your right hand side as you will be coming out of Terminal A2.

If you arrive on KLM, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Air France or Lufthansa it will be on your left hand side, as you will be coming out of Terminal A1.

4. Please take note: The SAPS check the Firearms and issue the Firearm Import/Export Permits, not Customs.

5. When you enter the SAPS office, please ensure that you have all the needed documents ready.

Present your luggage tag for your Gun case / firearms to the SAPS.

They will then deliver your Gun case / firearms to you. (Securicor will deliver firearms through the back entrance of the SAPS office).

6. Hunters with pre-arrange permits must tell the SAPS officers that they have a pre-approved Import / Export permit.

7. Afton Guest House representative will be waiting for Afton's Guests just outside Customs. We will direct them to the New SAPS import and export firearms office.

If you need any assistance at any time please do not hesitate to contact me

at: 083-444-4432, 011-391-4393, 011-972-5259 or 011-972-4753,


For pre-arrange firearms permits use Edo at www.riflepermits.com


There is no need for a Meet and assist anymore, as the New SAPS office is on the landside and not on the airside anymore.


Kind regards,


Louis and Annelise

This should be sticky.

Thanks Terry for posting. Thanks Louis & Anealise for sharing. Thanks SAPS for arrangement.
Thanks to all those who applied pressure to get improvement implemented.

Thanks for life. Thanks for being able to hunt. Thanks all around.

Thankfully yours,

Andrew McLaren.

It can't be any worse and as the office is bigger and presumably designed for it's function should be considerably faster...... However, I for one will still be using, and recommending our clients use a meet and greet service as they'll still get you through immigration a lot faster and I'm sure they'll still help out with any hassles.

I like to use Air 2000 but that a personal choice and nothing more........

I'm going to get my rifle permit in advance, and since Louie is recommending Edo at www.riflepermits.com - I'm going to use him.

Regards,

Terry

as always - Louis is on top of it. That man is just super.

How does this effect anyone going on to Namibia?

Mark65x55,
Unless there are new rulings and you are ticketed through to Namibia, you should not need any South Africa gun permits. You are not out of the secure area and will not pick up your guns as they should be just forwarded to your next leg of your trip(to Namibia). T.Carr is this not still correct?
Bobga

And just to update you guys ..

Edo @ company (Riflepemits) now has upgraded their service from previously only getting the rifle permits in advance for you to a fuill blown

1) Get the riflepermits in advance

2) To meet greet and help you thorough the full A-Z process upon arrival

And all that apparantly for $85 bucks, I cant see how any sane man or woman would not at least consider that service offered as damn inexpensive to say the least ..

But if you want to DIY for free then that is your personal choice

Air2000 & Optima also are on the list of other companies whom will do basically the same for you, I dont know their updated charges.

Also PHASA will get you a rifle permit in advance for somewhere arounf $80 but I dont believe they do meet and greet

Have a wonderful trip

Peter

quote:

Originally posted by bobga:
Mark65x55,
Unless there are new rulings and you are ticketed through to Namibia, you should not need any South Africa gun permits. You are not out of the secure area and will not pick up your guns as they should be just forwarded to your next leg of your trip(to Namibia). T.Carr is this not still correct?
Bobga

As far as I know, this should have not affect on those ticketed directly to other countries (assuming you are not overnighting in Jo'burg). So, if you are just making connections in Jo'burg on to another country (and your bags have been checked all the way through to your final destination) then you will not have to clear your firearms in Jo'burg.


This is really only a change of location of SAPS Office, it is not a change in any of the procedures for the clearing of firearms.

Regards,

Terry

quote:

as always - Louis is on top of it. That man is just super.

You got that right! Louis is golden to say the least.

Thanks for posting this. I got mixed up in a nightmare in Jo'burg last year that I will never forget. An older fellow I had met on the plane had nothing, and I do mean nothing. No introduction letter, no safari contract, all he had was a brochure on which he had scribbled the dates of the safari. He was going to Namibia and overnighting in Jo'burg and I knew he was looking at a good chance of loosing his gun. I stayed with him through customs and convinced the SAP that it wasn't his fault the PH hadn't prepared him properly for this trip. (The guy was very, very old. It was his first safari and he quite literally would not have gotten through the airport if I had not been there. It was sad and scary. Who knows, maybe he had been properly prepared by his PH to enter the country with a weapon and just forgot what he needed.)

They ripped him pretty good, me too, even though I had little to do with this except as a good Samaritan. The next day we went through it all again before he boarded his plane to Windhoek. It was a nightmare from start to finish I would not wish on my worst enemy.

The old guy had always wanted to go to Africa and by gosh he did, the year after his wife passed away after fighting cancer for several years. I almost cried when he told me all this on the plane. Thank God I kept an eye on him when we landed or I'm sure he would have been completely lost. When I got home from filming for a month in Zim, he had sent me the nicest thank you letter I have ever received.

The only thing that would have made it better would have been if I could have gone with the old guy.

Sorry to high jack this thread but this kind of information is much appreciated by me and helpful to many. Thanks again.

Terry,

How are they going to know which bags have firearms (other than the obvious cases)? I have been amazed (pleased) how many times people think my tuffpak contains golf clubs! Then again, there are probably not that many people who travel to Africa to play golf. Just seems like there could be potential problems since another element of human interaction/decision making has been introduced.

quote:

Originally posted by Bwanahile:
Terry,

How are they going to know which bags have firearms (other than the obvious cases)?.....

Don't you "declare" your firearms when checking in with the airlines?"

Of course, but the bags themselves have no indicator on the outside that say "Firearms Inside".

The porters and baggage handlers in Jo'burg know what a Tuffpak contains.

Perry

quote:

Originally posted by Balla Balla:


Air2000 & Optima also are on the list of other companies whom will do basically the same for you, I dont know their updated charges.

Air2000 is charging the following in Jo-burg:


-------------------------------------------------


INITIAL-
Meet and Greet service incorporating assistance with
immigration, baggage and firearm claim, firearm
sighting by police and customs. Firearm permit being
obtained in advance of arrival. Assistance to schedule
flight or transfer agent.

Per Hunter
R 850.00
If permit obtained in
advance.
U$150.00
--------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------

ADDITIONAL-
Meet and Greet off schedule flight, assist
with existing firearms permit for further police
clearance, transfer to another schedule flight or
transfer agent.

1 to 4

R 750.00
U$125.00

5 to 8

R 1,050.00
U$175.00
---------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------

Hotel transfers to Sandton, Fourways
or surrounding the airport. (One way).

1 to 4

R 550.00
U$100.00

5 to 8
Pls ask for
quotation
(subject to
luggage)
---------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------
Transfers from Johannesburg International Airport to
Lanseria International Airport. (One way)

1 to 4

R 650.00
U$110.00

5 to 8
Pls ask for
quotation
(as above)

---------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------

Shopping trips around Johannesburg.

Half day
R 900.00
5 hours

Full day
R 2,000.00
9 hours.
---------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------

GUN STORAGE

Minimum period of three days.

R 500.00
U$85.00
---------------------------------------------------


* A surcharge is levied on flights arriving before 06h00 and after 19h00 of R120.00
* No shows or cancellation of a service 1 hour before arrival levies a fee of R300.00
* Late bookings made withing 12 hours of the arrival levies a fee of R160.00
* We reserve the right to amend the prices due to market related increases.

---------------------------------------------------




You can get all this as well as Capetown costs and infor from Anne at Air 2000 <air2000@global.co.za>

-Steve

Terry, How far in advance are you sending the permit info to south africa. Am I correct in assuming the saps form must be downloaded then snailmailed to South Africa?

Gunny,

Last season, I just scanned the documents and sent them to Afton. I did not mail any original documents to Africa. [I don't believe Afton is getting firearms' permits anymore, they are apparently using Edo now].

I noticed on Edo's website the following:

"You mail all the relevant documentation to us, in order to reach us at least 45 days prior to your arrival in South Africa."

Regards,

Terry

Terry,
Can we thumbtack this to the top of all threads since this is very important information for those traveling to South Africa! Thanks for your work in researching this and keeping us fully aware of the situation in the RSA. This is why I stay with the AR forums!

A follow up on delivery of bags is needed as this seems a weakness in the new procedures.

Yes, anyone can recognize the multitude of gun cases from tuffpak to titanium. But, ammo must be in a separate bag, and many airlines do NOT seem to identify the bag with the ammo. Perhaps SAA does, but do others?

The SAP are not likely to be amused by some hunter rolling up at their new office, having gone through customs and entered the RSA with unlicensed ammunition. The alternative, picking up your bag and then finding someone authorized to deliver it to the SAP office seems fraught with delay, but is clearly the way to go as things now stand.

Grateful for clarification from the knowledgeable.

Nice to be back on the Board. Haiti was intense over the past six months.

Regards, Tim

quote:

Terry,
Can we thumbtack this to the top of all threads since this is very important information for those traveling to South Africa!

I have the same information pinned as a "Sticky Topic" at the top of the Hunting Reports - Africa Forum.

Regards,

Terry

Thanks Terry, I contacted steve at gracy travel and he said the permit is done by a relative of Louis so its still somewhat inhouse. With a lead time of 45 days plus delivery time I guess I have to decide which gun to take in the near future.

Tim Carney, welcome back. Lost in the shuffle of this discussion is your service in Haiti. Our thanks to you for taking on this difficult assignment for us.

By the way, got my 1st double, a Hollis 450-400 that's shooting like a dream. Also got to visit with Ken Morris who I remembered from your DGJ article. Looks like a great area in the Caprivi where he holds a concession.

Welcome back. Bob

This new procedure has me worried. On two occassions, my take-down rifle case was put onto the normal baggage belt at JNB. My case looks like normal baggage, and is not the typical large rifle case. I don't think the porters will know to look for it, or to take it off if they see it, without me pointing it out to them.

I can see myself waiting at SAPS for my rifles, while they spin round and round in the normal baggage conveyor, with me unable to point them out to the porter. After an hour or so....what do I do, go back through and retrieve them?

Bob, Welcome to the world of double rifles. My first double was a 450/400 3-inch and it's a versatile caliber.

I'll be with Ken Morris in Namibia in August and got Bill Steward to autograph a copy of his book as a surprise for Ken and Lynda, both of whom hold PH licenses there.

On this thread, 404J is on the same track. I'm afraid we are just going to have to stay to see what bags come out and then get a "responsible cadre department concerned" to move them to the SAP firearms office...

Regards, Tim

Tim I enjoyed meeing Ken and Linda at the DSC show. After your visit to Namibia, I'd like your thoughts about the Caprivi as a Buffalo destination with Ken. I need to 'blood' the Hollis. I'm looking at a Tanzania destination as a potential for '07 but fell in love with Namibia on my first trip. I'd like to combine some tiger fishing after I take a buff. Regards, Bob

hello all, i have a question that anybe you can answer for me.
i will be arriving at JIA on sep.29th,we are flying out of NY on the 28th but my conecting flight to vic falls leaves on the morning of the 30th. so we will be staying the night at JIA. do you need to pick up your firearms and re-check them in. or will JIA hold the guns and put them on our conecting flight on the 30th????
thanks for your input.

BB500,

I'm doing the same thing next month. You have to clear customs with your guns if your spending the night. I'm using AIR2000 to help. I used them in 2004 and things went really smooth.

-Steve

I wanted to move this back to the top, since we are getting close to the season. I also have this same information on the Hunting Reports - Africa Forum if you need to look it up in the future.

Regards,

Terry