Has anyone done this on their own recentlu?

I submitted the filled out form, and all the required documents (Flight Itinerary, Passport, 4457's, Letter of Invitation)

I sent this by email on Tuesday and have yet to get any kind of response.
How do I know that they have received it and are working on it...

Do they respond in anyway, or does the "Approval" show up in my email two weeks before I leave?

Do I keep sending email every 2 or 3 days with teh form and documents?

I don't speak Dutch, would I get an individual that speaks English if I call?

Just looking for advice...

Thank you in advance!

I did one, it was interesting, but not fun. When they can't find your paperwork and they want to know what the letter "Y" is you start to wish you had left it to the professionals. They don't send them out till the last minute sometimes.

I have always used Gracy because they stay n top of this.

The Netherlands does not respond until shortly, like a week or two before the flight with the information, even using the various services. They also do not typically let you know if they received something until they are ready to release it.

I would think if you spoke Dutch and could call during regular business hours with the right phone number they would help you out, as I have found the Dutch customs officers easy to deal with when I was in Holland, but trying to do something remotely is difficult, thus why most recommend using the services as they have the right numbers and make sure the forms are filled out right.

I can't say the form is really difficult to fill out, but they do have some oddities in it.

Don't know if that helps at all.

+1 on using a service but, that being said, I have always found Dutch customs officials and police officers to be very helpful. Every Dutch person learns English alongside Dutch from kindergarten so, if you call, you can be sure the person on the line will speak competent English.

I have filed the form 3times myself an Will attest it is indeed a pain. Each time I called the contact person spoke perfect English. They will not send form until 2weeks out and if you do not have it by that time you must call. If I go thru Amsterdam again I will let travel agent fret over the form. I am told they always grant the permit .

A few years ago an anti (I presume) screwed with me for months. I could track the email with software and he still said it never arrived. I called and spoke with the "boss." Then it was a Mr. Trump. He said my papers were there and he faxed the form back to me. I don't go through Europe any longer.
cal

I recommend making your travel arrangements with Travel with Guns. Steve and company will stay on top of this and even then, it's a bit nerve-racking. It's always a relief to get the permit.

Well that was not as painful as I was fearing...

Submitted by email my application.

Planned to call next week to make sure they had received it and that I filled it out correctly.

Wednesday morning I woke to an email with my certificate.

14 days from submission wasn't bad at all, now all I have to do is look forward to this summer's trip.

Thanks all for the feedback!!!

Bob,

That's quick. They usually only issue the permits a week or two before you are scheduled to transit.

After months of talking to "the man", whose name I have forgotten who is in charge, I about gave up as he could care less about processing these applications. I called Steve at Travels with Guns and I had it the next day. Not a coincidence.

Did that last trip. Filed the forms online and never got a confirmation or response. So I had printed copies with me just incase.

On arrival I was leaving the airport on a day trip during the layover. Going through the customs gate I produced the printed copies and handed them to the young policeman working the desk. I asked if he would check to make sure my rifle was going to be ok intransit. After he confirmed that there was an electronic copy on file and everything was ok he asked why I had a rifle. I replied that I was hunting elephants in Zimbabwe. His mouth fell open and he asked incredulously why I would do that. Kill an elephant. My reply was "For my own entertainment." He was speechless. His buddies at the other desks burst out laughing and motioned for me to go.

I try not to stir up the idiots whenever possible. It is funny given that it apparently worked out ok.

If you travel abroad as much as I have, the first and foremost lesson to be learned is don't start something you can't finish, always maintain a polite and humble attitude and put your give-a-s---ter in neutral....

I had a client that heard how corrupt Tanzania was on one of these internet blogs, and that bribery was a way of life, so he got in a brew ha ha with a Tanzania Customs official at the airport, and as one would expect from this ugly America he tossed a couple of $20 bills on the counter, sneered, and started to make his way to his flight..

He called me that night in tears from a Tanzania jail, he and his wife had separate cells, talk about a horror story...Fortunately for him I had a friend who can handle about any disaster and made a phone call in the middle of the night and got them out of jail,at a price, and they were escorted to a flight with instructions to never return to Tanzania.

You can bribe officials in Tanzania or in about any 3 world country but you better know the protocol to do that..Hmmm, may be the same in the good old USA..Had a Mexican high ranking policeman tell me over a couple of shots of tequila the ony difference in bribes in his country and mine was they ( the Mexicans) laid the cash on top of the table!!

Bottom line is walk softly and when in Rome and do as Romans do.