Travelling with a firearm to Romania, by country of origin

What Romania asks of every foreign hunter

Three documents valid for the whole stay: a hunting licence from your home country, international accident insurance covering hunting in Romania, and a firearms permit for each gun you bring. On top of those, the outfitter files a temporary import authorisation for the firearms and ammunition with the Romanian police, which needs your rifle details – make, calibre, serial number – at least 15 days before arrival. The limit is two rifles per hunter and fifty cartridges per rifle. Firearms only: bows and crossbows are not lawful hunting means, and suppressors are forbidden. Thermal and night-vision sights are legal only for boar, jackal and fox under a Ministry derogation.

That is the Romanian half, and we handle it. The other half is leaving your own country and re-entering it with the same gun, which nobody in Romania can do for you.

EU citizens: the European Firearms Pass

If you live in the EU, the European Firearms Pass (EFP) issued by your national authority is the key document. Combined with a written hunting invitation – which we issue – it lets you carry the firearms listed on it across EU borders for the purpose of hunting without a separate export licence. German, Austrian, French, Italian and Spanish hunters travel on the EFP routinely; make sure the rifle you are bringing is actually entered on the pass and that the pass has not expired. Ammunition travels with you within the fifty-per-rifle limit. Airlines add their own rules: declare the firearm at check-in, lock it in a hard case, pack ammunition separately in original boxes, and check the carrier’s weight limit for ammunition (commonly 5 kg).

United Kingdom: after Brexit

The EFP is no longer available to UK residents. A British hunter needs the firearm certificate (FAC) listing the rifle, our invitation, and the Romanian temporary import authorisation. Leaving the UK with a rifle for a hunting trip abroad is permitted under the FAC; the practical friction is the transit – flights via an EU hub mean the firearm is in transit through that country, and Schengen airports handle this routinely as long as the gun stays in checked baggage. On return, UK Border Force will want to see the FAC and match serial numbers. Many British clients now rent on site to avoid the airline step; we have rifles in the common Carpathian calibres.

United States: CBP Form 4457 and the airline

American hunters face two extra pieces of paper. Before departure, register the rifle with US Customs and Border Protection on Form 4457 (Certificate of Registration for Personal Effects Taken Abroad) – it is what proves on the way home that the rifle left the country with you. In Romania, the temporary import authorisation covers the visit. Ammunition is the awkward part: US airlines cap it at 11 lb (5 kg), and some European carriers on the onward leg are stricter, so many US hunters bring the rifle and buy or rent ammunition here. Bring your state hunting licence as the “home-country licence” document and an insurance certificate that explicitly names hunting.

Switzerland and other non-EU Europeans

Switzerland adopted the European Firearms Pass itself when it joined Schengen, so a Swiss hunter travels on a real EFP plus our invitation, and we confirm what the Romanian side needs for your dates; Norwegian and Serbian hunters need an export permit from their home police plus our paperwork. In all three cases the constant is the 15-day lead time on the Romanian side – send the rifle details when you book, not when you pack.

The calibre question

Romanian law sets a minimum calibre, and the administrator of each hunting ground fixes which calibres and ammunition may be used there, so send us your rifle details at booking and we will confirm them. What the guides ask for in practice: .270, 7×64 and .30-06 for red deer and mouflon; 9.3×62 or 8×57 with a red-dot for driven boar; .243 to .270 for roe; .338 Win Mag or 9.3×64 for bear. If you would rather not fly with a gun at all, rental on site is straightforward – bring the hunting licence and we sort the rest at booking.