another 4457 question a little different

[Hyde Hunter]

went to EC last year and got a new 4457 and will be going next April, my signed 4457 does NOT have an expiration date on so can I use it again as the same rifles will be going again. I think with no expiration date it would be good forever if you take the same items as before

 

[Firebird]

In one of the corners of your permit there will be an exp. Date but usually every four years or something like that.

If nothing else changes, you are good to go.

 

[Hyde Hunter]

yes the new ones do have a date, but mine does not have an expiration date

 

[MontanaPat]

I was told this year to get new ones even though my ones from last year had no expiration date. The reason being that they are dated by CBP when they were signed and that SAPS will only accept them if they are signed in the current year you are applying for your permit into RSA. This is what Afton told me when getting my permit. I was also told the same from someone else, can’t remember who though

 

[Arctic97]

As far as our U.S. Customs is concerned, you can use one that is old - 10 years, whatever. What the form is really for is returning into the United States with high value items (not just firearms) and not getting caught for customs duties on them. The problem is that SAPS in R.S.A. uses this form for their own purpose of granting you a permit for your safari or transit through their country. This is where the confusion comes in. You can maybe get a pre-approved (advance) permit with a form that a U.S. Customs agent signed a year ago - if SAPS doesn't flag it. But then if the officer looks at the papers too close the day you arrive and decides that that form is out of date (as far as HE is concerned) you are basically in a bind. Same if you just take your paperwork with you and plan on doing it upon arrival. I have done it both ways. You will be in a bind if the guy in blue (SAPS) thinks that form is not up to date. No sense arguing with them - it makes things worse. This is why most of us on this forum make an annual trip to U.S. Customs to get new forms signed every year. We just don't want to give any of the boys in blue any reason to hold us up. Or worse yet to deny us our firearms for the hunt we are about to begin.

 

[K-man]

I just returned from Greenland and the baggage handler in ATLANTA on the way back home looked at my 4457 and said, "is this all the forms you have?" I explained I didn't even need that one for them as I had already cleared customs and was simply checking the bag AT THE OVERSIZE BAG COUNTER where they must handle hundreds of firearms a day. She said, "But it's over five years old??" I immediately asked for her supervisor, who instantly said it was fine. Pitiful performance from a Delta airline employee whose only job was to put a bag on the conveyor. But to the O.P. question, U.S. customs doesn't care what year your form is from. Only foreign governments that look at it like it's a "license" so it must be current.

 

[Bigry]

When I went last year my guide recommended within 90 days.

 

[Ridge Runner]

May get by with no expiration date but the date when you signed the 4457 may get you denied if it is over xx months old.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

Henry at RiflePermits advised me new forms each year signed and dated no more than 6 months prior to trip. That's what SAPS will be looking at.

 

[Hyde Hunter]

I just returned from Greenland and the baggage handler in ATLANTA on the way back home looked at my 4457 and said, "is this all the forms you have?" I explained I didn't even need that one for them as I had already cleared customs and was simply checking the bag AT THE OVERSIZE BAG COUNTER where they must handle hundreds of firearms a day. She said, "But it's over five years old??" I immediately asked for her supervisor, who instantly said it was fine. Pitiful performance from a Delta airline employee whose only job was to put a bag on the conveyor. But to the O.P. question, U.S. customs doesn't care what year your form is from. Only foreign governments that look at it like it's a "license" so it must be current.

were you paying for a rifle case? should not have to as it is called sporting equipment, and I did not pay a fee for the last 2 trips

 

[Ridge Runner]

Henry at RiflePermits advised me new forms each year signed and dated no more than 6 months prior to trip. That's what SAPS will be looking at.

+1

 

[K-man]

were you paying for a rifle case? should not have to as it is called sporting equipment, and I did not pay a fee for the last 2 trips

It was a rifle case but not oversized. simply a piece of luggage but they want it taken and delivered to "oversized" baggage area when it has a rifle in it. No extra fee.