Weapons and dangerous objects
You must always give Swedish Customs notification if you are crossing Sweden’s border with a weapon that requires a permit. Failure to do this is punishable.
Several public authorities are responsible for ensuring compliance with the rules for carrying weapons and dangerous objects into or from Sweden: Swedish Customs, the Swedish Police Authority, Sweden’s Inspectorate of Strategic Products and the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority.
The different authorities have different roles:
- Swedish Customs checks that the rules are complied with at the border.
- The Swedish Police Authority and Sweden’s Inspectorate of Strategic Products issue permits for the importation and exportation of weapons.
- The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority is responsible for issuing permits for the importation of laser pointers.
Travelling with firearms and ammunition for hunting and competition
Buying weapons and dangerous objects while travelling abroad
Applicable rules
Swedish Customs’ powers are regulated in several pieces of legislation:
- Tullagen (2016:253) (information about the Swedish Customs act in Swedish)
- Lag (1996:701) om Tullverkets befogenheter vid Sveriges gräns mot ett annat land inom Europeiska unionen (information about the internal border act in Swedish)
- Vapenlagen (1996:67) (information about Sweden’s offensive weapons act in Swedish)
- Vapenförordning (1996:70) (information about Sweden’s offensive weapons ordinance in Swedish)
- Lag (1992:1300) om krigsmateriel (information about Sweden’s military equipment act in Swedish)
- Förordning (1990:415) om tillstånd till införsel av vissa farliga föremål (information about Sweden’s permits for importation of certain dangerous objects ordinance in Swedish)
- Strålskyddslag (1988:220) (information about Sweden’s radiation protection act in Swedish)
- Strålskyddsförordning (1988:293) (information about Sweden’s radiation protection ordinance in Swedish)
- Lag (2000:1225) om straff för smuggling (information about Sweden’s penalties for smuggling act in Swedish)
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What is updated: New link to learn about receiving a gift with weapons