What Do I Do With My Firearms When Moving Abroad?

 By Steller Firearms Management & Storage

An international move comes with a hundred decisions, and for a Canadian firearm owner one of them is awkward: you can’t pack your firearms with the furniture, you probably can’t take them to your new country, and selling a collection in the last month before a flight is how people lose money. This guide walks through the three real options and explains how the one most people overlook — storing them in Canada — actually works.

Your three options

Sell or transfer. Clean, final, and usually rushed. Non-restricted firearms can be transferred to any licensed buyer. Restricted and prohibited firearms are harder: the pool of eligible buyers is smaller, transfers need CFO approval, and firearms prohibited by the 2020 Order in Council can’t be sold to individuals at all. If you’re not coming back and you don’t want the firearms, this is the answer — but do it on your own timeline, not the movers’.

Export. Legally possible, practically rare. You need a Canadian export permit, an import permit in the destination country, and compliance in every country the firearms transit. Most destinations either prohibit the firearm class outright or require licensing that takes longer than the move. Steller doesn’t advise on export; if you’re considering it, start with Global Affairs Canada and the destination country’s embassy.

Store them in Canada. Keep ownership, keep your options, and decide later. This is the option most people don’t know exists, and it’s what the rest of this guide is about.

How long-term firearm storage works

Steller is federally licensed under Business Firearms Licence 13848590 to store non-restricted, restricted and prohibited firearms at our facility in Delta, BC. Here is the process end to end:

1. You contact us with rough numbers and a departure date. No serial numbers yet — just how many firearms, what classes, and when you leave.
2. We sort the paperwork. Restricted and prohibited firearms need an RCMP Request for Alternate Storage before they can leave your home for ours. We prepare it, you sign it, and the RCMP phones both of us to confirm. Officially this takes a minimum of two weeks, which is why step 1 needs to happen three to four weeks before you fly. Non-restricted firearms need no RCMP paperwork.
3. The firearms travel by Canada Post, from anywhere in Canada. You give us the box dimensions, we generate the label, and the shipping cost is passed through at cost. If you’re in the Lower Mainland we may be able to arrange in-person transfer.
4. Each firearm is received against a signed storage agreement — serial, make, model, photographs — and stored in safes inside a fenced, gated, monitored unit.
5. Billing is monthly or annual. Annual prepay is twelve months for the price of eleven. Current rates are on our storage and payment page.
6. When you want them back — permanently, or for a hunting week while you’re home on a visit — you give us notice and we release them against your signature. Restricted and prohibited firearms need a fresh RCMP approval to come back in, so a visit needs the same two-week lead.

For the full service page, see firearm storage when moving abroad.

Why storage beats a quick decision

Assignments get extended. A two-year posting becomes four. A “temporary” move becomes permanent — or doesn’t. Storage lets your plans change without forcing a firearms decision you can’t undo.

Prohibited firearms have nowhere else to go. If you own a firearm prohibited by the 2020 Order in Council, you can’t sell it to an individual and you can’t export it. Licensed storage is one of the few lawful places for it while its disposition is settled. Our post on whether newly prohibited firearms need an ATT or Request for Alternate Storage covers the mechanics.

Selling from overseas is hard. Try arranging a transfer, a CFO approval and a courier from a different time zone. If you later decide to sell, we can refer you to licensed buyers and handle the release from our end.

Family shouldn’t carry it. Leaving firearms with a relative means they need the right licence for every class you own, proper storage, and the willingness to deal with the RCMP if anything changes. Most families say yes and regret it.

What about my licence while I’m away?

Your PAL stays valid until its expiry regardless of where you live, and it can be renewed from abroad. Keep it current: it’s what makes you the lawful owner of firearms in storage, and it’s what you’ll need to take them back. If your licence lapses while the firearms are with us, talk to us and your CFO early — there are options, but they’re simpler before expiry than after.

Moving within Canada instead?

Different rules, easier logistics — see firearm storage during a move.

Start before the movers are booked

The RCMP paperwork is the long pole. If you contact us as soon as you have a date, the firearms will be in storage before the house is packed, and you’ll have one less thing crossing the Atlantic with you.

Steller Firearms Management & Storage · 604-305-4612 · info@stellermgmt.com · stellermgmt.com · Business Firearms Licence 13848590

This article is general information, not legal advice. Firearms law in Canada changes, and export and import rules differ by country. Confirm current requirements with the Canadian Firearms Program, your Chief Firearms Officer, or a lawyer before transporting, transferring or exporting firearms.