Permit Price
£180
Getting Your Firearms Permit for Tanzania
Last Updated:
March 5, 2026
Processing Time
8 weeks minimum via outfitter and TAWA
Authority
Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA) via outfitter
Difficulty
Complex
Best Hunting Months
Jul–Oct (dry season; optimal conditions)
Tristan Dummer
Founder
Tanzania is the beating heart of African hunting — the Selous, Moyowosi, and Maswa game reserves host some of the continent’s finest plains game and dangerous game safaris. The permit process is handled almost entirely by your outfitter and Professional Hunter, but requires considerable lead time and precise documentation from your end. No UK export paperwork is required for temporarily travelling with your own firearms.
Step 1: Engage Your Outfitter — At Least Three Months Out
The Tanzanian firearm import permit is arranged by your outfitter through the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA). Submit the application at least two months before your arrival — three months is strongly recommended. You may bring up to three firearms and a maximum of 200 rounds per calibre. Minimum calibre for dangerous game is .375 H&H; minimum for other game is .240. Handguns, semi-automatic, and fully automatic firearms are strictly prohibited.
Step 2: Prepare Your Documentation
You will need to provide your outfitter with: a notarised copy of your UK Firearm Certificate as proof of lawful ownership, six passport-sized photographs, and photographs of each firearm clearly showing the serial number. Your outfitter submits all documentation to TAWA on your behalf. The permit fee is USD $350 per rifle.
Step 3: Arrival at Dar es Salaam or Kilimanjaro International Airport
On arrival, follow the sequence: immigration, baggage collection, then the firearms office. Your permit will be issued at the airport after serial numbers are checked against the TAWA documentation. Factor adequate time into any connection schedule — do not proceed without completing firearms clearance.
Step 4: Re-export on Departure
All firearms must leave Tanzania with you. Present all firearms and remaining ammunition to customs for re-export clearance at departure. Retain all documentation for the return journey.
We can manage your application for you
We handle the forms in collaboration with the authorities to make sure everything is in your hands or on your phone before you fly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Some hunting and sporting competition shoots ask outfitters and hosts to organise their guests temporary firearms permits. Your outfitter will be able to do this on your behalf through the Ambulo platform or you can do it yourself.
For outfitters and hosts organising permits for their guests, please contact tristan@ambulo.co to streamline this process.
To amend your application and your permit, before you travel, you need to contact us at least 14 days before your departure date. If you need to make amends to your permit, please email tristan@ambulo.co
Generally, you do not need to buy an additional permit for your stopover. However, some countries may require you to buy an additional permit. This is generally on a country by country basis. For example, if you are travelling to Poland, but flying to Germany and driving across, you may have to buy a permit for Germany, depending on the location.
Permit costs vary depending on the country you are travelling to. Once our permits go live you will be able to see a full pricing break down. We have priced this to be roughly the same price as hiring a rifle or shotgun at your final destination. Nothing beats taking your own equipment across!
At the moment, extending the length of your permit duration is not possible. We advise that you ask your host to either add a buffer time frame to the end of your trip in case you would like to stay longer. You can of course come back earlier if needs be but the duration and date of validity for your permit is linked to your arrival and departure dates you set out in your application.
For business and partnerships, please contact tristan@ambulo.co
At the moment, Ambulo only provides permits for the destination you are hunting within. If you are driving to your destination and crossing countries, you will have to follow each countries firearm rules and restrictions. This generally means you will need a permit for each country, if you are driving through Europe, for example.
We do not offer refunds at the moment, but is something we are working on. The reason we do not offer refunds is based on the agreements set by consulates, embassies and police forces of the destination countries.
You can either scan your Firearms License, Passport and letter of invitation through a traditional printer scanner, or use an application like Turbo Scan.
If you are using an app that converts photos into a scanned file, ensure all areas of the pages you scan are clear and legible and are saved as a PDF. For people with a UK firearms license, where your certificate contains multiple pages, ensure all pages are photographed and collated into one PDF.