New Firearms Act enters into force

The new Firearms Act entered into force on Friday with the view to remove the suitability test and link to place of residence, and the lengthening of the right to acquire a weapon.

In addition, weapon collectors will lose the right to keep a file instead of a permit, said press release issued by the police.

Superintendent Tarja Ranta of the National Police Board commented that the decision was taken to stop suitability tests due to their lack of usefulness.

“Evaluation of the suitability of the person in question will be tightened up by developing interviews into a more central element of licence assessment. So firearms safety will not be weakened, despite the removal of the suitability test,” she said.

Removing the link to place of residence will streamline the licence consideration process, since the application can be handled and a decision made in the police department where the application is filed.

“In practice, it has been possible to file applications in a police department other than the one nearest the applicant's home, but they have had to be transferred for processing and decision-making. This step will be unnecessary after the change,” said Ranta.

Until now, the right to acquire a firearm or produce one privately has been valid for up to six months. This period will now be extended to one year, or up to two years for special reasons. This will provide more room for manoeuvre and time to find or make a suitable weapon. The new law will include weapon collectors in the firearm licensing procedure.

“Instructions for weapon collectors will be drawn up in January,” said Ranta.

The second phase of the change to the Firearms Act will enter into force on 1 December 2018 when, for example, the online processing of firearms issues will begin.