How to order an airsoft gun in New Zealand

Since the assent to law of the Arms (Military Style Semi-automatic Firearms and Import Controls) Amendment Act 2012 in December last year, there has been much confusion and misinformation circulated over the procedures and protocols required to import an airsoft gun into New Zealand. Since the implementation of this law, I have successfully imported four airsoft guns of various types. It is not a difficult or stressful process and ought to be easily possible for anyone who is a member of an airsoft club, ASNZ-affiliated or otherwise.

The legislation is publicly viewable on the parliament.govt.nz website. I encourage you to read the relevant sections. Knowledge is power. http://www.legislation.co.nz/act/public/2012/0117/latest/whole.html

1. Decide what gun you want. A permit is specific to each gun and you need to tell them which gun it is you're getting, so once you apply, you can't change your mind. 
2. Go to your local arms officer and apply for a permit. In order to do this, you'll need proof that you're a member of some club or other. I've always written a letter saying how I'm a paid-up club member and got my group's armourer to sign it, but I don't think that's strictly necessary.
   UPDATE: Our club has printed membership cards with our photos on them now. A friend of mine has confirmed that our local arms officer is happy with just that and not a full letter.
3. The permit will be mailed to you and it will take a few weeks because it has to go to head office in Wellington and back. Quickest I ever got mine was 10 days. They'll send you 3 copies, but you'll probably only need the first one. The first is for customs, the second is for if the exporting store wants a copy and the third is for the local arms office. 
4. Once you have your permit, you can order your gun online. When it asks if you have any special requests about your order, put "I need to have a permit to import this gun through customs in my country. Please print the following clearly on the outside of the package: Permit number: <your permit number>". If that option doesn't come up, no drama, you can just email the store and tell them to do that. That's all you need to do, but Red Wolf asked me to send them a scan of the permit so I sent them a scan of copy 2. 
5. Once they've shipped the item, get the first (original) copy of the permit and mail it to customs with a short letter saying something like "Hey, I've got this gun coming in package <tracking number>, here's my permit for it, any problems, here's my cellphone number to give me a call". I've always addressed mine to "Attn: The arms officer, NZ Customs, Auckland International Mail centre etc." I try to get mine to arrive just before the gun does, but it's no disaster if it's a bit late, since they'll hold the gun for at least a few weeks without a permit before they do anything drastic. 
6. Customs will receive the gun and your permit/letter, have a look at it and forward it on to your address after a few days, along with the permit you sent them, now signed off. If there are any complications (one order of mine, they got the permit number wrong), customs might give you a call (since you were smart enough to give them your cell) and you can sort it out easily over the phone. They're pretty helpful and I just explained what they wanted to know and they were fine with it. 
7. If your purchase was worth more than $400NZ, you'll get a letter saying you need to pay GST (their official policy is they don't bother collecting GST if it's less than $60, 15% of $400). They also sting you with a bunch of other ridiculous bullshit including a biosecurity levy that you have to pay. You can do this over the phone with a credit card, the instructions are on the letter they send you. I would highly advise trying to stay a bit below $400, because this can get quite pricey and it will hold up your order. 
8. Take all the copies of the permit back to the arms officer and give them whatever paperwork they want. I think they're supposed to ask for copy 3 and some other details, but mine just took the signed copy 1.

MYTHS:
The following are fabrications that I have heard bandied about on NZ airsoft pages about the import procedure.

Myth: Only an armourer or licensed dealer can import an airsoft gun.
Reality: "Airsoft Armourer" is not a legal thing. Anyone can claim to be an airsoft armourer, there is no piece of paper which legally proclaims the bearer an airsoft armourer. Armourers in the community build their business on the trust of those in their club alone.

From the Arms Act 1983, a dealer's license is only needed if you plan to make a business selling airguns. I am not a club armourer nor a holder of a dealer's license.
 
Myth: Only members of ASNZ-affiliated clubs may import airsoft guns.
Reality: ASNZ is not the governing body of airsoft in NZ as recognised by the government. No such recognised body exists. I am not a member of ASNZ, nor an ASNZ-affiliated club. You only need to be in a group which plays airsoft regularly.

Myth: You must be a member of a club to own an airsoft gun.
Reality: The provisions for ownership and private sale of an airgun under the Arms Act 1983 remain unchanged by the 2012 amendment. The hint is in the title: "Import controls". There are a few changes to the way in which licensed dealers must conduct their business, but for the general public, you are not breaking any law to buy, sell or own an airsoft gun without any kind of permit, so long as it is not you who is importing it.

Myth: You must get a permit to import parts of an airsoft gun.
Reality: Not true. Part 1, section 7 of the 2012 act quite pointedly omits "parts of restricted airguns" from all clauses mentioning permits. I have imported plenty of parts since the law change and not had any problems. That said, I would not recommend importing enough parts to construct an entire gun in one order. It'll be much better for everyone if we don't push our luck.

LOOPHOLES:
There exists a small loophole in the act as it stands, concerning shotguns and sniper rifles. I have not personally tested it yet. The act defines a restricted airgun as follows:

Notice that a restricted airgun is defined as "having the appearance of a pistol, MSSA or restricted weapon. This excludes two common types of airgun; those resembling pump-action shotguns and those resembling bolt-action sniper rifles. Neither of these types of weapon are pistols, MSSA's or restricted weapons. I talked to the arms officer at the Auckland International Mail Centre, the guy who has to sign off all imported airsoft guns and he said that if a bolt-sniper or a pump-shotgun landed on his desk without a permit, he'd sign it through without a problem. IMPORTANT: NZ law defines a "pistol" as "any gun designed to be fired with one hand, or less that 762mm in length". This means that certain "shorty" pump-shotguns or short-barrelled bolt-rifles may be short enough to hit this restriction and thus, require a permit to import. If in doubt, ask your local arms officer.