PAL Wait Time

Update:

Called BC CFO today to get an update on my application.
Was told that the CFO tried to call me on Sept 4 but was unsuccessful.
So I was transferred to the CFO handling my file.
Went to voicemail, so I left a message.
Got a call back later in the day.

Due to a drug charge I received when I was younger, I had/have a prohibition to possess a firearm. (10 yrs for non-restricted and life ban for restricted)

As of Aug.12, 2019, the prohibition for non-restricted has expired.
So I am now eligible.

Although, because I took my firearms safety course in April 2019 (before the expiration of my prohibition), I now have to take the course again and send a proof of completion to the CFO handling my file.

I will update with more info once I re-take the course and submit my proof.

Hopefully all goes well and my application gets approved as soon as I submit my proof of CFSC completion.

Wish me luck, guys! :)
 
RYoung said:
I had to email my MP twice. He didn't even reply to me personally. He has his staff do it. But they basically said that because I had a peace bond issued to me, they're probably sitting on it to see if anything else arises. The peace bond apparently also waves a "very large" red flag and that my application has most likely been denied and I have not gotten the letter in the mail yet. But online, it still says it's "in progress", and each time I call in, they say the CFO has it.

However, I'm not sure if you read one of my previous entries. But if you are feeling it's taking too long, or you end up waiting as long as I have (just shy of 2 years), a member of the CCFR informed me that there is a court order called a mandamus. It's basically a court order to tell public services, like the RCMP, to do their job. I have yet to confront the CFO with this knowledge that I now possess, but when I call them next week, I'm going to tell them that if my application still hasn't been approved (or denied), then if I do not hear back from them by October 31st, I will seek legal assistance in perusing a mandamus order. They might be waiting for the election to see if we get a pro-gun or anti-gun government. But regardless, 2 years is a long enough wait, and I'm going to take action now. Hope this helps.
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I agree, that's how it does look like they are waiting. Oddly election day is my 8 month market so it's kind of a big deal . The stakes have never been higher for me during an election. Not to mention it really speaks to me lol
 
Sent in my application on Sept 30th. Never been charged with anything, so I'm hoping things go smoothly. The address on the application is in BC, but I'm currently in NS and having my mail forwarded here. I hope that doesn't effect my wait time too long, but I suspect that my application will have to go across the country and back. Any hope of me getting that PAL back by mid-December?
 
Sent in my application a few weeks ago.Always wanted to get my PAL/RPAL and finally went for it after hearing Trudeau's plan to further restrict gun ownership.
No boxes checked. Triple checked all docs and fields, nothing missing.
I'll keep posting updates but here are the details as of today:

Sep 7th: CFSC
Sep 8th: CRFSC
Sep 9th: Mailed (Regular)
Sep 13th: Received at Miramichi - (DAY 1)
Oct 1st: Credit card charged $80 by RCMP & Application shows online as in progress - (DAY 18)
Oct 4th: "Your application has completed initial processing. It is now in progress. Please check the status again at a later date."
No refs called yet.

Time to wait now. Tough times -_-
 
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Damgam74 said:
Btw thanks to you I know of another option if it comes to that but they are still "reviewing" .
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No problem. Glad I could help. And just because they're "reviewing" our application, doesn't mean they're giving any hard attention to it. They say applications are reviewed in order of deliverance. My application was mailed 2 years ago, and I'm still waiting. Meanwhile, I see people in the forums say they got theirs in 2 months recently. I was told that new applicants get extra scrutiny and they might pass my application off to other departments for info verification. Maybe one of those departments is using my application to hold their desk leg up, I don't know, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt until after the election.
 
PAL/RPAL course taken: June 22nd - 23rd 2019

Stamped test result received: July 11th 2019

Application sent: July 12th 2019

Application delivered at Miramichi, NB(notification of Canada Post): July 15th 2019

Card was charged: July 29th 2019

Information was online on July 29th 2019 and it shows
Current Status: Your application has completed initial processing. It is now in progress. Please check the status again at a later date.

Sept 5th 2019:
Received a letter from CFO, asking to fax or email Parmanent Residence Card mentioning that I have not been in Canada for more than 5 years. Matter of fact, I am here for more than 5 years and I am a citizen.

Sept 6th 2019: Fax an explanation letter, along with old PR copy, citizenship certificate and passport copy
That evening, status has been changed to:
Current Status: Your application has been processed and your licence has been issued. If you have not received your licence within 2 weeks please contact the Canadian Firearms Program Toll Free number. (1-800 731-4000)

Sept 13th 2019: License received in mail
 
Updated timeline - Licence issued

April 18 - Application marked as Received.
May 14 - Payment appears on my credit card and status changes to "Your application has completed initial processing. It is now in progress. Please check the status again at a later date."
August 22 - After reading this thread, I decided to send a polite email to the CFO (which actually is the Sûreté du Québec here).
August 23 - I decided calling the RCMP to make sure my application had actually been transferred to Sûreté du Québec, and they confirmed it did. The guy also said he doesn't have any other information to provide, SQ will call me and my references eventually.
August 28 - Since I did not get any reply to my email, I decided to call the Sûreté du Québec directly. A very cool guy answered, he checked and said everything was alright with my file but they were still processing mid-April applications so the delay was normal. He told me I should be getting a phone call within the next 10 days (same for my references), and to call back next Friday if I don't hear form them.
September 6 - Did not get any news, references have not been called. So I gave the SQ a call again. This time, a lady answered. She sounded somewhat pissed, told me I shouldn't be calling that number because it's for emergencies only (which I'm pretty sure isn't true), and that she did not have any other information on my application. She said they're very busy and someone will call my references eventually. I did not insist and remained polite.
September 27 - Still no news. So I decided to try sending another email (didn't want to risk talking to the same lady over the phone). I explained the situation and mentioned I was worried my Bill 9 competency test would expire before I get my licence (yes, I know, I did it too early). The cool guy whom I spoke with a few weeks earlier replied by email almost right away. He said he would transfer my application to someone. Two hours later, I received a phone call from an officer, got asked a few questions, everything was alright. She said she left messages to my two references and needed to talk to them.
October 4 - It took a few days, but my references have been able to return the call and answer the questions. Status changed to "Licence has been issued" on RCMP's website.

I'm now waiting to receive my card. I called to get my licence number so I can place an order online.

If anyone else in Quebec is waiting, my understanding is that things really do move faster when you try contacting the SQ if 1) you've waited a bit and 2) you stay polite.
 
For My kid in Alberta.Just turned 18 (RPAL)
Mailed Sept 4
Received on 11
Issued Oct 9 (28 days) No reference called , Sent in photocopy of AHEIA card and drivers license.
 
28 days


UPDATE: Sent in my application a few weeks ago. Always wanted to get my PAL/RPAL and finally went for it after hearing Trudeau's plan to further restrict gun ownership.
Triple checked all documents and fields, nothing missing.
Application was very straight forward. No boxes checked. Never had any trouble with the law. No conjugal partner.

Timeline:

Sep 7th: CFSC (Passed 96% written, 100% practical)
Sep 8th: CRFSC (Passed 98% written, 100% practical)
Sep 9th: Mailed (Regular)
Sep 13th: Received at Miramichi (Found this out after it appeared online) - (DAY 1)
Oct 1st: Credit card charged $80 by RCMP & application showed online with the message "Your application has completed initial processing. It is now in progress. Please check the status again at a later date." (DAY 21)
Oct 10th: "Your application has been processed and your licence has been issued. If you have not received your licence within 2 weeks please contact the Canadian Firearms Program Toll Free number. (1-800 731-4000)" (DAY 27) - Checked at 10pm PST - would be 28 days going by ADT

I consider myself lucky considering some of the horrendous wait times I have seen in this forum.
Time to wait for the mail then go shopping :)

No references contacted. First time applicant.
Province: BC
 
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wesley.bc said:
28 days from "received" to "issued"

UPDATE: Sent in my application a few weeks ago. Always wanted to get my PAL/RPAL and finally went for it after hearing Trudeau's plan to further restrict gun ownership.
Triple checked all documents and fields, nothing missing.
Application was very straight forward. No boxes checked. Never had any trouble with the law. No conjugal partner.

Timeline:

Sep 7th: CFSC (Passed 96% written, 100% practical)
Sep 8th: CRFSC (Passed 98% written, 100% practical)
Sep 9th: Mailed (Regular)
Sep 13th: Received at Miramichi (Found this out after it appeared online) - (DAY 1)
Oct 1st: Credit card charged $80 by RCMP & application showed online with the message "Your application has completed initial processing. It is now in progress. Please check the status again at a later date." (DAY 21)
Oct 10th: "Your application has been processed and your licence has been issued. If you have not received your licence within 2 weeks please contact the Canadian Firearms Program Toll Free number. (1-800 731-4000)" (DAY 27) - Checked at 10pm PST - would be 28 days going by ADT

I consider myself lucky considering some of the horrendous wait times I have seen in this forum.
Time to wait for the mail then go shopping :)

No references contacted. Never had to call them. First time applicant.
Province: BC
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"Processed in order they're received" my arse. 24 month to the dot tomorrow is when they received it. Still waiting....
 
RYoung said:
"Processed in order they're received" my arse. 24 month to the dot tomorrow is when they received it. Still waiting....
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Processed in order. Not approved in order. Someone has looked at your application and decided it warranted further (or much further) review. I and my partner are in the sam position. I was 44 days from application received to approved. My partner though, who we both expected to be approved first due to a major break up less than 2 years ago (at the time) on my application, is still waiting for hers.. 108 days now.

From the other forums I have read, it appears there is 3 stages of possible review. 1st stage is preliminary and anyone that’s dotted their I’s and crossed their T’s and have no red flags come up on their checks get approved at this stage... In BC it appears to be about 45-60 days. Stage 2 is where something questionable has come up that needs reviewing. Odd posts on Facebook (yes they can look) and other social media/public forums, etc. After review these approvals from what I’ve seen take 6-9 months. Then there’s stage 3. This is where investigation is needed. I can’t even speculate on what gets you sent here but this can take years from what I understand. I have seen approvals after more than 2 years posted on the forums. But usually after some time they just stop trying and don’t update anymore.

Of note I’ve never seen someone on the forums post that they’ve been outright denied... so I’m not certain if that a thing or if they just park the application in a never ending queue of in progress..
 
Trucksrfun said:
Processed in order. Not approved in order. Someone has looked at your application and decided it warranted further (or much further) review. I and my partner are in the sam position. I was 44 days from application received to approved. My partner though, who we both expected to be approved first due to a major break up less than 2 years ago (at the time) on my application, is still waiting for hers.. 108 days now.

From the other forums I have read, it appears there is 3 stages of possible review. 1st stage is preliminary and anyone that’s dotted their I’s and crossed their T’s and have no red flags come up on their checks get approved at this stage... In BC it appears to be about 45-60 days. Stage 2 is where something questionable has come up that needs reviewing. Odd posts on Facebook (yes they can look) and other social media/public forums, etc. After review these approvals from what I’ve seen take 6-9 months. Then there’s stage 3. This is where investigation is needed. I can’t even speculate on what gets you sent here but this can take years from what I understand. I have seen approvals after more than 2 years posted on the forums. But usually after some time they just stop trying and don’t update anymore.

Of note I’ve never seen someone on the forums post that they’ve been outright denied... so I’m not certain if that a thing or if they just park the application in a never ending queue of in progress..
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That's insane. I made that statement because I saw in another forum thread, someone asked how many CFO's are in each province. Someone replied that they believe there's one per province. so if all applications have to be approved or denied by the CFO, and there's only one CFO per province, that would mean they're either throwing the applications that might wave a red flag or require further investigating into a separate pile that they'll never get to, or they pass it off to different departments to have them confirm or investigate information, which could prolong the process big time.

Did both your partner and yourself apply for both PAL and RPAL? Did you use the same references? I heard having someone who has their PAL already as a refence helps a fair bit. I'm thinking they're just waiting until after the election to see if there will be another liberal government, or if someone else will get in and see what they plan to do in regards to firearms.
 
Called today to get an update and a nice lady answered. After confirming my basic personal information she said the license was printed and mailed on the 15th (yesterday) and it would take up to 10 days to receive in the mail.
Took 5 days from being "issued" to being printed and mailed. (Although Monday was a holiday)
It took my application 4 days (excluding the day I dropped it in the mail) to reach Miramichi from BC so I am expecting a similar time period to receive the license.

Side-note: My buddy did the course with me and was also approved right on the 28th day for his RPAL/PAL.
 
Update: BC PAL application

Finally got my license issued on Oct.15, 2019. It took 5.5 months in total (received in miramichi on May 2, 2019.)

I had 1 box checked. No reference called, but I was personally called. Missed the call the first time around and didnt realize it. I called in 1 month later, so the whole process couldve potentially been completed in 4 to 4.5 months.

Due to a charge I received when I was younger, I had a mandatory prohibition order. Minimum of 10 years; expiration was Aug.12, 2019. Since I took the CFSC in April of 2019, the course was negligible to be used for my application and I had to retake the course. Sent in my proof of completion via e-mail and was approved as soon as the CFO received it.

Now, I'm waiting for my physical card to arrive in the mail. Should arrive within the next 2 weeks.
 
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Sorry guys I’m a newbie here! Does anyone know if your PAL application would be delayed if you we born in England? I have been a Canadian citizen for over 45 years. Application was received July 20 and status has not changed on site when I check. I Called 2 weeks ago and the woman on phone seemed like I was putting her out. She reluctantly told me it was in CFO’s hands and to call back in 3 weeks? Any input would be great. Thanks!
 
Fishinmusician63 said:
Sorry guys I’m a newbie here! Does anyone know if your PAL application would be delayed if you we born in England? I have been a Canadian citizen for over 45 years. Application was received July 20 and status has not changed on site when I check. I Called 2 weeks ago and the woman on phone seemed like I was putting her out. She reluctantly told me it was in CFO’s hands and to call back in 3 weeks? Any input would be great. Thanks!
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I was born outside of Canada (I am a citizen now, have been for over 10 years now) and got approved in 28 days. I also have a few friends that were born outside of Canada but were approved within 45 days.
So I don't think it's a deciding factor, it's gotta be something else.
 
Thanks wesley.bc. I’m in Ontario and don’t understand. my nephew and I took course and applied same time but he had missing info on his application, so I understand why he hasn’t rec’d his. Had no for all my responses on application I have no criminal record, no trouble with police, been widowed for 7 years. Just doesn’t make sense. It was discouraging when I talked to them, I understand they are prob busy but she couldn’t get me off phone fast enough, going to call again next week, hope I don’t get the same person.
 
wesley.bc said:
I was born outside of Canada (I am a citizen now, have been for over 10 years now) and got approved in 28 days. I also have a few friends that were born outside of Canada but were approved within 45 days.
So I don't think it's a deciding factor, it's gotta be something else.
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10-17-2019, 08:46 PM #2720
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Thanks wesley.bc. I’m in Ontario and don’t understand. my nephew and I took course and applied same time but he had missing info on his application, so I understand why he hasn’t rec’d his. Had no for all my responses on application I have no criminal record, no trouble with police, been widowed for 7 years. Just doesn’t make sense. It was discouraging when I talked to them, I understand they are prob busy but she couldn’t get me off phone fast enough, going to call again next week, hope I don’t get the same person.
 
Fishinmusician63 said:
Thanks wesley.bc. I’m in Ontario and don’t understand. my nephew and I took course and applied same time but he had missing info on his application, so I understand why he hasn’t rec’d his. Had no for all my responses on application I have no criminal record, no trouble with police, been widowed for 7 years. Just doesn’t make sense. It was discouraging when I talked to them, I understand they are prob busy but she couldn’t get me off phone fast enough, going to call again next week, hope I don’t get the same person.
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From what I gather on this thread, it helps to consistently call in and ask for an update, politely of course, wouldn't want to piss off the wrong person haha
Maybe try your CFO, might be something as simple as an interview that's prolonging it. Best of luck to you.
 
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