Shorten PAL Approval Times

Patients grasshopper.Mine was in the system Jan 12,I called and was very polite and Feb 8 licence has been approved........Call the 1-800 number and charm the young ladies and watch the process speed up.

My application FINALLY got entered into the system. They charged my CC today too. During the 4 times I've called over the past three weeks, I've been super duper polite - and charming.

When I called today, I asked if any information was missing, "Brenda" - if that's her real name - said no. When I asked if it was possible to do my interview over the phone, she said "We don't allow interviews when applicants call in. Only when we call you."

Interesting, since many on this thread have reported being able to call in for the interviews.
 
My application FINALLY got entered into the system. They charged my CC today too. During the 4 times I've called over the past three weeks, I've been super duper polite - and charming.

When I called today, I asked if any information was missing, "Brenda" - if that's her real name - said no. When I asked if it was possible to do my interview over the phone, she said "We don't allow interviews when applicants call in. Only when we call you."

Interesting, since many on this thread have reported being able to call in for the interviews.

You can definitely call in for your interviews and your references interviews, it may take a few days after your application shows up online but try this number/ext

1 800 731 4000
Follow the prompts choose "1" for knowing the extension number you wish to reach
Extension 2533
Your reference and you will need to give them your application number which is the 10 digit number between the hyphens on the Status of your application page on the CFC website.
 
My application FINALLY got entered into the system. They charged my CC today too. During the 4 times I've called over the past three weeks, I've been super duper polite - and charming.

When I called today, I asked if any information was missing, "Brenda" - if that's her real name - said no. When I asked if it was possible to do my interview over the phone, she said "We don't allow interviews when applicants call in. Only when we call you."

Interesting, since many on this thread have reported being able to call in for the interviews.

I got sorta the same answer with one girl then a second girl flat out said the with Non Restricted Apps they did not need interviews. Maybe that's the case with you ?
 
You can definitely call in for your interviews and your references interviews, it may take a few days after your application shows up online but try this number/ext

1 800 731 4000
Follow the prompts choose "1" for knowing the extension number you wish to reach
Extension 2533
Your reference and you will need to give them your application number which is the 10 digit number between the hyphens on the Status of your application page on the CFC website.

I'll give it a couple days and try that. Thanks.

I got sorta the same answer with one girl then a second girl flat out said the with Non Restricted Apps they did not need interviews. Maybe that's the case with you ?

Considering mine was for restricted, I hope that's not the case. It seems they all say something different though, doesn't it?

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever heard of someone NOT being interviewed for their RPAL and being issued a license? Maybe someone slipped through the cracks?
 
I have both my rpal and my pal and here is what i can tell you. When I received my pal I had no references called. When I applied for my rpal, myself and both references were called. I was lucky enough to get the phone call for my interview..It will come up on call display as private number. As soon as i had my interview i asked for my reference number which they gave to me. My two other references missed the calls or didnt pick up because of the private number on their display. I promptly called them and had them call in with the reference number to the above extension. 2533 i think. As soon as my last reference interview was done my license was issued. ( For you current pal holders this was after the 25th day not the 28 days i was told i would have to wait). I received my card in the mail 11 days after it was approved. Calling in a bunch of times wont really help in my opinion as i did this myself. just stay patient, check online and pick up any phone calls a week or so after it's posted online as "in progress". Hope this helps.
 
I called on day 102 and asked if they needed any additional info or if there was anything else they required. She said "nope, it's with one of our CFO's and he'll get to it when he gets to it." What I did find out however, is that they recieved it just after xmas like I said earlier but it wasn't even assigned to an officer until Jan 27. Meaning it sat at their office for a month before it was even designated to someone. This entire time mine has read the same "processing" message on the website. Not much I can do about it except wait it out, oh and comlpain on here.
 
So my last reference did her interview on the 14th of feb. spoke to the rcmp today (19th) and they said my application was with the ontario CFO. I asked if I could get my girl friend to call the CFO to speed up the application process, as thats there job, and to my delight, the lady said as long as she signed the application they wouldn't have to contact her...... Awesome I thought! Then she said "now it's in their office, so it could be 5 days or five months till there done with it"

Five days to FIVE MONTHS!?!?!?!?

Guess I better hurry up and wait some more.

If anyone has any comments for me, please pm me, as this thread is to damn long to read......I'll be on some website looking at all the cool things I can't have......
 
It's amazing the different experiences that people have with this. I called in last week to have my interview and then the next day my references called in and the same day my license was issued. Just waiting for it to arrive in the mail now.
 
I did my interview, then handed off the phone to one of my references, my application came up as issued within 2 minutes of my second reference finishing his interview. It seems to be a total mixed bag.
 
Sent in my application January 2.

Appeared online three weeks later.

Interviews February 12.

Still sitting at "completed initial processing..."
 
my brother in law applied for his pal in may. Got married in aug. (previously his gf, was his reference) BC CFO called in sept demanded new paperwork sent back to cfo with signed paperwork from his new wife. Mailed off asap. Didnt Hear anything so he called in spoke to bc cfo multiple times and was finally issued on wed. so 10 months for a pal. Crazy.
 
So my last reference did her interview on the 14th of feb. spoke to the rcmp today (19th) and they said my application was with the ontario CFO. I asked if I could get my girl friend to call the CFO to speed up the application process, as thats there job, and to my delight, the lady said as long as she signed the application they wouldn't have to contact her...... Awesome I thought! Then she said "now it's in their office, so it could be 5 days or five months till there done with it"

Five days to FIVE MONTHS!?!?!?!?

Guess I better hurry up and wait some more.

If anyone has any comments for me, please pm me, as this thread is to damn long to read......I'll be on some website looking at all the cool things I can't have......

Ok, so i think this was said because the lady i was speaking to wanted to cover her butt..... My license was issued 3 days later!


In the meantime you can contact your provincial CFO and ask for your PAL number. Even the Ontario CFO gives out this information.

When i contacted the RCMP, the lady wouldn't forward me to the Ontario CFO, because i told her i wanted my PAL #..... she said it wouldent matter because they "Dont give that out over the phone"....
That struck me as odd?
Is this just an over zealous employee??? Im assuming many others have received there info over the phone??... She went on to explain that the number alone is useless as you have to show your card to purchase anything..... when i mentioned Online purchases.... she froze, then said..."mmm...OK.." and asked if there was anything else she could help me with.....
Out of confusion i said no and she hung up, but i regret not pressing the matter
 
Just a bit on my experience with the PAL application...I sent in my application on December 29, 2012. In mid-January, it appeared online as "in progress" and indicated that my application was received on January 7, 2013.

I started to get a little impatient so this week, I decided to try calling in and requesting to do my interview, as recommended in this thread. The lady I spoke with said that she would first look through all of my information to see if my application was complete, and once she did that, she told me that my PAL application would be issued and that I would receive my license in about two weeks. I was a bit surprised as I thought interviews were always part of the process.

As soon as I got off the phone, I did another online status check and sure enough, it said that my license was issued and that I would receive it in about two weeks.
 
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