r/canadaguns • u/yeezyXgym • Apr 03 '26

Application / Regulation advice Permanent Resident (UK to Canada)

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are planning to apply for our PAL. She’s Canadian and I’m British with a PR status, moved to Canada in October 2024 (expat).

I understand that since I’ve lived in Canada for less than 5 years, I’ll likely need to provide a UK police certificate (ACRO).

A few questions for anyone who’s gone through this as a PR:

Has anyone applied as a PR with less than 5 years residency?

Did RCMP require a recent ACRO or accept older ones (mines dated 2024)?

Anything specific with references/background checks as a newcomer?

Thanks in advance and thanks for the guidance🙌

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u/Sco0basTeVen Apr 03 '26

I am also a UK citizen who has Canadian PR. I got my PAL in 2015, the same year I got my PR after living in Canada for 3 years previously.

I don’t recall having to provide a police certificate. You had to provide one for the PR process right? Don’t see why you would need one again for a PAL, unless things have changed in the last 10 years

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u/yeezyXgym Apr 04 '26

Congrats! Hope you’ve been enjoying Canada🙌

Yes I provided one for the PR process, but I did fly back a few weeks ago to visit family, and my new sister (my parents are still having kids lol) so not sure if they’ll need me to reapply since I was there for almost 20 days?

My friend said it’s better to just be safe at this point and apply anyways just incase it delays it further