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/expatsaffer Apr 03 '26

Things have probably changed since, but when I moved from the UK to Canada I imported my firearms. The RCMP took them and held them until I had my PAL. At that time, the same paperwork that I provided for PR was accepted by the RCMP for the PAL.

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u/expatsaffer Apr 03 '26

Forgot to mention: that was in 2008.

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u/yeezyXgym Apr 04 '26

Thank you, how was your move? I’ve found Canada to be significantly more organised than the UK last I flew back a few weeks ago