Permanent Resident (UK to Canada)

[u/yeezyXgym]

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🙌

[u/Heavy_Newspaper_5546]

I was also PR under 5 years when I applied for RPAL back then. Submitted Police Clearance from country of origin as an extra requirement. Thats pretty much it. Only took a cursory glance at the Canadian firearms laws before I moved here so it was a shock when I looked into the laws in detail as I had a concealed carry license before I immigrated and thought I could get the same here. Im still in shock with the laws as they dont make sense at all but thats a conversation for another day