Class 3 Medical 3 month wait for non-citizen?

[Whiplash]

Hello Everyone!

I am a temporary worker in Canada and soon to become a permanent resident.
I got the lifelong dream, I got the flight school and so it was time to do the medical for my Private Pilot License, which I just had a few hours ago.

I saw the doctor stamp the "Fit" seal of approval on the form and she told me she'd send it off but that it would probably take 3 months for me to hear from Transport Canada as I am not a Canadian citizen and it will take a long time to do the security checks. (I am Belgian).

Do any of you have any experience with this? Is there something I can do to help them speed up the process? I have recent police extracts from my home country showing a clean record along with certified translation which they might be interested in seeing?

Either way, thank you for you feedback! I hope I can get some flying time in before the snow starts falling

Cheers,
Whip

[photofly]

It's the first I've heard of "security checks" involved in a medical. In fact it's the first I've heard of security checks involved in Canadian pilot licensing at all.

I"m not Canadian and I didn't wait anything like 3 months for a medical to be issued. So I going to call complete "BS" on that one.

[Whiplash]

Awesome, thanks for that.

[photofly]

There's nothing in the TC Civil Aviation website medical section about it.

[Whiplash]

Photofly, I have another question!
As a non-citizen, does this have any other effects in private pilot licensing?

I saw something about "Foreign or military pilot licensing"?

Thank you sir,
Whiplash

[Whiplash]

Ok so apparently it's all the same to Transport Canada.
The only mention of foreign applicants is that Foreign Private Pilots must undergo a Canadian PSTAR Theoretical exam..

[Boratt]

I call total BS or just plain misinformation.
I was not a Canadian for the first 5 years in Canada. Did my medicals every year and flight training for the first year. Never had any wait that long. All processed as "efficiently" as the bureaucracy could.
The medicals always came in within a couple weeks.
Licences were a little longer (they say up to 90 days) for the actual sticker, but you do have the temporary one from the flight examiner.
My group 1 took longer than the 90 days prescribed. I phoned TC and they emailed me a copy while the hard copy came in the mail.
Pretty straightforward most of the time.

[photofly]

Ok so apparently it's all the same to Transport Canada.
The only mention of foreign applicants is that Foreign Private Pilots must undergo a Canadian PSTAR Theoretical exam..

To clear up any misunderstanding, it's pilots with foreign licenses who wish to convert that take the PSTAR, not pilots with foreign nationality.

[Whiplash]

Indeed,

Ok so after a 2 week wait I call Transport Canada Quebec and they say they still didn't receive my file. I call the doctor and she forgot to send it in. The Doctor faxed it in and my medical got approved the same day. The nice people at TP call me back to ask if I want to pick it up and avoid having to wait on the mailman. Excellent!

This theoretically means my medical could have been approved within 3 days.

[photofly]

she told me she'd send it off but that it would probably take 3 months for me to hear from Transport Canada as I am not a Canadian citizen and it will take a long time to do the security checks.

I call the doctor and she forgot to send it in.

Hilarious.