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Moved from London to Oxford 19 years ago and don't feel the need to move again yet.

6 weeks in here a long way to go!

Appointment booked for home visit, it is the end of January so a little more waiting before it yet.

Well that is a start :)

Definitely moving in the right direction, although I am not counting on anything until I have the piece of paper in my hand.

Plus it is nice to see that I am not the only one working today.

Just ticking past 11 weeks here now, 7 months in total from start of probation. Starting to drag on!

I decided not to count since the start of probation (especially has I had completed probation at another club, not applied for FAC as I was shooting air, and then let that membership lapse), but only since putting the application in the post, so only about 3 months so far.

Can anyone say how long it took between FEO visit and getting the bit of paper in their hands in Thames Valley?

I also checked with my referees and neither of them have been contacted yet.

If it helps, in Devon they never contacted my referees..

Like references on a CV, what is the point, you are hardly going to put down people who are not going to fight your corner (unless you are really dumb)

In Gloucestershire, the police contacted one of my referees within a couple of weeks of submitting my FAC application. They have never contacted the other one. She was interviewed over the telephone. My FAC application went in on 19th November 2017. They also wrote to my doctor within a couple of weeks, demanding a response within three weeks. My doctor charged me £20 for her report. They've never charged me for anything to do with my SGC renewal on at least five occasions now but I couldn't be arsed to argue with them over £20.

About a month after I'd put my application in, I had a letter from the police stating that I had failed to answer questions about my experience with the firearms I'd requested. I wasn't aware I had to show experience (I'm a full member of a local club) but, in any event, I have plenty of experience, so I detailed all that in a letter, sent it recorded delivery within 24 hours, and also sent it in an email "belt and braces". I've heard nothing since.

I presume, if I'd "failed" the referee or medical part, they would have kicked my application into touch by now so I guess I'm now awaiting my FEO visit.

A good mate of mine in the same county waited nearly seven months from application to FEO visit (he is also an existing SGC holder), which took place in early January. He still doesn't have his FAC so I'm not expecting any movement with mine, any time soon.

What gets me a bit is that, having demanded a near-instant response from referees and doctors, they then seem to do nothing for months....

The speed of Processing an Application is Inverseley Proportional to the Speed of Cashing the Cheque !!

Good luck Plumose and have plenty of biccies on hand !

Personally I cannot get my head around how TVP work - a shooting colleague waited nearly 8 months if not longer for his Renewal to be processed - I moved house and exactly 7 days after Notification (including the weekend) my updated Tickets arrived on the Mat.