- New guarantor policy in effect
The Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Foreign Affairs today announced a new guarantor policy for Canadian passports. This new policy allows most Canadian adult passport holders residing in Canada or the U.S. to act as guarantors for passport applications.
- Simplified Passport Renewal Process
As of August 15, 2007, Canadians living in Canada who meet certain eligibility criteria can now renew their passport through the Simplified Passport Renewal Process.
- Processing times
As of November 13, 2007:
In most cases, our offices can now process in-person applications within a delay of 2 weeks plus delivery delay.
However, applicants should be aware that they may face long line-ups at our offices before they meet with a passport officer.
It may take up to 6 weeks to process applications sent by mail within Canada. Applications submitted through a receiving agent (Canada Post or Service Canada) may be processed in 5 weeks or less.
It may take up to 7 weeks to process applications received by mail from the United States.
Complexity of routine verifications and security checks in certain cases may trigger longer delays.
To avoid further delays in getting your passport, make sure your application is complete. Please note that standards are set as objectives and may change based on the volume of applications being received. While not bound by these objectives, Passport Canada continues to seek ways to reduce service delays. Please visit our website regularly as this page will be updated weekly.