OTTAWA –
Some travelers wishing to receive their passports will now be able to request that their mailing be transferred to one of Service Canada’s more than 300 local centers for processing.
They can also now do so even if their need for a passport is slightly less urgent, such as for those planning to leave the country in the next few weeks instead of a few days.
Until now, applicants in the queue could only request a transfer by visiting one of Canada’s 35 dedicated passport sites or by contacting the call centre.
The new policy will apply to anyone who completed their application by post more than 20 working days ago, allowing enough time for it to be entered into the system, and has proof of travel within 20 working days of the who requested a transfer.
Social Development Minister Karina Gould says that depending on when the person plans to travel, the application will either be expedited and their passport will be mailed, or their file will be transferred to a local print and receive service.
People who have not waited the required 20 days, but still need their passport quickly because they have upcoming travel plans, can request to have their applications transferred to a Service Canada location, but will have to pay additional fees.
The changes come after months of stressful waits for Canadians to renew their passports and long, frantic lines at passport offices as workers scramble to expedite the necessary documents.
Last month, the prime minister announced he would convene a committee of cabinet ministers to tackle the problems with waiting times and backlogs for immigration applications and passport processing, which he called “unacceptable”.
The government aims to process 90 percent of applications mailed from Canada or made at a Service Canada counter within 20 business days of receipt.
Only 49 per cent of all mail-in and Service Canada applications processed last week met the 20-day target, government statistics show.
Gould says the changes will speed up processing times for overdue passports and shorten the emergency application list at passport offices.
The government blames the long wait on the fact that few people have renewed or applied for new passports during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that people can more easily and safely leave the country, the pent-up demand has hit the government in a huge wave.
The government expects to receive more than four million passport applications this year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 29, 2022.
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