How long of a wait for passports? [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

mbb

09-12-2005, 09:47 AM

:wave2: Hi everyone,
Sending them today and just wondering when to expect them back? I have heard a horror story of one person waiting 5 months! We'd be in trouble if that was true as we leave Jan 15/06. Thanks :sunny:

Like mom_rules said, dropping off - a week or so...mailing them, 2 weeks...

Which reminds me, I've got to send mine in too!!:)

:sunny:

maryliz

09-12-2005, 09:51 AM

We did ours by taking them in personally as well. My SIL mailed hers and had it about 4-5 weeks later. You shouldn't have any problem getting before Jan. If you're in a city where you can take them in personally, it's so much better because they don't keep your Birth Certificate. I had issues with mailing away all of our birth certificates and then hoping that they would be returned safely. ;)

MaryLiz

DIS~n~JAN

09-12-2005, 09:59 AM

Reese

09-12-2005, 10:42 AM

I thought I'de jump on this thread and ask how I go about getting a passport for my kids, dh and I? We thought it might be a good idea instead of counting on bc to cross the border.

DIS~n~JAN

09-12-2005, 10:51 AM

I thought I'de jump on this thread and ask how I go about getting a passport for my kids, dh and I? We thought it might be a good idea instead of counting on bc to cross the border.
I picked up the forms at the post office. You can print forms online as well.

cabmom

09-12-2005, 11:46 AM

http://www.pptc.gc.ca/online_forms/pdfs/ppt044.pdf

Here you go, just printed mine off. These are adults, however the child one is there as well!

MaryannF

09-12-2005, 01:58 PM

go to www.pptc.gc.ca for all the info on passports
According to the site...
Passports Canada Turnaround Details
By mail 4 weeks (20 working days) This does not include mailing time.
In person at a Passport Canada office 2 weeks (10 working days) This does not include the day the application is submitted.
At a participating post office 3 weeks (15 working days) This does not include mailing time.
At a participating Human Resources and Skill Development Canada (HRSDC) Service Canada Access Centre 4 weeks (20 working days) This does not include mailing time.

Reese

09-12-2005, 02:37 PM

I just told Dh to stop at the post office and pick up the applications.

CharlesTD

09-12-2005, 03:49 PM

We were told 10 business days and we had them back in 5 then our oldest daughter had to have her pic re taken and we sent it in on a Monday we had it by Thursday.

caine family of five

09-12-2005, 07:23 PM

:banana: I have a friend that got theeirs in 2 weeks by taking them in to the new whitby centre. I will be taking my dh in to get his soon. They are also open on saturdays in the morning.
Christine

ottawa-newbie

09-12-2005, 08:02 PM

we got ours in less than 10 days, but applied at a designated post office. They kept our birth certificates, but put everything in registered mail right in from of us so we felt very comfortable with that. :sunny:

kelsco99

09-12-2005, 08:52 PM

I have a friend that got theeirs in 2 weeks by taking them in to the new whitby centre. I will be taking my dh in to get his soon. They are also open on saturdays in the morning.

Thank You! I had no idea they were open on Saturday! I was wondering how I would get this done without taking precious holidays from work.
:goodvibes :goodvibes :goodvibes

Kelly

hockey mom

09-13-2005, 04:32 AM

I thought I'de jump on this thread and ask how I go about getting a passport for my kids, dh and I? We thought it might be a good idea instead of counting on bc to cross the border.

When it comes to showing I.D. for your kids we have never been asked in 14 crossings. We stil only have BC for our kids for this trip.

Reese

09-13-2005, 06:55 AM

mom_rules

09-13-2005, 07:41 AM

A friend flew solo to the UK with her two little DD's in May. She said she was asked for proof that her DH had given permission to take them out of the country-glad she spent the $25 to have a notarized letter done before she left home.

dandee00

09-13-2005, 03:32 PM

:wave2: Hi everyone,
Sending them today and just wondering when to expect them back? I have heard a horror story of one person waiting 5 months! We'd be in trouble if that was true as we leave Jan 15/06. Thanks :sunny:

Hi
DH and I went to a Passport Office, and got ours by express post less than 10 days. The trick is to do it when it is not a busy holiday season.
Hope this helps. :banana:

hockey mom

09-13-2005, 03:41 PM

I was a little concerned crossing with my oldest son as he is from a previous marriage and has a different last name than both Dh and I. I understand that it is a good idea to have a signed letter stating it is okay to take him across the border. I do have full custody. Has anyone had any experience with this?

My DD's are both from my first marriage and like I said I have never even been asked thier names or proof of I.D.. We even had my DD's friend with a notorized letter and never had to show it once.

SnowWhite

09-13-2005, 04:14 PM

I agree with Hockeymom, we went over at Niagara Falls 2 months ago and when we offered our birth certificates they declined and the time before they didn't even ask. You don't technically need passports yet so I wouldn't worry. They sometimes ask my DD "where is your daddy"? and expect her to point at him (just checking that we didn't kidnap her i guess) My husband was nervous the first time crossing with DS because he couldn't speak for himself but they didn't even ask about him.

But as a sidenote, my parents did take theirs to the Whitby outlet and had their passports within 5 days.

kg66

09-13-2005, 09:17 PM

Yeah but you're going to need Passports for 2006, our TA already got a call from Norweigan Cruise Line for our upcoming adult only, no children cruise, and they told them to make sure we had our passports for our March 2006 cruise. We got ours at the Passport office in Windsor, and they arrived in 10 days. Don't panic.

DIS~n~JAN

09-20-2005, 03:57 PM

Hi everyone,
I sent the passports today with Xpresspost. I thought alot about driving the three hours to the nearest office, but I talked to a few people who have done that and when they told me it's a wait of 2-3 hours I thought forget it. Hopefully this will take only a couple of months. I'll keep you informed of how long it actually takes. Hint...for future reference if your not in a hurry, Canada Post clerks will be trained on Oct. 1 to verify your info, however she told me she's not sure how soon after that they'll start this service. :sunny:

bunnyfoo

09-21-2005, 12:20 AM

Took ours into the passport office personally, paid with a CC and had them in 7 days!

I just had mine done. Same experience as mom_rules ... I was surprised because I was expecting a much longer wait.

Just a tip for those of you are going to get your passports... Fill out the application online. It will save you sooo much time. My DBF and I both did ours online, printed them out and were in and out of the passport office in less than half an hour (this was on a Monday during lunch hour too). It looked like there were about 50 people in the waiting area so I'm sure they would have been waiting for at least an hour. Because we did ours online we were put into a separate line and only had to wait about 5 minutes. There was only one other person in this line. I joked that it was like getting a Fastpass for the Passport Office :goodvibes :rotfl:

shelbean8

09-21-2005, 11:56 AM

:wave2: Hi everyone,
Sending them today and just wondering when to expect them back? I have heard a horror story of one person waiting 5 months! We'd be in trouble if that was true as we leave Jan 15/06. Thanks :sunny:

Hi there, we went to the passport office on August 29, we received them registered mail September 6...It was only a week for us, not to mention the holiday in that week also...My friend went last week Wednesday to the office and received hers yesterday (September 20)...Hopefully it'll be about 4 weeks since you sent them in the mail...Good Luck, we leave Sunday Sept 25...

Canadave

09-22-2005, 10:02 AM

bunnyfoo...how do you fill out the application online?...I went to the site and printed off copies :confused3 ...what about the guarantor?

Does anyone know the Saturday hours at Whitby?

Does a child have to be present to get their passport in person. We are planning a trip to Whitby, but it's difficult to get there with both kids

MaryannF

09-22-2005, 10:10 AM

Does anyone know the Saturday hours at Whitby?
Does a child have to be present to get their passport in person. We are planning a trip to Whitby, but it's difficult to get there with both kids

http://www.pptc.gc.ca/passport_office/ppt_offices_e.asp#ON
Whitby
Whitby Mall
1615 Dundas Street East
Office hours: 8:00 - 16:00
Saturday: 9:00 - 12:00

My daughter was at university when I took her application to the passport office. My husband went with me and was going to hand in his own application but got a migraine while we were waiting and had to leave. So I was left to hand in my application as well as my daughter's and husband's. The clerk didn't bat an eye and took all three. I used my credit card to pay for the processing fees for all three.

mom_rules

09-22-2005, 11:15 AM

I think they give you more of a hard time when you try to pick them up for someone else.

DIS~n~JAN

09-22-2005, 11:28 AM

Hi there, we went to the passport office on August 29, we received them registered mail September 6...It was only a week for us, not to mention the holiday in that week also...My friend went last week Wednesday to the office and received hers yesterday (September 20)...Hopefully it'll be about 4 weeks since you sent them in the mail...Good Luck, we leave Sunday Sept 25...
:wave2: Wow, I hope mine are that quick, I hate worrying about them! Thanks, have fun on your trip :sunny:

maryliz

09-22-2005, 11:54 AM

I was able to take in all 4 for myself, DH, and 2 kids, however I also took my DSIL's stuff and they wouldn't accept it. I was told she either had to come in personally or mail it -- unless she lived in the same house as us. She mailed hers and had it about 3 weeks later.

MaryLiz

Canadave

09-22-2005, 12:49 PM

Thanks everyone for your quick responses...hopefully bunnyfoo can enlighten us on the online application process

MaryannF

09-22-2005, 12:57 PM

Thanks everyone for your quick responses...hopefully bunnyfoo can enlighten us on the online application process

Check out this link for information on the on-line form...

http://www.pptc.gc.ca/online_forms/on-line_form_e.asp

There appears to be some restrictions for using it.

bunnyfoo

09-22-2005, 11:13 PM

Thanks everyone for your quick responses...hopefully bunnyfoo can enlighten us on the online application process

Hi Canadave!

Sorry I'm trying to upgrade my computer and it's not going very well. So I'm limited to using other people's computers and some of them aren't very generous! :rotfl: :confused3

This is the link that you would go to http://www.pptc.gc.ca/online_forms/on-line_form_e.asp

I believe I had to sign up for an epass account which was pretty quick. The site lets you save the work that you've done on your form so you can come back if you don't have a piece of information handy.

Your guarantor would fill out and sign the form after you had printed it out. It's the same really as writing in the information but it seems like everything is verified on the computer so when you're at the Passport Office, it takes less time for the clerk to check (I think). Being put in a separate line is a really big bonus though :)

One mistake I made with my application was signing my signature outside of the box ... I didn't read it carefully. Luckily since everything was on the computer, I didn't have to go and fill it all out again. I just hit the print button!

HTH! Let me know if you have other questions. :goodvibes

Canadave

09-23-2005, 08:24 AM

Thanks MaryannF & bunnyfoo...I went to that page and have started the process...sounds like it will save lots of time in the passport office, so that sounds good to me :teeth: ...I like the fact that as long as one person has an on-line application, everyone in your party can use the "special" line that day...the on-line application is limited to adults right now, but we'll just fill out one manually for our youngest DD the same day.

bunnyfoo...it's funny that you said you messed up the signature thing, because one of our employees did the same thing this year and she had to fill out all the papers again at the office :guilty:...I'll really have to get my DW to focus on being inside the box, because her signature is soooooo messy :rotfl2:

bunnyfoo

09-23-2005, 12:57 PM

bunnyfoo...it's funny that you said you messed up the signature thing, because one of our employees did the same thing this year and she had to fill out all the papers again at the office :guilty:...I'll really have to get my DW to focus on being inside the box, because her signature is soooooo messy :rotfl2:

Sounds like me :) After I messed up the first time, I practiced on a blank sheet of paper. It felt really weird to sign my name so small but maybe I just make it too big in the first place. :teeth: