Effective Dec 1, 2011 - new documents needed to apply for a child's passport.

[Alderbrook]

http://www.pptc.gc.ca/articles/20110512.aspx?lang=eng

 

[vacation_junkie]

http://www.pptc.gc.ca/articles/20110512.aspx?lang=eng

A friend of mine went to renew her sons last week and she was turned away because she only had his standard birth certificate.

She was told she needed his long form birth certificate. Which she now has to apply for. And wait until that arrives to renew his which will take a few weeks.

Understandable why they are doing this but such a pain

 

[Alderbrook]

I'm going down this week to apply for my daughter's. They shouldn't have turned away your friend until Dec 1.

Also a renewal as long as it's been expired less than a year (which is my son's case) is an exemption.

 

[SmilingGrump]

This policy has actually been in effect in select offices for a long while. We needed the "real" birth certificate for our children when we got their passports 2+ years ago. Guess we were just "lucky"

 

[son3disfan]

This policy has actually been in effect in select offices for a long while. We needed the "real" birth certificate for our children when we got their passports 2+ years ago. Guess we were just "lucky"

I just renewed our passports last week. Used the blue paper ones, no problem. The agent said it was a good thing I was doing it now as I would have needed the long form in Dec.
This was in Hamilton, on.

 

[maryliz]

One thing I have noticed over the years with different people's experiences of needing the long form birth certificate ... if Mom and Dad had different last names when the child was born, it seemed to almost always be required. When my DSIL had a baby 2 years ago, she had not taken her married name ... so I recommended that they order both forms of the birth certificate. Guess I was right on the money with that advice!

 

[Alderbrook]

I have never taken my husbands name officially & never been asked for the long form. I filled out my son & daughters forms last night & it never asks for my married name on the form, it wants my maiden name & only asks if we're married.

I am going to apply for my kids sometime this week in Hamilton. We aren't travelling until September 2012 so if they want the long form, I'll get it, but I'm going to try with just their regular birth certificates.

 

[vacation_junkie]

I just renewed our passports last week. Used the blue paper ones, no problem. The agent said it was a good thing I was doing it now as I would have needed the long form in Dec.
This was in Hamilton, on.

Are your children over 16?

Children under 16 can not use the new Simplified Renewal Process...they have to "Apply" again. As they want to check out the Custody arrangements of the minor Child if any... thats why they want both Birth /legal guardians names on the long form.

The New Simplified Renewal process is quick..applied thrusday..had it Monday.

 

[Hoogy]

So I can't just "renew" my girls passports w/o reapplying with the longform? ARGHHH They are expiring next year (need to do it before our March trip)...but if I apply in November I can hopefully avoid having to get the longform? Am I understanding this right? I would be applying in London...anyone been there lately?

 

[Alderbrook]

Are your children over 16?

Children under 16 can not use the new Simplified Renewal Process...they have to "Apply" again. As they want to check out the Custody arrangements of the minor Child if any... thats why they want both Birth /legal guardians names on the long form.

The New Simplified Renewal process is quick..applied thrusday..had it Monday.

I think she meant that her kids had previous passports before & she was renewing them, still applying the old way. I've done the simplified renewal before for myself & my DH, very easy! The simplified way has been around for about 5 years now.

 

[Alderbrook]

So I can't just "renew" my girls passports w/o reapplying with the longform? ARGHHH They are expiring next year (need to do it before our March trip)...but if I apply in November I can hopefully avoid having to get the longform? Am I understanding this right? I would be applying in London...anyone been there lately?

If your kids have previous passports there are exemptions to needing the long form. Read the original link for the exemptions.

 

[Hoogy]

Ok well the girls are under 16...but they still have valid passports (until next summer actually) Since we are travelling in March and that is less than 6 months before they expire I figured I would renew them in Jan/Feb. From the website, it sounds like I am exempt from the new policy of needing the longform...as long as I present the current passport when applying for their new ones.

 

[Alderbrook]

Ok well the girls are under 16...but they still have valid passports (until next summer actually) Since we are travelling in March and that is less than 6 months before they expire I figured I would renew them in Jan/Feb. From the website, it sounds like I am exempt from the new policy of needing the longform...as long as I present the current passport when applying for their new ones.

That's the way I read it too. My son has a passport that expired in May so I should be fine for him, but my daughter is only 4 months old & needs a new one. I called the place in our town that does baby passport photos & the girl that specializes in them is off until next Wednesday so I'm going to have to wait until then to get her photos done, but I'll be heading down on Thurs to the Hamilton office to see what happens.

 

[Toy Story Fan]

From what I was told at the passport office, you will need the long form with you when you travel. We are leaving on Nov 26 and returning Dec 4th. Maybe it is because we are travelling when the policy changes. Luckily, my husband when our DS11 was born, thought the long form was "nicer" than the ordinary. When it came in the mail, I said "what were you thinking, this thing is huge" (compared to the wallet size). So I ordered the regular one. When I went to get my son's passport, I brought both. They wanted only the long form. I find sometimes we are told different things, it just depends on who you talk to.

 

[pooksma]

Just renewed DS' here in New Brunswick. No problems at all. Glad we did it when we did.

Curious- has anyone else ever been given a hard time in the US because children under 11 aren't supposed to sign their passports? This happened to us the ONE time we flew to WDW from home. DS was almost 3 and the guy in Boston gave us the gears because he hadn't signed it.

Ahh Disney memories...at least we didn't let that stop us from returning

 

[encinc]

Curious- has anyone else ever been given a hard time in the US because children under 11 aren't supposed to sign their passports? This happened to us the ONE time we flew to WDW from home. DS was almost 3 and the guy in Boston gave us the gears because he hadn't signed it.

YES!!!! We got quite the lecture from the US customs officer in Atlanta on our way home from Costa Rica last year. He almost made DS sign his passport right there on the spot. Fortunately, there was a huge line up behind us. When I explained that DS has a disability that makes writing hard, so it would take him a long time to sign, he waived us on, but told us to make sure that it was signed before the next time he traveled. Whatever!

 

[vacation_junkie]

Ok well the girls are under 16...but they still have valid passports (until next summer actually) Since we are travelling in March and that is less than 6 months before they expire I figured I would renew them in Jan/Feb. From the website, it sounds like I am exempt from the new policy of needing the longform...as long as I present the current passport when applying for their new ones.

No you should be fine
as per the Website
New proof of parentage requirements for a child's travel document application

To protect Canadian children against child abduction and to further enhance the security of the Canadian passport program, Passport Canada will soon require that travel document applications for children under 16 years of age be accompanied by proof of parentage documentation*.

Effective December 1, 2011, along with standard application requirements, parents or legal guardians must provide with their child’s travel document application, either:

A detailed birth certificate indicating the name of the parent(s) issued by a Canadian provincial or territorial vital statistics agency if the child was born in Canada. This document will serve as both proof of parentage and proof of citizenship;
A certified copy of birth registration (original only) is also accepted for a child born in Ontario; and
A Copy of an act of birth (original only) issued after January 1, 1994, by the Directeur de l’état civil of Quebec is also accepted for a child born in Quebec;
An order of adoption indicating the name of the adoptive parent(s); or
A foreign birth certificate indicating the name of the parent(s) (documents in a language other than English or French must be translated to either English or French) if the child was born outside of Canada.
All legal documents that refer to custody, the mobility of, or access to the child must be provided. If a divorce has been granted, a copy of the divorce judgment or order must also be provided. If a separation agreement exists, it must also be provided with the application.

*Exception: Applications submitted on behalf of a child will be accepted without proof of parentage only if all of the following criteria are met:

A Canadian travel document has previously been issued to the child in his or her name;
The previously issued travel document is still valid or expired for less than one year; and
The previously issued travel document accompanies the new application.
Passport Canada wishes to make Canadian travellers aware of these changes well in advance of the implementation date and encourages Canadians to initiate their travel document application process as soon as they begin to plan to travel to ensure that the proper documentation is obtained in time for a trip abroad.

It is important that parents and legal guardians factor in additional time to acquire proper documentation prior to submitting a travel document application for their child. Failure to provide the proper documentation will result in your child’s travel document application being rejected.

 

[MamaLema]

One thing I have noticed over the years with different people's experiences of needing the long form birth certificate ... if Mom and Dad had different last names when the child was born, it seemed to almost always be required. When my DSIL had a baby 2 years ago, she had not taken her married name ... so I recommended that they order both forms of the birth certificate. Guess I was right on the money with that advice!

This has been my experience as well

 

[KNovacovschi]

Thanks for the information. My daughter is 14 and I have to renew her passport in April. I'm happy for the exemptions however if I was unaware of the possibility that I would need her long birth certificate I probably would freak out. lol. I will wait until then to see if I do need it. I don't want to pay for it if I don't need to. I'm actually hoping I don't since I go to the States shopping at least once a month.

 

[Alderbrook]

I just went down to the Hamilton, Ontario office with the wallet birth certificate for my daughter & had no problems. Didn't even mention needing the long form BC.