Get Your Passports Now

[RoyalCanadian]

Folks,

There always seems to be some mysterious and unexplainable rush of passport applications at some point in the year. During that time we hear of waiting for inordinate lengths of time just to submit the application and then weeks of waiting for the passport to arrive. If my experience this past week is any indicator of how things are going -- now is the time to get that passport you've always been wanting.
I arrived at the Kitchener, Ontario passport office at about 3:45pm on Monday. I had to wait in one line in order to get a ticket to wait in another line -- but the total wait from arrival to paying the money was about 15 minutes. I didn't expect to see any results until well into next week.
And what to my wondering eyes should appear in the mailbox on Friday morning but the Expresspost notice directing me to pick up my mail -- the passport arrived. That's 3-4 day service without paying extra and well under the goal of having the passport ready in 10 working days. Great service!!!

 

[MaMudduck]

Wow that's great timing!- Have they usually mailed them out before? I've always done drop off/application and pick back up the next week.

 

[Mysteria]

When I got my passport a few years ago I lived in Kitchener and got it at that office. Nice and convenient since I worked in that same building. lol It was done very fast then too. I have sinced moved back to TO and thankfully will only have to renew when it comes time. I doubt the turn around time in TO (or any major Canadian city) is as good as it was there.

Myst

 

[alohamom]

can you guys give me the address for that office? I am sorta between Mississauga and Kitchener in Campbellville and it is about the same distance to both. I am going to assume the Mississauga office would be the busier of the two so I am thinking Kitchener is the way to go...

 

[Mysteria]

The address is:

Suite 630
The Galleria
101 Frederick Street
Kitchener, ON

Office hours: 08:45 - 16:30

Intersection is Frederick and Weber St. E

Hope it's as quiet for you as it was for us! Good luck.

Myst

 

[mom_rules]

I have a passport related question for you.

DS was 12 when we got his passport and still looked like a
very small boy on his photo. He is now 16 and looks nothing like his photo. The customs agent in April took a double take and asked us for any other photo id and his birth certificate.
He suggested we apply for a new passport with an updated photo even though ours is still good for another 1-1/2 years.
We are travelling again in October-what do you think? Should we just take his drivers licence, old passport, and birth certificate or bite the bullet and apply for a new passport?

 

[maryliz]

If he has other photo ID like a drivers license, then I wouldn't bother getting a new Passport until it expires. When something is good for 5 years, they have to expect that the person (especially a child) will change drastically in that time, and should accept it for what it is. If it were a huge issue, they'd make kids passports much, much cheaper and make them expire every 3 years.

Mary Liz

 

[MaMudduck]

I agree, don't bother getting another passpost. If you ever had a passport that alone PROVES you are a Canadian Citizen, if all the name & adress & stuff is the same for him, what's the big deal. But I'd take his DL.

Now if you were going somewhere like Iraq or somewhere then I wouldn't chance not be able to home or travel. But I'm sure WDW is fime

 

[Debbie]

DD (18) just got back from Europe last week. Her passport is set to expire in January, so she didn't look anything like her photo. She had her BC, Driver's License and Student Card with her in case there was a problem. Other than giggles from the girls that she was travelling with, she had no problems or questions whatsoever. HTH

 

[mom_rules]

Thanks guys-kind of what I thought too! Although the customs agent did make DS feel a tad embarassed (self conscious ) about the whole thing.

 

[East Coaster]

Just new to the forums, doing the 3/4 Land and Sea next April!! I must agree with Royal Canadian, we dropped our passport apps. at the office in Fredericton, NB on a Wednesday and had them in the mail the following Tuesday.

 

[RoyalCanadian]

I'm not sure how long they have been mailing out the passports. DW and I applied for and received our new passports last September from the Kitchener office and they arrived at our house by courier delivery. We didn't pay extra for this delivery and had not requested express processing. As I mentioned, DD's passport arrived via Expresspost -- once again, no extra payment and no rush service requested.
DD's passport photo was taken at the new Zehr's store in South Cambridge -- and it proved that no matter how cute a child may be, the passport photo is guaranteed to make everyone look like a criminal.
My own passport photo is incredibly dark and I look very mad in the photo -- If I were a border guard and I saw my passport photo I wouldn't let me into the country.
All of this having been said -- I'm a great proponent of the Canadian passport as the travel document of choice for Canadians. The price is a bargain for an essentially unfettered entry into countries around the world and the current waiting time is another bargain and example of the kind of service Canadians can receive for the taxes we pay.

 

[mom_rules]

RoyalCanadian-sent you a PM-hope you don't mind.