How Long Did It Take To Get Your Passport? Poll

[dlcharbonneau]

Date you Applied: December 12th at Canada Post Service centre - paid the extra 15 for three applications - mine DD11 DD9

Method of Application: at Canada Post Service centre - paid the extra 15 for three applications - mine DD11 DD9

Date Passport Arrived Back: DD11 and DD9 arrived just today - when I emailed about my passport the response back was it would be mailed the week of the 12th we leave this Saturday

After hours on the phone with passport canada - we were told that my passport was complete but had yet to be mailed. The service agent that we spoke to was very helpful and promised to send it out overnight express. She called us back later and gave us a tracking number and we are going to wait by the door tomorrow for its arrival

The only problem I have is that the representative at the post office assurred us that it would arrive in plenty of time for our trip - we should have gone directly to the passport office instead, lesson learned.

If you are waiting for your passport I would suggest that you email or call to see what stage it is at.

We should all give thanks to all of the hard working staff at the passport office - which I think has to be one of the worst jobs in the country now

 

[disneyfan2]

Date you Applied: December 12th at Canada Post Service centre - paid the extra 15 for three applications - mine DD11 DD9

Method of Application: at Canada Post Service centre - paid the extra 15 for three applications - mine DD11 DD9

Date Passport Arrived Back: DD11 and DD9 arrived just today - when I emailed about my passport the response back was it would be mailed the week of the 12th we leave this Saturday

After hours on the phone with passport canada - we were told that my passport was complete but had yet to be mailed. The service agent that we spoke to was very helpful and promised to send it out overnight express. She called us back later and gave us a tracking number and we are going to wait by the door tomorrow for its arrival

The only problem I have is that the representative at the post office assurred us that it would arrive in plenty of time for our trip - we should have gone directly to the passport office instead, lesson learned.

If you are waiting for your passport I would suggest that you email or call to see what stage it is at.

We should all give thanks to all of the hard working staff at the passport office - which I think has to be one of the worst jobs in the country now

i did the exact same thing as you!!!! I was told that i would receive it in 20 days by postal office(althought the passport website did say the same thing, and encourged people to go to a receiving agent) I got the email that said it would be mailed Feb 5th , but we leave the 5th and that is not good! They suggest the phone # but i tried all day until 7:00pm today & when i finally got through the message said that they have exceeded the max # of callers on hold. I have tried calling all week. They need to get more agents answering the phones.

How did you get Passport Canada to mail it before the 12th? I was planning on going to airport 1 day early and leave the Sunday which means i need my passports by Feb 2nd, So, i want to call and see how i can do this. What a waste of money paying the service fee at post office!!!
I can't understand how some people have mailed there or drop at service center in January and received them early!!

 

[dlcharbonneau]

iHow did you get Passport Canada to mail it before the 12th? I was planning on going to airport 1 day early and leave the Sunday which means i need my passports by Feb 2nd, So, i want to call and see how i can do this. What a waste of money paying the service fee at post office!!!
I can't understand how some people have mailed there or drop at service center in January and received them early!!

My husband spent all morning on the phone (he put it on speaker and went about his business, people would shout out to him when the number moved up ). Try first thing in the morning - they open at 7, explain to them when you applied and that you are flying out and require it earlier than that date. They mail it express post - my DD's they mailed Tues aft and it arrived here this aft. My advice is to be persistent with the phone, try early and often.

I know of someone in my office who applied in person on Jan 9th and they received it yesterday... I think it is just the luck of the draw

 

[KerriMc]

Date you Applied: December 6th, 2006 (me, dh, 2dd)

Method of Application: We dropped them off at our local MP's office and he took them down.

Date Passport Arrived Back: Mine and youngest dd arrived last Friday by registered mail. Dh arrived today by reg. mail. We are still waiting for oldest dd's. Not sure why they weren't all sent together, but apparently they like wasting money sending Canada Post to my house for three trips instead of one!!

We go on the March break, so we should be ok ... not panicing yet

Kerri

 

[drag n' fly]

I feel sorry for the people who did apply and did allow enough time according to Passport Canada guidelines and then somehow got swallowed up in the pile with the people who waited until the very last second to do it. Is their a numbered order to the applications?

 

[Northstar]

I feel sorry for the people who did apply and did allow enough time according to Passport Canada guidelines and then somehow got swallowed up in the pile with the people who waited until the very last second to do it. Is their a numbered order to the applications?

This is bureaucracy you're dealing with, not customer-friendly services! I think mostly they just go in a pile on someone's desk. The GOOD public servants then work like crazy, sorting them, paying attention to priority status, making decisions fast. But since they're trying to process far more applications than usual, it's inevitable that some will get lost in the shuffle.
The lazy public servants... well, it's just too easy for them to hide that they're not doing their job right. You can never get the name of exactly who is responsible for your file, who you're talking to on the phone, who messed up. Must drive the good ones crazy.

 

[Candid]

I sent our applications yesterday (me, dh and ds). Our trip isn't till October so I should have plenty of time.

 

[disneyfan2]

i called Passport Canada today, after 5 days of calling, and they said the passport is being sent for printing and it will be mailed the week that we are due to go. They will not let me pick it up at a Passport OFFICE even though i would pay extra. They will NOT return my DD birth certificate as it will be mailed with the PASSPORT. Now, i have to prepare DD's that this Disney trip may not happen!!!

AND for the record i did not leave it to the last minute, trip was unexpectedly booked ENd of Nov and had the passports ready and signed the first week of Dec and took it to the service dept as it was suggested BY PASSPORT CANADA, who now say, i should have taken it in person!!!

So, the recieving agent also state when i applied first week of DEC that they would be back in 20 days incl mailing time.

 

[bljones]

It was very fast for us.

Date you Applied: Jan 2, 2007 ( 2 adults and 2 kids)

Method of Application: went to a passport office

Date Passport Arrived Back: kids arrived Jan 18, adults arrived Jan 23

We leave for WDW Feb 3.

 

[nosnobunny2006]

The lazy public servants... well, it's just too easy for them to hide that they're not doing their job right. You can never get the name of exactly who is responsible for your file, who you're talking to on the phone, who messed up. Must drive the good ones crazy.

Excuse me!?!?? I am a public servant who answers my phone with my name, as is also stated on the nameplate on my office door. Please don't lump us all together. Most of the staff in my office go well beyond what is in their job description but no one ever comments on that. Only when things get bogged down.

Beth

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

we got ours back within 5 or 6 business days via mail.

but we went the end of august or the beg of september, and i was worried then about a potential rush of people signing up! we waited 15 min to get to the counter, and then we were at the counter for about 15 min.

 

[dlcharbonneau]

received my passport today - finally

we had very helpful 'public servants' helping us - especially the post office who my husband called every half hour to track the package

I think the problem is that the government did not plan to have extra staff over this time - they knew it was coming and should have anticipated the demand.

 

[almacdonald]

Date you Applied: 2005
Method of Application: Harry Hays building in Calgary - In & Out in 20 minutes, there was still time left on the parking meter.
Date Passport Arrived Back: 6 days later, no word of a lie and i'm not talking "business days".

 

[BraMax]

As soon as my husband and I decided to take our boys to Disneyland we went and got their passports. I applied for them on October 25 and had them back before November 11th. I went down to Canada Place in Edmonton and waited 1.5 hours and since I was paying for the kids with a credit card they ended up having to mail them and thankfully I was a month a head of the rush.

My sister registered mailed her passports the beginning of December since the line ups were outragous anyways she still has not recieved them or has her credit card been charged. They leave for Florida in 9 days. They are now driving from Alberta instead of flying.

 

[Lizzzys]

That's awful! And it is also my nightmare as I sent mine in the beginning of January, hoping to get them back in time for our early March trip. I'm going to start calling Passport Canada early on Monday morning.

Did your sister already have plane tickets booked? If so, was she able to cancel at no cost? Are they flying out of Montana or literally driving to WDW from Alberta now? I would be so mad!!!!

As soon as my husband and I decided to take our boys to Disneyland we went and got their passports. I applied for them on October 25 and had them back before November 11th. I went down to Canada Place in Edmonton and waited 1.5 hours and since I was paying for the kids with a credit card they ended up having to mail them and thankfully I was a month a head of the rush.

My sister registered mailed her passports the beginning of December since the line ups were outragous anyways she still has not recieved them or has her credit card been charged. They leave for Florida in 9 days. They are now driving from Alberta instead of flying.

 

[not-too-old4fun]

Date you applied: December 20

Method of Application: By mail

Date passport arrived back: still waiting but since we are only leaving in April... I'm not stressing (yet).

I feel kind of stranded though. I don't think I can drive into the US with photocopied documents (maybe I can and I just don't know). I'll be relieved when all my documents are back in my hands.

 

[mickeywho?]

Date you Applied:
Sister - January 4th
Brother - January 11th

Method of Application:
Sister - Online Application and then went into downtown TO office
Brother - Online Application and then went into downtown TO office - Paid additional $10 to pick it up

Date Passport Arrived Back:
Sister - by registered mail January 26th
Brother - picked it up from office January 26th

We leave for our trip in two weeks - after hearing everyone's stories I still can't believe they both got them back so quickly!

 

[disneyfan2]

As soon as my husband and I decided to take our boys to Disneyland we went and got their passports. I applied for them on October 25 and had them back before November 11th. I went down to Canada Place in Edmonton and waited 1.5 hours and since I was paying for the kids with a credit card they ended up having to mail them and thankfully I was a month a head of the rush.

My sister registered mailed her passports the beginning of December since the line ups were outragous anyways she still has not recieved them or has her credit card been charged. They leave for Florida in 9 days. They are now driving from Alberta instead of flying.

it is really bad that it has to come to this. it ins't fair for those who applied and were told a set # of days (15 for us) then when the 15 days passed, they add on another 20. We too are leaving 9 days, and hoping.

For those that need to call, try right at 7:30am when they open!!! i tried calling for 3 days then finally woke early to call, mind you i did not get through til 8:45. Was told passports are being processed but might not make it in time. They were suppose to be looking at dates!!!

 

[Lizzzys]

And there is no recourse for those of us who applied by mail.... we don't have receipts to prove that we are in the middle of the application process with Passport Canada. Heck, we don't even have our birth certificates to prove who we are! (talking about my children, as I already have a passport and a Driver's License) So when our date of travel comes along and I don't have the proper documentation to enter the US, my question is... WHO IS GOING TO BE RESPONSIBLE??!

it is really bad that it has to come to this. it ins't fair for those who applied and were told a set # of days (15 for us) then when the 15 days passed, they add on another 20. We too are leaving 9 days, and hoping.

For those that need to call, try right at 7:30am when they open!!! i tried calling for 3 days then finally woke early to call, mind you i did not get through til 8:45. Was told passports are being processed but might not make it in time. They were suppose to be looking at dates!!!

 

[BraMax]

Luckily for my sister they had not purchased their plane tickets because they didn't have their passports. She just got a call from Passport Canada today telling them that my nieces passport since she is a child is not in the print stage and that she should recieve hers by the end of the week but they have just opened her and her husbands file this week and they will not get their passports until the 3 week of February. So she is hoping that they will still be at the post office when they get back from Florida. They are driving all the way. They figure it will take them 4-5 days weather depending so they've decided to make that part of their holiday as well.