Passport processing question for newborn....

[PrincessasMommy]

I am so excited to say that I BOOKED our vacation home and minivan rental!!

But..... .........this morning hubby asks me if the new baby needs a passport and say Yes ...........OMG............so now I am wondering about timelines......

I am due end of June but all my babies have gone overdue so say the baby comes July 1st, I need to register the birth, wait for that, apply for birth certificate, wait for that, then get passport application done, pics done, guarantor signature, etc and apply and wait for that.....so start to finish I have a 3 1/2 month timeline??? Do you think it can be done??

I know they have expedited service but I will be running all these errands with 4 kids (out for school in summer), including a brand new baby nursing every hour so I really don't want to trek an hour anywhere if I can help it.

My friend told me this morning that you can usually get your passport processed through the post office in about 20 days - does anyone know if that is true? That would ease my panic.

 

[blizzard]

You shouldn't have too much problem with the passport, as the waits will be less by then. I expect that, being in Ontario, you will have the biggest problem with the birth certificate. I'm not sure if they still have the looooong waits like they used to, but that's the one to be right on top of.

You can mail your passport application and the processing is supposed to be 20 days. If there is an office near you, you might get more peace of mind by getting a babysitter (maybe bringing your infant with you) and registering at the office. The biggest problem with mail applications, is that if there is anything wrong (pictures not exactly right, something missed on the form) it will still take up to 20 days to process, and then they will mail it back to you to start over. In the office, they will tell you on the spot if something is not right.

Filling in the form online is not available for children yet, but check when it's closer, as that is one way to make things go faster if you can do it.

I will be in the same boat in May, however here in Alberta we can get birth certificates very quickly, so I'm not too worried.

 

[talicskai]

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES MAIL IN YOUR PASSPORT APPLICATION!

I am travel agent and cannot tell you how many clients in the past 5 years have mailed their applications and had problems! Just two weeks ago a guy missed his pre-paid package holiday to Dominican Republic because he mailed his application (he never told me) and it didn't come back in time. The crazy thing is that he doesn't even need a passport for DR but because he sent his birth certificate with the application he had no proof of Canadian Citizenship.
BTW he mailed it in September!

Always take it in personally to any of the passport offices. The other poster is right ~ that longest delay will be the birth certificate. Have all the forms filled out as best as you can before delivery and send it off asap. The other option is to fly from Buffalo (or another US city near you) because you don't need passports if you are driving into the States (yet)

Good Luck and congratulations on baby # 5!

 

[maryliz]

It sounds like you are driving ... in which case, NO you don't need a passport. The BC will be the biggest delay, but you can get a "travel letter" from the city where the birth is registered. This was sufficient when my babies were born ... does anyone know if it's still valid to use this letter to cross the border???

Good Luck!

 

[nosnobunny2006]

Don't fret. Here's what you need to do. Go to the municipality's offices where you live and ask for a Travel Letter. A Travel Letter will allow you to apply for a temporary passport. We do them all the time in our office.

Beth

 

[PrincessasMommy]

Thank you all.

We will be flying from Buffalo and we all have passports from last years' Mexico trip, all except the newborn, obviously. So I will not stress - thanks.

As for the travel letter, my municipal office is nearby, can I just go in and ask for it after baby is born and then go to the passport office (I will not mail it) with it? And that will be o.k. without a birth certificate yet?

 

[dsneygirl]

The city has to have registered the birth. I called after about 2-3 weeks and it had been done. I paid about $20 to get the travel letter. DS was born July 5th, I ordered his BC as soon as I was notified it was registered and it arrived in mid-Oct to give you a timeline. The travel letter was sufficient for our October trip. We drove and flew from Buffalo and were never asked for the letter either going or coming.

 

[baillie]

i don't know about birth certs or whatnot but i was in the kitchener passport office this summer to get my neices passport and it was 14 days till delivery

 

[SaraMc]

Ok, Ive sort of just become a expert on this as we just did this for DS. Get a travel letter when you register the live birth. Here is the fun part specially with an infant. You need for the passport application is a passport photo of your child. Oh yes did I mention with thier eyes open, no smiles mouth closed. Not such a easy task. It took the very nice lady at Sears Portrait ooooh about 10 times to get DS doing what he was suposed to do. Also parents hands cant be seen in the photo, so we put DS in a cardigan so DH was able to hold him with his hands under the cardigan. Go to the office, dont mail it in. Its $22 for an infant ppsport and once you get your birth certificate you can take it to the passport office and they can make your passport valid for a longer period of time. Also you get one free photo upgrade since well as you know babies change quickly.