Passport renewal questions - have you done it recently?

[alohamom]

Hi everyone, my daughter has been accepted into grad school in the USA and will be moving there down in September.
Her passport expires in Feb 2022 but we have decided to renew it now, just in case.
Has anyone heard anything about government offices opening up for this kind of service?
Should we gamble and mail it in, knowing she will need it come the last week of August. That is really only 5 months away and I worry about the postal service right now, even with Expresspost.
I would really appreciate any input you can provide about this, any experiences recently renewing etc

Thanks in advance

 

[hdrolfe]

A little off topic, but are we able to apply for passports via the mail-in method yet? Has anyone done this recently?

I got my DDs passport via mail when it reopened last August. It was pretty quick turnaround. I need to apply for my other DDs as hers expires this fall. Thanks for the reminder !

I sent my sons in last week. I will let you know ..

Some discussion on another thread. @TammyLynn33 sent her son's in recently so perhaps will be able to provide an update to turn around time soon? I'm pretty sure the turnaround on mail in's is pretty quick. I intend to send my son's at the end of the month (if he'll agree to a haircut so we can get a decent picture).

 

[TammyLynn33]

Hi everyone, my daughter has been accepted into grad school in the USA and will be moving there down in September.
Her passport expires in Feb 2022 but we have decided to renew it now, just in case.
Has anyone heard anything about government offices opening up for this kind of service?
Should we gamble and mail it in, knowing she will need it come the last week of August. That is really only 5 months away and I worry about the postal service right now, even with Expresspost.
I would really appreciate any input you can provide about this, any experiences recently renewing etc

Thanks in advance

I just sent my sons last week. I sent it express post. There is a rush service or a spot where you can state expected date of travel. Not sure that makes a difference tho

 

[alohamom]

I just sent my sons last week. I sent it express post. There is a rush service or a spot where you can state expected date of travel. Not sure that makes a difference tho

Would you mind letting me know when you get it back? We will have probably sent hers in by then but I would love to have an idea of what the turn around time is

 

[TammyLynn33]

Would you mind letting me know when you get it back? We will have probably sent hers in by then but I would love to have an idea of what the turn around time is

absolutely

 

[alohamom]

Some discussion on another thread. @TammyLynn33 sent her son's in recently so perhaps will be able to provide an update to turn around time soon? I'm pretty sure the turnaround on mail in's is pretty quick. I intend to send my son's at the end of the month (if he'll agree to a haircut so we can get a decent picture).

Thanks!

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Passport Photos - I just called Walmart and they are $29.99! Two pics and a digital copy (why the heck do I need that?) I called Shoppers and it was $20 plus tax. Yea, I will be going there. I miss costco already!

 

[Frozen2014]

Did you have to send in your child's birth certificate (the card)? Or the original paper copy is ok?

 

[hdrolfe]

Did you have to send in your child's birth certificate (the card)? Or the original paper copy is ok?

I'm not sure where you are, or if it's the same in all provinces. I always use the long form original as it has all the information. Though in my case that's because it doesn't list a father so I they don't try and ask for another parent signature on the application. I also have the card/short form, but not really sure why since everyone wants the longer one. If you are able to go to an office, they would take a copy, but in mailing it has to be the original. And you'll want to send it registered mail of course.

 

[Frozen2014]

I'm not sure where you are, or if it's the same in all provinces. I always use the long form original as it has all the information. Though in my case that's because it doesn't list a father so I they don't try and ask for another parent signature on the application. I also have the card/short form, but not really sure why since everyone wants the longer one. If you are able to go to an office, they would take a copy, but in mailing it has to be the original. And you'll want to send it registered mail of course.

Thanks. We're in Ontario. We were planning on sending the long form paper so that's good then. DH wanted to wait until passport offices opened in person but doesn't seem like that's happening anytime soon so going with the mail in option once our son turns 16 (end of next month). Next potential trip is Dec so should be enough time....I hope. And yes, definitely using registered mail.

 

[vegs1]

Passport Photos - I just called Walmart and they are $29.99! Two pics and a digital copy (why the heck do I need that?) I called Shoppers and it was $20 plus tax. Yea, I will be going there. I miss costco already!

Check CAA. They do photos for members and non-members. I think it is around $15 plus tax for non members.

 

[juniorbugman]

Don't know if they are still doing them but CAA does passport photos. This is from their website. Even non-members can get photos done.
Passport photo prices:

Basic Members: $12.50 + tax

Plus Members: FREE

Premier Members: FREE

Corporate Members: FREE

Non-Members: $15.50 + tax

 

[juniorbugman]

Check CAA. They do photos for members and non-members. I think it is around $15 plus tax for non members.

Wow we posted at the exact same time.

 

[JETSDAD]

We renewed out daughter's passport in December. We had a trip booked for the middle of January (ended up having to cancel) but because of that trip we were able to get an in person appointment at our local office. They were not very busy at all (we were able to even get a same day appointment if we wanted...we did next day). My wife said it was actually much nicer because normally it is a very long wait in line at the passport office but there were only a few people inside the huge office. They just asked for an itinerary showing that we had something booked...they didn't care what it was. I believe it came in the mail within the next couple of weeks even though it was over the holidays. I don't know what the rule is for being able to make that in person appointment though with regards to how far out the date of travel is or when the passport expires.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

I am taking DD to CAA next week to get it done. The lady I just spoke with told me it was the same price for non-members. She thought it was around $12. Even still, $15? I'll take it.

 

[TammyLynn33]

Passport Photos - I just called Walmart and they are $29.99! Two pics and a digital copy (why the heck do I need that?) I called Shoppers and it was $20 plus tax. Yea, I will be going there. I miss costco already!

Try CAA too ?

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Did you have to send in your child's birth certificate (the card)? Or the original paper copy is ok?

You need the long form BC. And I believe you need to send in all original documents via registered mail so you can track it. They send everything back with the passport.

 

[amw]

I just did my DDs in January. They were getting adult passports from child. I sent the Card birth certificates, their non-expired pasports, and a photocopy of their drivers licence. I sent it express post. Was received a few days later. Three weeks later, they returned the original documents and credit card receipt (had to sign for at post office),and the new passports themselves arrived separately one week after that. So one month total turnaround. That was during the COVID slowdown at ontario Canada post warehouse — so I was pleasantly surprised. Hopefully others have the same experience. I made sure to order ten-year ones!

 

[alohamom]

@amw thank you for your reply!

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

I got DD12's passport photo done today at CAA for $10 + tax and we are not members. Now I just have the finish the paperwork and get it shipped off.