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Canada Improves Passport Renewal Process

 
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The Lemon



Joined: 11 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 12:50 am    Post subject: Canada Improves Passport Renewal Process Reply with quote

Finally!! No more hunting down doctors and lawyers to sign the back of passport photos. For those of us with Canadian citizen children and live abroad, this is truly great news.

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Passport process will get easier for Canadians

Beginning this summer, Canadians will be able to renew their passports without submitting proof of citizenship or a guarantor declaration, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said in a news release.

The guarantor process will also be simplified so that most citizens can act as guarantors for first-time applicants. Currently, only professionals in certain occupations can do so.
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jvalmer



Joined: 06 Jun 2003

PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 2:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You didn't need a professional to act as a guarantor if you re-applied for a passport overseas. Anyways, the new rules are good, if only they could extend the passport validity to 10 years...
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mithridates



Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency

PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 7:13 pm    Post subject: Re: Canada Improves Passport Renewal Process Reply with quote

The Lemon wrote:
Finally!! No more hunting down doctors and lawyers to sign the back of passport photos. For those of us with Canadian citizen children and live abroad, this is truly great news.

========
Passport process will get easier for Canadians

Beginning this summer, Canadians will be able to renew their passports without submitting proof of citizenship or a guarantor declaration, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said in a news release.

The guarantor process will also be simplified so that most citizens can act as guarantors for first-time applicants. Currently, only professionals in certain occupations can do so.


Yes, this is good news and especially so since I'm up for renewal in a bit. It's going to be great to just walk in there with a few documents and my old passport when I get a new one.
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The Lemon



Joined: 11 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

jvalmer wrote:
You didn't need a professional to act as a guarantor if you re-applied for a passport overseas.


All Canadian passport applications need a guarantor, at least until the rule changes come into effect.

However, if you can't find someone to sign (this happens if you've lived in the country less than the two years necessary for a professional to be able to sign), things got worse: you have to pay a lawyer or other notary some money to sign the "Declaration in lieu of guarantor" form, in addition to all the photos and other documents the guarantor usually has to sign.

http://www.ppt.gc.ca/abroad/guarantor.aspx?lang=e
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=294428

Add two young children to your own documents and this is a frequent hassle. The new rules are great, though a bit late in coming for my situation.
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jvalmer



Joined: 06 Jun 2003

PostPosted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 4:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Lemon wrote:
jvalmer wrote:
You didn't need a professional to act as a guarantor if you re-applied for a passport overseas.


All Canadian passport applications need a guarantor, at least until the rule changes come into effect.

However, if you can't find someone to sign (this happens if you've lived in the country less than the two years necessary for a professional to be able to sign), things got worse: you have to pay a lawyer or other notary some money to sign the "Declaration in lieu of guarantor" form, in addition to all the photos and other documents the guarantor usually has to sign.

http://www.ppt.gc.ca/abroad/guarantor.aspx?lang=e
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=294428

Add two young children to your own documents and this is a frequent hassle. The new rules are great, though a bit late in coming for my situation.


Not my experience, I renewed my passport Jan 2006 in Seoul. I didn't have a guarantor, so the lady at the embassy was my guarantor and it was her who filled out the "Declaration in lieu of guarantor" form. I can't remember how much it costs, but I'm sure it was under 80,000 won for the whole application.
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gmat



Joined: 29 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 7:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The new rules only apply for applications done from within Canada Sad
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The Lemon



Joined: 11 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 2:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

gmat wrote:
The new rules only apply for applications done from within Canada Sad

Not true. At the same time as the new guarantor rules, they also announced a "small form" application that only applies to within Canada applicants. We don't get that:
http://www.ppt.gc.ca/newsroom/news.aspx?lang=e&page=/newsroom/20070608c.aspx

But the guarantor thing is world-wide, and absolutely allows me to be a guarantor for my daughter, though we live outside Canada.
http://www.ppt.gc.ca/newsroom/news.aspx?lang=e&page=/newsroom/20070608d.aspx
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New Guarantor Policy

On October 1, 2007, Passport Canada will introduce a simpler guarantor policy, which will allow most Canadian adult passport holders to act as guarantors.

Under this new policy, to be a guarantor, a passport holder:

* Must hold a five-year Canadian passport that is valid or has been expired for no more than one year,
* May be a family member,
* May reside at the same address as the applicant,
* Must have known the applicant for at least two years, and
* Must be a Canadian citizen 18 years of age or older and must have been 16 years of age or older when they applied for their own passport.

By moving to a Canadian passport holder criterion for guarantor declarations, Passport Canada will be able to verify guarantor information from its own database, and will not have to rely on occupational directories.
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gmat



Joined: 29 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 9:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here is the info regarding the simplified passport renewal - not the new guarantor policy which begins in October, 2007.

Simplified Passport Renewal Program http://www.pptc.gc.ca/newsroom/news.aspx?lang=e&page=/newsroom/20070608c.aspx
The Simplified Passport Renewal Program will be available as of August 15, 2007, and is part of a broader effort to modernize Canadian passport services.

It will allow Canadian citizens who meet certain eligibility criteria to renew their passport using a shorter form and without submitting documentary evidence of citizenship, supplementary identification and a guarantor declaration. Under the renewal program, passport applicants will only be required to submit the shorter form along with two new photos, the application fee and their last passport.

Canadians who meet the following eligibility criteria will be able to benefit from this program:

They must be residing in Canada at the time they apply.
They must have resided in Canada at the time of their previous application.
They were 16 years old or over at the time of their previous application.
Their previous passport:
Must have been valid for five years,
Must have been issued after January 31, 2002,
Was never damaged or reported as lost or stolen, and
Must have been issued under their current name.
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wings



Joined: 09 Nov 2006

PostPosted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 10:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

We need to start a letter writing campaign to have passports extended to 10 years! This change would be beneficial for so many people! write your MP (or an MP) and let them know that you want this to change!
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The Lemon



Joined: 11 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
We need to start a lett