We have been trying since April 7, 2007 to receive our Passports.  We live in the U.S. and feel we are being put on the back burner because we live here and not in Canada.  As a matter of fact we were told that by a representative of Passport Canada.  Passport Canada should be ashamed of themselves.  We too may lose a lot of money for a vacation we are planning the end of this month, October.  We are at our wits end, just don't know what to do now.

There current listed wait is 10 weeks by mail and 13 weeks by receiving agent. That doesn't include the time to actually send it. That's just until they open the envelope and take a look at what is inside.

Hello Blair,

Week 13th and I am still waiting i bet at least 15 wks. Dreadful!!

Em

]No 2 ways about it, applications should be processed as they are received.
If travel date matters then the applicant should of taken steps to Expedite their passport under the rules set by THEM, which was in person & for a matter of Work or dire circumstances i.e death, and with ticket in hand.

I can not believe some real or phony date placed in the application should make ANY difference, what so  ever!!!

My application was received on the 30th of April & I am still waiting though the projected time was 10 wks
when I called on the 11th week they were just then opening apps from the 7th of APRIL how lame!!!


It should be criminal to hold people prisoners this way, and I have no doubt those of us that live outside Canada get the least consideration of all.

It makes me very angry that they would  have the unmitigated gall to even consider a travel date, after the set rules are as were underlined to us.

Yet that was what I was asked when I called if I had a ticket & travel date? - !!

p.s  it took me a month longer due to pictures when I would show them at the local Canadian consulate they were deemed to fail, time and again, now the 24 of July I still wait, 13 weeks later.

Good luck to us all.

Em

Same thing happened to me.  (Pasport arrived in Gatineau on April 3, then returned because my birth certificate was missing,  When I realized this, my MP advised me to Fedex my birth certificate, and they would have Passport Canada match the two Fedexes.  That didn't happen, so now my birth certificate is sitting in a pile in Gatineau gathering cobwebs.  Good thing I have another copy . . . ) 

The Canadian consulate told me I could go to any passport office in Canada, and I'd need to use the Canadians living in the US form.  (But check the Canada Passport office website -- some offices have amilin service only.)  The consulate also said I could apply "Urgent" and it would take 2 business days.  Any experience with this? 

There are actually three offices in the Montreal area, where I'll probably reapply - Montreal, Laval, and Saint-Laurent.   Would love to know people's experience with each place.

My passport arrived in Gatineau April 10. I called them last week and they said they still hadn't opened it. Then on Friday I received my passport back through DHL because of an error on my application form. At least now I know where my passport is instead of it sitting in some box on a shelf. Anyway I will most likely try to go to Canada and go to a passport office in person. If I'm applying in Canada but I'm living in the U.S. should I still be using the application for Canadians living in the U.S.? Also does anyone know about line up times of the Montreal office?

Which offices in Eastern Canada will process your passport quickly if you go there in person? 

My passport was recevied in Gatineau on April 3, and still no sign of them opening it.  The Canadian Consulate advised me that I could drive up to Canada and reapply in person at any passport office -- and for an extra fee they could make it urgent and issue it in a day or two.  However, they couldn't comment on which offices were more expedient.

I live in the Metro NY area, and would ideally like to apply somewhere that's within one day's drive.  Any recommendations?

 

Latest from the 1-800 number is that it's now 15 weeks.  Then the usual recorded message that all operators are busy and to call back another time. 

Today I saw two new postings on passport Canada's website which will simplify the renewal process....



And one more

I've been getting inconsistent information.  Canada Consulate in NY, my MP at home, and someone we called at US-Canada Border Immigration all said I was OK going from the US to Canada and back with my green card, NY Driver's license and birth certificate.  However, my immigration lawyer said I might be denied entry without a passport.  (Maybe she thought I meant if I traveled by air instead of car?)

It was also recommended that I not wait for my application (gathering cobwebs in Gatineau), drive to Canada, and reapply for expedited service.  Then I was told that there was no such things as "expedited service" -- that the wait time depends on the office.  Anyone living in the US go to Canada for an expedited passport? If so, which office do you recommend and how long does it take?

Update 1:
My original passport application (from April) was rejected, and my next plan is to go to Canada and reapply there as "Urgent."   Does "Urgent" really take 2 business days? 

Update 2:
On the Canadian Consulate's advice, I redid my application and took them in for review.  They said they would reject my passport photos (taken by the same photographer in Canada  who'd done my passport photos for my last two passports) because I had a slight smile on my face.  (I was also told by another person waiting that the mail-in wait time was now 16 weeks.)  So I ran around, got 3 more sets of photos taken, stamped, guarantorized, etc.  The first place I went to was a photographer the consulate recommended, and I had to do a lot of digging to find two other places that do anything resembling what's required for Canada Passport.  I also brought flight tix for late August, a copy of my return bus tix to the US, and a letter from my boss saying I was needed back at work ASAP.  Then we took a night bus to Montreal, got in line early in the AM, and they processed my application for pickup two days letter.  And which photos did they use?  The ones that the consulate said would be rejected because I had a slight smile on my face. (The ones done at the place the consulate recommended were also, ironically, rejected.)

The moral of the story:
1.  If living in the US and you need to travel, try to get your passport application processed within Canada (not in Gatineau).
2.  Bring documentation to show that you need to get it processed quickly.
3.  If you're planning to get a new passport within the next year, the next time you're in Canada get a few sets of passport photos taken so you can be sure they meet the requirements.