Is the Real Wait Actually 14 Weeks?

Have you received your passport recently after mailing the application to Gatineau? If you did, how long did you wait for it? Is the wait actually 14 weeks now?

Actually, it looks as though it has been about that for some time now, based on previous posts.

PS

My application was received by PC on March 20. On May 18 I was told it hadn't yet been opened -- that they were just starting to open mail from March 7 -- and that it would be a minimum of three and a half weeks before I got the passport. (Don't ask me how that timeline is supposed to work.) So that sounds a lot like 14 weeks' total.

But I noticed another poster had succeeded in getting through to PC May 22 and was told they were just starting to open applications from FEBRUARY 23. That would make it a considerably longer wait.

my question: where is the outrage? Why are Canadians so eternally complacent?

Passport Canada seems to have different piles for some applications. It does appear that 14 weeks is the current standard.

You want to show your outrage, pick up the phone and call your MP. Only pressure in Ottawa seems to actually work. Or call your local newspaper or TV station and ask them if they know the wait time and how many people have lost and will lose their vacations this year.

I sent my application in on March 13 from Florida, given the times posted here 'opening Feb 21 applications on May 25' , PP Canada won't process mine until around June 14...

Received in Gatineau Feb 14, 2007.  Xpresspost to me May 30, 2007, with supporting documents returned.  Yes, 14 weeks I would say.  I had a problem with my name (legal versus given) and this caused a few days delay.  The agent did call me (left message) and when I called him back, he picked up the phone!     The agent was polite and professional. 

They opened my application and charged my credit card after 10 weeks.  So that seems to be about right.  I would say about 14 weeks for those of you waiting for your passports. 

Let's see what happens in 5 years.

I got a letter from Gatineau after 12 weeks asking me to resend my toddler son's photo. I had to resend photos as they found shadow behind his ears.I took the initial photos at Costco. The second time I went to Ritz camera.So please check for any shadow or glare from glasses on the photos.

My application was received on April 3.  The Consulate and my MP said they are now opening applications from mid-March. They figured I should hear something by mid-July, which is . . . 15 weeks by my calculation.

Worst thing is I inadvertently left out my birth certificate, which I'll admit was not a bright thing to do.  I was told that Passport Canada now sends back 40 PERCENT of applications due to errors.  However, I've read in this discussion group that sometimes they get in touch with you and request that you send missing documents or new photos.

Is it worth waiting until mid-July to see if they contact me about the missing document?  Or should I ask my MP to try to see if my (application and now expired passport) can be pulled and returned, then start anew earlier rather than later? 

Just trying to figure out my options . . .   

 

Frankly, if you can get to a Canadian passport office, and you still have your birth certificate, I would drive over there and just reapply. They are back to 2 weeks standard processing time at the regional offices and of course you can always get it expedited (for a fee) as well. Once they finally get to opening your original application, they'll see that you've reapplied and they'll just toss it. That would be the fastest way to go.

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. 

Hello Blair,

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

Em

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.

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.