When is the right time to apply for a Canadian passport? Your questions answered as delays persist

Aiden Ho, 7, and his brother Desmond, 5, would have been on their option to Hong Kong to go to their grandmother if solely their mom, Janice Ip, may get their passports processed.

Ip says she’s been looking on-line for a month for an appointment at Service Canada centres and passport workplaces however hasn’t discovered one inside a 50-kilometre radius of her dwelling in Aurora, Ont.

“I sort of do not belief the system in the meanwhile, however what can I do?” she stated. “It is sort of a wait-and-see state of affairs.”

Ip is considered one of many Canadians weighing the chances of committing to travelling whereas Service Canada slogs by means of an awesome demand for passports since pandemic restrictions had been relaxed, forcing hundreds to attend in line at centres throughout the nation.

She says she will not danger dropping her household’s private paperwork within the mail to use for passports — or spend cash on aircraft tickets she won’t be capable of use.

And taking a day without work from work to line up is not an choice.

“We truly should not have the posh of ready in line simply due to the character of our work. We’re not capable of work at home,” she stated.

CBC Information requested Households Minister Karina Gould, the minister accountable for passport companies, how Canadians ought to method passport functions within the upcoming weeks.

Ought to I mail my passport utility?

You are higher off not mailing your passport utility in the interim due to the “large backlog,” Gould stated.

“For some individuals, mail is the one choice, and we wish to guarantee that channel is obtainable to them, however the passport system is basically designed as an in-person service,” she stated.

Gould added that going in-person permits officers to overview private paperwork required for passport functions, corresponding to start certificates and citizen playing cards, and return them instantly.

Why does the passport program cellphone line cling up on me?

Canadians have complained about being unable to succeed in Service Canada cellphone operators, after ready for hours, solely to listen to an automatic message that hangs up on them.

“Typically your cellphone supplier, for those who’ve been on maintain for a time period, will drop the decision … And that is not truly due to the federal government of Canada’s system, as a result of we take all of these calls on,” Gould stated.

A spokesperson for Employment and Social Improvement Canada (ESDC) says 135 officers at the moment work on the passport name centre, and a further 40 officers from 1-800-O-CANADA — the overall cellphone line for data on federal authorities companies — present assist.

Service Canada put in place a system in mid-April that performs a message when the strains are full as an alternative of a busy sign or dropping calls instantly. Earlier than then, callers could be disconnected mechanically when strains had been busy. 

The federal government company obtained 949,921 calls between July 4 and July 10.

Gould says Service Canada expects 500 extra passport officers to get to work — and 383 citizen service officers who can assist them within the passport course of — by the tip of July.

Will I get my paperwork in time for a visit this fall?

If you do not have pressing journey plans, ready till September to use for a passport could be the most secure guess.

“The objective is that in 4 to 6 weeks, we shall be by means of the hump of the backlog,” Gould stated.

She hopes that, by then, individuals who posted their functions will lastly obtain their passport and that Service Canada can meet its common service requirements.

My utility wasn’t processed in time. How do I get my refund?

You might be entitled to free switch and pick-up companies on your passport if Service Canada fails to course of your full utility by service requirements, that are 20 enterprise days for mailed functions and 10 enterprise days for in-person submissions.

To get a refund of $50 to $150 for categorical and pressing pick-up charges, you may make a claim against the Crown, Gould stated.

“Typically, what occurs is individuals have submitted their utility, and if it is nonetheless inside the processing time, and so they request pressing processing, then they do must pay the expedited charge,” she stated. “If it is day 22 or 24, then they should not must pay that.”

Service Canada says it is not accountable for monetary losses if passports aren’t delivered in time on your journey. It is urging Canadians to not finalize journey plans till they’ve their passports.

Passport workplace or Service Canada Centre: the place ought to I am going?

Travellers hoping to go away inside every week or so ought to converse with an officer in individual at a passport workplace, which presents on-site printing companies, Gould says.

All different travellers ought to go to a Service Canada centre, which she says is not “passport-specific.”

In case your departure date falls inside 24 to 48 hours, no appointment is required to see a passport officer, in keeping with the ESDC, however you have to to point out proof of journey.

What’s stopping Canada from permitting renewals on-line?

One of many major challenges to streamlining calls for on-line, Gould says, is that the majority functions Service Canada receives are for individuals who by no means had Canadian passports. 

Passport renewals solely make up 12 to fifteen per cent of functions, she stated, however the federal authorities is seeking to develop a web-based utility system for easy renewals.

“We have not had this beforehand so we now have to construct it out, and we now have to guarantee that it really works,” she stated. “However that is very a lot underneath lively work at this cut-off date as a result of we wish to make the method as seamless as potential for Canadians.”