passports
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » EDS Lounge

free skin care · Tue Apr 24, 2007 7:36 am

I just got my passport yesterday, and what a process it was. Follow my directions and you'll be in and out in no time. The Passport Canada offices are literally overflowing right now because of the new change stating you need a passport to enter the US by air. Everyone's doing it at once.

Go to Walmart. You get two passport photos taken for 14 bucks. It takes about 5 minutes to get them processed, so, no big deal.
Have a birth certificate onhand. You'll need this as your sole indentifying document, or a Certificate of Canadian * spam *. It's one or the other. If you lost your birth certificate, you'll need to head down to Vital Statistics Canada, where you can pay 26 dollars for a short-form certificate. It takes about 20 minutes.
Have at least one supporting identifying document. This means your licence, your health card, etc.

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP:

http://www.pptc.gc.ca/can/pol_on-line_form.aspx?lang=e

USE THIS LINK TO FILL OUT YOUR APPLICATION. Do NOT get an application from the post office or anywhere else!
If you fill out the application online, the information will be stored for you and you will not have to wait in the line up. I can't stress this enough. Last Friday, my mom and I went in to get our passports done, and there were 45-50 people ahead of us waiting, with about 13 being processed per hour. This is because all of their info has to be entered manually. If done over the computer, you will not have to wait behind those who need this done, and you won't have to wait for the agents to enter your info. Yesterday, my mom and I went in again after processing the info on the site and printing out the applications that way. As before, there was a good 50 people there- we walked in, said we already filed online, and were processed in the next two minutes.

I don't know why Passport Canada is so quiet about this. This is why the waiting times are so long- so do your application on the site, print it out exactly as they say, and then for the last step.

Take your application and photos to a guarantor. I got my doctor to sign my application, and one of my photos.

Then, bring all your stuff to Passport Canada. After not waiting for an obscenely long time, you'll give them your photos, application, and let them look at your birth certificate and the supporting documents. You'll pay 87 dollars, and it'll take two weeks (10 working days) before they mail it out. So you're looking at a mere three week wait.

Good luck! I wish I had known how to do it the first time.

Automatic Message

If this is your first visit to the EDS Forums please take the time to register. Registration is required for you to post on the forums. Registration will also give you the ability to track messages of interest, send private messages to other users, participate in Gift Certificates draws and enjoy automatic discounts for shopping at our online store. Registration is free and takes just a few seconds to complete.

Click Here to join our community.

If you are already a registered member on the forums, please login to gain full access to the site.