Canadians applying for passports will soon receive their passport within 30 days, or the government will refund the fee.
The announcement was made by Minister of Citizens’ Services Terry Beech on March 7 during a news conference in Ottawa.
Passports are expected to be processed within 30 business days, with the application and passport mailing time not included.
Beech mentioned that the number of online applications processed per day is increasing, with expectations to reach 500 a day by May.
He also stated that 99 percent of in-person applications were processed within 10 days.
In 2024, Service Canada began posting processing wait times online, with passport applications currently taking 20 days to process.
According to a March 7 government
news release, the 30-day policy guarantee is expected to be implemented later this year.
The guarantee applies to passport applications made online, in person, or by mail.
The government cited its commitment to transparency and efficiency as the reason for this move.
Additional Processing Centres
Beech also announced the opening of a new passport processing and print center in Surrey, with 60 locations offering 10-business day passport services across Canada.
A full-service passport office will also be opened in Charlottetown, PEI, in the near future.
Since 2021, passport issuance has surged by 315 percent, with expectations to issue 5.4 million passports in 2025.
Service Canada anticipates receiving up to 5.74 million passport applications for 2024 and 2025.
The current passport fees are $120 for a five-year passport for Canadians 16 and older, $160 for a 10-year passport for those 16 and older, and $57 for a child passport (15 and younger).
Beech highlighted that Service Canada now allows for online passport applications.
Processing Delays
Following a Canada Post strike and pandemic-related delays, Service Canada hired additional staff to eliminate the backlog of passport applications.
A recent Service Canada
report mentioned a historic volume of passport requests in 2022, leading to significant backlogs.
The report attributed the backlog to a shift to mail-in applications, more complex applications, and limited staff in offices and processing centers.
The report highlighted the challenges faced by Canadians in obtaining passports during this time.
The Canadian Press contributed to this article.
