If you need a passport but don’t want to wake up before dawn or can’t take a day off to stand in long, winding queues at a Service Canada office, hiring a “freelance standard” may be an option. you.
In recent days, ads for “freelancers” have started appearing on the online advertising website Kijiji. For anywhere from $ 17 to $ 50 an hour, you can hire someone to stand online at a Service Canada office and receive a text message or call as you approach the start of the queue.
“Why wait in long, tired lineups when I can do it for you?” $ 100 flat rate – covers the first two hours, $ 25 after that, “reads an online advertisement for a service in downtown Toronto.
The government’s passport-related website is currently warning applicants that “there are currently a very large number of calls”. While meetings can be booked online, some candidates told CTV News they could not make an appointment until June.
The Canadian government blames the difficulties in meeting and the long queues for high demand and renewed interest in travel. From April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, Canada’s Employment and Social Development, which monitors the Canadian service, said it issued 1,273,000 passports, 250 percent more than in the same period last year.
Toronto student MD Sakib recently began offering his service to a permanent line of people seeking a passport. He described his service as “profitable”. For $ 17 an hour, he will wait in line and contact you when he is close to the front.
“As soon as I get to the line, I send a photo and it actually starts the hourly rate,” Sakib told CTV National News. “From there we continue until we meet and I resign.”
Sakib placed his ad on Kijiji this week after lining up at the Toronto Passport Office at 3:30 a.m. to allow a family member to obtain a passport.
“I’m a student with little free time, so I offer this service to people who don’t have time,” he said. “Time is money, and choosing a passport or a Canadian job is crazy.”
CTV News spoke to a number of people with Kijiji publications describing the new “industry” as lucrative and highly sought after. A man, who declined to be named, told CTV News that he charged $ 50 an hour and had made multiple trips to the passport office on behalf of others over the past few weeks.
“I saw an article and then I looked for Kijiji. Then I thought that if others do, why can’t I try, “another CTV News employee wrote in an email.
The government encourages Canadians to apply for passports early and not complete a trip until their passports have been obtained. Travel experts fear that the resumption of travel means that long queues at both passport offices and airports will not weaken any time soon.
In a statement, Canada’s Employment and Social Development Guide suggested this guide to travelers:
- To avoid long queues, Canadians without an upcoming trip can apply by visiting one of Canada’s more than 300 service centers.
- Anyone who needs a passport within the next 3-25 working days must apply in person at one of the 35 specialized passport sites and have proof of travel or need.
- Anyone requesting a passport within two working days should visit the nearest Passport Service, offering an emergency pick-up service. In these cases, proof of travel or need is required.
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