An Ontario woman says she’s devastated at the thought of being forced to cancel her family’s $35,000 trip because of delays in getting passports for her two sons, especially after she followed all the rules.
Milton, Ontario resident Tammy Glendinning said the trip was gifted to her family in 2019 by her sons’ 84-year-old grandfather, who traveled the world after retiring as a school principal.
“He said, ‘I really want my only two grandchildren to do this trip, this amazing safari in Kenya, and I want them to do it while I’m still alive.’
Then COVID-19 hit and their trip was postponed.
Two years later, their dream of finally being able to go on a 14-day safari in Kenya is plagued by fears they will have to cancel it because they sent their passport application by post instead of trying to cheat the system .
In April, Glendinning went to an office in Mississauga to get passports for her two teenage sons – ages 15 and 17 – only to be told there was no point in queuing unless she was traveling in 14 days.
At the time, passport officers were overwhelmed by customers whose applications were on hold during the pandemic.
She said she was informed that because her trip was months away, she needed to mail in her application and supporting documentation, including birth certificates.
Except for confirmation that her credit card was charged at the end of May, Glendinning has heard nothing from Service Canada and the trip is fast approaching.
The Safari – with a base price of around $35,000 – is scheduled to launch in less than three weeks on August 9. Once the family receives the passports, Glendinning said they must also apply for a travel visa, which can take anywhere from two to 15 days depending on the embassy.
“It’s beyond disappointing,” she told CTV News Toronto. “I’m literally helpless here. I don’t even know what to do.”
Glendinning said she’s heard rumors of people booking one-night stays in Buffalo to get their passports, but she can no longer do that because all the paperwork she needs to apply for a passport has been sent to the Canada Office.
“I followed the rules,” she said. “I did everything they asked me to do. I can’t even get an update.”
When reached for comment, Service Canada said that “after two years of travel restrictions, Canada is seeing a significant surge in demand for passports.”
“Service Canada recognizes that the increase has resulted in queues and longer wait times for service and we understand the concern this may cause customers. Due to high volume, processing times are longer than usual. We may not always meet our service standards because result.”
Service Canada advises anyone who needs a passport within two business days and has proof of travel to visit a dedicated passport site in person.
For those traveling within 3-45 business days, check-in services at one of the 35 dedicated passport locations are recommended. These services may take up to two weeks plus mailing time. Appointments are recommended and proof of travel is required.
Anyone traveling for more than 45 days is asked to apply in person or by mail. In these cases, passports can take up to 13 weeks plus mailing time.
Glendinning said she understands there are delays and staff are doing their best, but the radio silence her family is experiencing is causing a lot of anxiety.
She said she was going to take Friday off work to line up at the passport office in hopes of finding out where their application stood.
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