The federal government warns that the huge increase in the number of Canadians applying for passports is causing long waiting times at Service Canada locations across the country.
The demand for passports is said to be due to the fact that many Canadians are delaying international travel for much of the pandemic.
With the easing of pandemic restrictions in Canada and around the world, Canadians who want to travel are appearing in huge numbers in the passport office.
The government says it receives more than 200,000 calls a day for passport applications from Service Canada.
That’s about 40 times more calls than Service Canada typically receives before the pandemic, when the agency processes about 5,000 passport applications a day.
“This unprecedented jump in demand has led to a rapid fulfillment of commitments,” said a statement from Employment and Social Development Canada, which manages Office Canada’s offices.
“The Canadian government acknowledges that during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians had other things on their minds and planning to renew their passports was not a priority. However, this reduction in passport applications will necessarily lead to a higher than normal jump at a later date. “
People stand in long lines at the passport office in downtown Vancouver on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 (Ben Nelms / CBC)
Figures provided to CBC News show that passport applications appeared in the first year of the pandemic.
From April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021, Service Canada issued 363,000 passports.
A year later, between April 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022, the agency issued 1,273,000 passports.
Service Canada also cites current health and safety restrictions, which limit the number of staff allowed to work in a place, as a factor in long waiting times.
Ottawa credits the simplified renewal process
While long queues have become commonplace in Service Canada locations, people who manage to submit their applications still receive their passports within the usual processing time.
Ottawa says the lead time for people applying to one of Service Canada’s 35 dedicated passport sites is five business days. The government’s “standard of service” for these locations is 10 working days.
People applying elsewhere in Service Canada or by mail wait an average of 25 business days for their applications to be processed – slightly higher than this standard of 20 business days.
The government attributes the introduction of a simplified passport renewal process to keeping processing time under control during the wave of new applications.
But some people applying for passports told CBC News about the waiting days. A family in Greater Vancouver said they had made five unsuccessful attempts to apply in various parts of the city.
According to the updated guidelines, applicants are no longer required to have a guarantor or to provide original documents as proof of citizenship.
Any expired passport issued in the last 15 years can be renewed with fewer documents, which include two photos, two references, a completed application form and fees.
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