I’ve just found myself in a bit of a pickle.
I’m going to have to go the US at the end of the month, and my passport has expired. I still have a US passport, which is fine for going to the US, but requires explanation when coming back to Canada.
Is it possible to get a fast passport? I’ll be in Vancouver on the 6th, so I could go to a biggish office. Is this practical to do?
Yes. Going to the passport office has improved a lot in the last few years. I was in the one in Ottawa last year and was pleasantly surprised at the efficiency. I wasn’t in a hurry and was told to expect a six week turn-around, but my passport was ready in less than 3 weeks. I believe you can expedite the process somehow for immediate travel, but have no experience in this. Wait till you get to Vancouver. Here’s the address:
Sinclair Centre
200-757 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
V6C 1A1
If you can go in person, with proof that you’re travelling soon, and if you are willing to pay an additional fee they can expedite the process. Call ahead and they’ll tell you exactly what documents will suffice. I’ve had co-workers get a passport within 5 days in an emergency.
Their website seems to suggest there’s a sub-24 hour option, which is nuts.
http://www.ppt.gc.ca/cdn/urgent.aspx?lang=eng
I really need to renew mine now too, just to avoid the extra hassle/fees.
My American ex-wife (who was a naturalized Canadian) found herself returning from the US once with only her US passport. No problem, as things turned out: her US passport plus her Canadian citizenship card worked just fine to get her home. If worst comes to worst, maybe you can do the same.
This is my back up plan, but I dislike taking my citizenship card from the fortress of solitude. Those things are really hard to replace.
The U.S. now requires its citizens to show a passport (or similer US travel documents) as a condition of re-entering the U.S. from Canada, but I don’t think Canada has a similar requirement for Canadian citizens re-entering Canada from the U.S. - just proof of Canadian citizenship, as Spoons mentions. You might want to check out the Citizenship and Immigration web-page to get a more authoritative view.
Yes. Why would it matter if you use your US passport? That plus your drivers’ license plus your expired Canadian passport should be sufficient to prove you are allowed into Canada.
the problem is rarely “getting back into your home country” (unless you have a serious foreign accent) so much as getting into foreign countries, and it was the US that started demanding passports. All Canadians might want to know is “if you are Canadian, how the heck did the US let you in?” and “Prove you’re not a felon escaping the USA”.
This. My buddy discovered while he was in line for customs at the airport to go on his honeymoon that his passport had expired. Obviously they were turned away from their flight, but they were able to take all their trip reservation information to the passport office and, IIRC, he got a new passport within 48 hours from the Toronto office. It was gobsmackingly fast and cost a pretty penny.
I do remember that they had some issues with the fact that their plane tickets were now null and void (their travel agent was still working on rebooking flights), but the passport office agent person took pity and accepted all their other hotel and activity confirmation slips, and fresh marriage certificate, as proof that my buddy was a complete idiot and that they were supposed to be travelling imminently.
My hope is to not have to prove that I’m a complete idiot in order to be able to travel.
Ah, isn’t that what we all hope for.
We have to do the passport shuffle again later this year, too. Gah.
Why wait? Do it now. I renewed my passport this year. I dropped everything off in person downtown Montreal and they mailed it Canada Post. They told me 2 weeks - it took 8 days, and I had only indicated my intent to travel within 2 months or so. For a renewal it’s very easy, since your current passport serves as a lot of the proof they need to issue you a new one!
Oh - that’s good to know. I though we were going to have to do the whole arduous process again, complete with days off work and afternoons spent in lines in government offices.
I had to renew my UK passport in London last year. It took less than five hours. By Og it was expensive.
I have never had a Canadian passport. My US passport and Canadian citizenship card always work, whether from the US or elsewhere. I didn’t realize the citizenship card was so hard to replace. Maybe I should get a passport. The process is so complicated, it lasts only five years instead of ten and renewal is–or used to be–just like getting the first one.
The renewal process is still just the same as getting a new one, I believe, except guarantors can now be anyone who has known you for 3+ years and holds a valid Canadian passport. It doesn’t have to be a doctor, lawyer, PENG, etc.
Or maybe not. It seems if your current passport hasn’t expired then the renewal process is even simpler.
As long as your passport is a “regular” passport, you’re not changing your name, and it’s still valid or has been expired for a year or less, you probably qualify for simplified passport renewal. Notably, this can be done by mail. No guarantor or birth certificate required, though you still do need signed photographs from a professional photographer or studio.
Got to the passport office today. They were very efficient, and I should have a passport on the 20th.
Thanks, guys.