# My new passport arrived! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 30, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146 "2014-01-30T18:34:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/1 "2014-01-30T18:34:17Z")
Yes, I am now legal to travel outside the country again! I have a shiny new Canadian passport that doesn’t expire until the _twenties_. The new passport is actually quite beautiful inside; each page has a different engraved background picture, and there’s quite a lot of colour as well. It even came a week earlier than the expected ship date on the order receipt. Government efficiency! 🙂 I got the passport just in case I get a job offer outside the country after I graduate. Which far-flung Doper shall I [del]annoy[/del] visit first\*? [sub]\*Assuming sufficient time and money for travel–a big assumption right now.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/2 "2014-01-30T18:41:38Z")
Congrats. My passport is perhaps my most treasured possession; it lets me go anywhere-ish. Well, anywhere that’s not Cuba, and maybe I need to get a visa first, but close enough. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/3 "2014-01-30T18:43:45Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Congrats. My passport is perhaps my most treasured possession; it lets me go anywhere-ish. Well, anywhere that’s not Cuba, and maybe I need to get a visa first, but close enough. I assume you’re American. I know quite a few Americans, including my mother-in-law, who have made trips to Cuba over the past few years. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/4 "2014-01-30T19:04:02Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > …I have a shiny new Canadian passport that doesn’t expire until the _twenties_… They’re good for more than 5 years now? ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/5 "2014-01-30T19:04:41Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I assume you’re American. I know quite a few Americans, including my mother-in-law, who have made trips to Cuba over the past few years. Fair enough–I know it can be done, it’s just not a very high priority for me right now. I still love my passport. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/6 "2014-01-30T19:06:11Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > They’re good for more than 5 years now? Yep, for an extra $40 you can get one that’s good for 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/7 "2014-01-30T19:07:23Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > They’re good for more than 5 years now? I wondered about that too. I had my Canadian passport renewed in 2011, and it expires in 2016. I looked on the Passport Canada website, and apparently: > [@](#): > > Applicants age 16 and over now have the choice to apply for a 5-year or 10-year passport. The 5-year passport is $120, and the 10-year is $160. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/8 "2014-01-30T19:24:24Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I wondered about that too. I had my Canadian passport renewed in 2011, and it expires in 2016. > > I looked on the Passport Canada website, and apparently:The 5-year passport is $120, and the 10-year is $160. I figured that halving the amount of renewal hassle was worth an extra $40. My friend was just saying that children need passports at birth, but that they don’t get updated any more frequently than normal, which means that her three-year-old still has a baby pic in her passport. I would have thought that that might cause problems, but apparently not. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/9 "2014-01-30T19:38:30Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > I figured that halving the amount of renewal hassle was worth an extra $40… Absolutely. I’m glad we have that option now. Mine expires this November and I’m definitely getting the 10 year one. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Dr\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/10 "2014-01-30T19:44:50Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I wondered about that too. I had my Canadian passport renewed in 2011, and it expires in 2016. > > I looked on the Passport Canada website, and apparently:The 5-year passport is $120, and the 10-year is $160. I, also, renewed my passport in 2011. I don’t recall hearing anything about a 10-year passport being an option, at the time. I wonder if this is a fairly recent change. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/11 "2014-01-30T19:48:17Z")
[Apparently last July.](http://www.ppt.gc.ca/articles/20130702.aspx?lang=eng) > [@](#): > > Calgary, July 2, 2013 — Canada’s new and more secure 10-year ePassport is now available to Canadians, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/12 "2014-01-30T19:49:10Z")
> [@Dr\_Doom](#): > > I, also, renewed my passport in 2011. I don’t recall hearing anything about a 10-year passport being an option, at the time. I wonder if this is a fairly recent change. July 1st of last year. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Dr\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/13 "2014-01-30T19:50:06Z")
Maybe Stephen Harper doesn’t hate Canada, after all! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/14 "2014-01-30T19:56:52Z")
They should have had the people who did the new passport artwork do the new banknote artwork. My only beef with the new banknotes was that the artwork was too monochrome. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/15 "2014-01-31T02:13:16Z")
How long did it take? I think it is still a fair bit more expensive than a 10 year US passport. I have never gotten a Canadian passport. Partly because I am reluctant to mail in my citizenship card and they will hassle me if I try to return to Canada without it. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/16 "2014-01-31T02:41:24Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > … > > I got the passport just in case I get a job offer outside the country after I graduate. Which far-flung Doper shall I [del]annoy[/del] visit first\*? > > [sub]\*Assuming sufficient time and money for travel–a big assumption right now.[/sub] You could visit me, though you already did. 🙂 ('Twas fun!) Besides, I’m in the same country. Congrats on the passport 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/17 "2014-01-31T02:55:59Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > How long did it take? I think it is still a fair bit more expensive than a 10 year US passport. I have never gotten a Canadian passport. Partly because I am reluctant to mail in my citizenship card and they will hassle me if I try to return to Canada without it. I submitted and paid for the application in person at a passport office on Jan 22nd; I received it in the mail (Expresspost) today, Jan 30th. Granted, that was the second time I’d been to the passport office; the first time, they said that my birth certificate was too damaged to be accepted, so I had to get a new one from the Ontario government, but once that was done, I had no problems. > [@EmilyG](#): > > You could visit me, though you already did. 🙂 ('Twas fun!) Besides, I’m in the same country. > > Congrats on the passport 😃 Thanks! Another visit to you guys in Montréal is definitely on the list. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/18 "2014-01-31T03:35:27Z")
I’d suggest coming out west. You won’t need your passport (well, I’m close enough to the 49th that you may want to bring it anyway–Montana’s Glacier National Park isn’t far away), but we’d like to see you out here someday. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/19 "2014-01-31T03:40:27Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Yes, I am now legal to travel outside the country again! I have a shiny new Canadian passport that doesn’t expire until the _twenties_. > > The new passport is actually quite beautiful inside; each page has a different engraved background picture, and there’s quite a lot of colour as well. It even came a week earlier than the expected ship date on the order receipt. Government efficiency! 🙂 > > I got the passport just in case I get a job offer outside the country after I graduate. Which far-flung Doper shall I [del]annoy[/del] visit first\*? > > [sub]\*Assuming sufficient time and money for travel–a big assumption right now.[/sub] I can offer you blowjob bars. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146/20 "2014-01-31T03:46:19Z")
Exciting French culture, the majesty of the West, or… blowjob bars. Whatever shall I choose? 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-passport-arrived/680146.md?page=2)