If you hate the hassle of having to renew your passport in person, then you’ll be happy to hear that the Government of Canada is letting you do it online now. Although, there are some notable differences when renewing online versus in-person or via mail.
Here’s what you need to know before you send in your application.
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Online Passport Renewal Requirements in Canada
First, you’ll need an account for the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) portal. You’ll be asked to meet all requirements before creating an account, which includes the following:
- You’re applying to renew your own passport.
- Your home and mailing address are in Canada.
- You applied for your current passport when you were 16 or older.
- Your current passport:
- is a regular (blue) passport
- was valid for 5 or 10 years
- shows your place of birth
- was issued in the last 15 years
- Your passport will expire in the next 6 months or is expired right now.
- If your passport expires in more than 6 months, you can’t renew online.
- You don’t need a passport for the next 20 business days, plus mailing time.
- Your current passport will be cancelled and will not be valid after you apply for your renewal.
- If you have travel plans, apply in person.
- You’ll use the same name, date of birth, place of birth and gender identifier on your new passport.
- You don’t have any observations in your current passport.
- Your current passport hasn’t been seized or surrendered.
- You’re not reporting a lost or stolen passport as found if it hasn’t already been returned to us.
- If you found your passport after it was lost or stolen, you need to return it to IRCC. You’re not eligible to renew online.
Digital Photos
Once you’ve made your account, you will also have to provide a digital photo to get your passport renewed. The photo must be taken in person by a commercial photographer, be no more than 6 months old when you apply, and it must not be a scanned copy of a printed photo.
IRCC recommends that you get both a digital and printed photo as “this will give you the flexibility to apply online, by mail or in person.”
It can take up to 20 business days to process your application (plus mailing time), so if you’re applying before leaving the country, be sure to do it well in advance. Do note that your current passport will be cancelled and will not be valid after you apply for your renewal.
For more information, head here.
