Government addresses passport processing delays

Credit to Author: Canadian Immigrant| Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2022 01:18:10 +0000

A number of Canadians are making travel plans after more than two years of pandemic restrictions but slow processing of passport applications is getting in the way!

But the situation might be improving.

On August 29, 2022, Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development announced important measures that Service Canada has taken to deal with the challenging situation.  This includes investing more resources for providing passport services, simplified renewal processes and expansion in passport pick-up services.

“With this surge in passport requests and significant delays in processing applications, we know that many Canadians have been put in very difficult and stressful situations. We are not out of the woods in terms of passport service delivery, but we are seeing a positive trend. We will continue to implement every possible option to help Canadians get their passport in a timely way, and with additional staff, processing has increased and we are making real progress in reducing the backlog,” says Gould.

Highlights provided by Gould include:

• A significant increase in the Service Canada workforce, with over 2,000 employees now providing passport services to help deal with large increases in demand;
• The expansion of simplified renewals of passports to include adults who have had a passport issued in the last 15 years;
• A new triage system that has been implemented in metropolitan areas to manage lineups and ensure that Canadians with imminent travel requirements receive their passport in time;
• The expansion of passport pick-up service, which is now available in nearly all passport offices and in four Service Canada Centres. In the coming weeks the service will be expanded to nine more Service Canada Centres; and
• The expansion of passport services to 24 scheduled outreach sites in Ontario, Québec and Atlantic Canada, with more to be announced in the coming weeks, to help meet the passport needs of rural and remote communities.

Access more information about passport services, FAQs and progress updates here.

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