Hi All - my experience at BLS Toronto St Lawrence:
I am an Indian with Canada PR, stay in Toronto, and my passport expires in March 2020. I did a physical submission of my photocopies without any appointment; on a Saturday. It gets crowded on a Saturday but there is a token system so you can wait patiently and ensure that you enter the office and get your token before 2pm - they lock the door after that. I also added my wife's name to my new passport and for that I took the original and photocopy of marriage certificate and her passport. BLS office takes photocopies if you do not have them with you and also takes your passport specific photograph AND there are lots of shops around BLS office to get things done.
BLS does not keep any originals apart from old passport.
TIMELINE:
09 Nov 2019 (Saturday) - Passport submission at BLS
- - 1:00pm - Visited BLS, took Token number and waited for 2 hours approx. Staff is friendly, curt and informative.
- - 1:30pm - Got my photographs taken for the application after taking the token - the photo studio is in the same building as the BLS office. I have heard that BLS takes photos themselves (SOMEONE CONFIRM THIS please)
- - 3:00pm - When my token number was called, the BLS employee verified all my photocopies against the originals, took the payment (Cash or Debit card only) and DONE!
- Submitted photocopies of Passport application form (downloaded from Indian passport seva site and filled up), Annexure E form, BLS checklist (downloaded online from their site), old Passport (front and back), PR card (legal status in Canada), COPR (landing paper), Marriage certificate (was adding wife's name on my passport), wife's passport (front and back), House lease agreement (Canada address proof).
- - 3:30pm - Indian restaurant "Pariwar" near BLS office
18 Nov 2019 - Status on the BLS website (
https://www.blsindia-canada.com/trackapp.php) says "Processing at Consulate General"
Hope I get my new passport soon.