Canadian Passport - Mail-In Application Timelines

[CaBeaver]

I checked my tracking number online and it said available for pick up now so I went and got it! Both passport and certificate were together in one envelope.
Timeline:
Application sent by mail (UPS): Jan 24, 2022
Delivered: Jan 25, 2022
Sent online request: Fed 9, 2022
Reply back to call special number for CC information.
CC charge: Fed 14th (15 mins after I called)
Call from agent to confirm my work and school address: Fed 20, 2022
Sent another online request: Fed 22, 2022
Picked up passport from post office: Fed 28, 2022
No calls to guarantor or references.
So 24 business days total.
With citizenship 26 months.
Wow my journey is finally over! Good luck to everyone!

How did you get the tracking number? Did you call them and asked them to provide it to you?

 

[eager]

How did you get the tracking number? Did you call them and asked them to provide it to you?

I guess he meant Canada post pick-up tracking number. They left a note in his mailbox.

 

[dsanchez]

Proof you need the passport can be

• an airline, bus or train ticket
  • If travelling by car, a written statement explaining why you need to travel
• a travel itinerary showing proof of payment
• proof of illness or death in the family requiring you to travel
• a written statement from you or a third party explaining why you need the passport
  • For example, for legal, banking or residency requirements

If we can’t deliver the passport in time to you or your child, we aren’t liable for any losses.

We recommend that you don’t finalize any travel plans until you get your passport.


On one side they ask you to provide prrof of Airline bus or train ticket and again they say "Do not finalise any travel plans untill you get passport !!!"

LOL what an irony. How to get In person appintment then

When I first was trying to figure a way to get an in person appointment, I got the call from them, and the impression I got was that they don't expect this to be used just because you feel like travelling; it's for stuff like "I have to travel for a funeral or a wedding or unmissable business appointment", where you're going to book it and take your chances.

 

[diana98]

I guess he meant Canada post pick-up tracking number. They left a note in his mailbox.

How did you get the tracking number? Did you call them and asked them to provide it to you?

Exactly right. The post office tag they left in my mailbox is how I used it to check.

 

[eagle922]

So Canada Post left the notice to pick up the passport from the post office in my neighbor's mailbox.

Luckily I had called the passport helpline last week on Friday and gotten the tracking numbers. If I hadn't, then I would have had no idea that the notice was misdelivered and would have never received my passport. It's a sad state of things overall.

 

[Kanedaa]

Anyone booked fully refundable flight tickets for urgent passport request?
If so, which airlines/site did you use?

 

[FSerrano91]

Hello, I received my passport today. This is my timeline:
Application mailed: Jan 18, 2022
Application received: Jan 21, 2022
CC charged: Feb 4, 2022
Passport received: Feb 28, 2022

Overall 25 business days. They didn’t contact neither my guarantor nor my references.

 

[CaBeaver]

So Canada Post left the notice to pick up the passport from the post office in my neighbor's mailbox.

Luckily I had called the passport helpline last week on Friday and gotten the tracking numbers. If I hadn't, then I would have had no idea that the notice was misdelivered and would have never received my passport. It's a sad state of things overall.

What a huge mistake from the mailman. How can they make such a mistake especially with an important document?

How long did take you to talk to an agent to get the tracking number?

 

[CaBeaver]

I guess he meant Canada post pick-up tracking number. They left a note in his mailbox.

I didn't know they include the tracking number in the tag!

 

[EPP]

Sent passport application by fed ex. It arrived January 4th.
Credit card charged January 13th.
I called today and was told that my ID (copy of drivers license) was not signed by guarantor on the back side. Was signed on front only.
February 2nd is when they stopped working on it. They admitted they didn’t call to tell me.
Now I have to fax them my id signed by guarantor and wait three more weeks before it might be complete.
I’m not travelling, but I really want the passport to prove citizenship.
Btw, when I called, there were no calls in front of mine. I tried calling before today and there were over 70 calls before me.

What is the number to contact them??

 

[action.me]

Anyone booked fully refundable flight tickets for urgent passport request?
If so, which airlines/site did you use?

Pretty much any airline allows full refund if canceled within 24 hrs of booking. Business class are fully refundable for the most part too. So if you book a flight ticket say 3 days ahead and apply for urgent passport and then cancel the ticket next day........ I mean it's not a bad idea. Lol

 

[CaBeaver]

Pretty much any airline allows full refund if canceled within 24 hrs of booking. Business class are fully refundable for the most part too. So if you book a flight ticket say 3 days ahead and apply for urgent passport and then cancel the ticket next day........ I mean it's not a bad idea. Lol

I wish I thought of this. I could have booked a ticket, received a confirmation, and then immediately cancelled the ticket, and kept the confirmation for the passport appointment. In my mind I thought I needed to cancel the ticket after I apply for the passport, which potentially could pose an issue in the cancellation process if the ticket was not selected carefully. In-mail option is very slow, unpredictable, and unreliable (in the timeline sense).

 

[shazahsan]

Anyone booked fully refundable flight tickets for urgent passport request?
If so, which airlines/site did you use?

It doesn't have to be a flight ticket I believe, the website says flight, bus or train. You could book a fully refundable Greyhound bus ticket from Toronto to New York for example.
Also I hope they scrap the requirement overall, most provinces are lifting restrictions now anyway so they should resume walk-in. I mean, literally everything else is open, shops, malls, restaurants... All for walk in, with masks. Why can't passport office do the same?

 

[CaBeaver]

It doesn't have to be a flight ticket I believe, the website says flight, bus or train. You could book a fully refundable Greyhound bus ticket from Toronto to New York for example.
Also I hope they scrap the requirement overall, most provinces are lifting restrictions now anyway so they should resume walk-in. I mean, literally everything else is open, shops, malls, restaurants... All for walk in, with masks. Why can't passport office do the same?

Yeah, everything except federal services because the possibility of infection in federal offices is 1000x higher than in restaurants, malls, stadiums ... etc.

 

[bpjeee]

Anyone booked fully refundable flight tickets for urgent passport request?
If so, which airlines/site did you use?

Yes I did a fully refundable business class ticket to New York in Air Canada. Online cancellation just took a click. There are 3 refund options you can select what suits you best. BTW this is for information purpose only...