I thought I would write a brief note outlining my experience applying for the passport in-person at the above location today. Understanding that I'm very lucky to have made it this far, I'm hoping that this can serve as an aid to others who eventually make it across the line.
I decided to show up around 09h00; I took the Orange Line and got off at Place D'Armes - fortunately, the path is completely sheltered to Guy Favreau from the metro, so that was a welcome relief.
You arrive and, after the escalators to go up to the Passport room, you stand in line and are given a number - mine was in the 40s. They tell you to check back in in 30 minutes, but it was really unnecessary. I walked around and got breakfast and was back in front of the Passport office in 25 minutes. In the meantime, they're very slow in calling the numbers initially and (obviously), people that have made prior appointments get to take priority over the walk-ins. Eventually my number gets called around 11:35 or so and I go in and hand the paperwork to the Welcome kiosk guy. He checks it over for completeness (thankfully, it was) and hands me the packet back with my number. I get called a few minutes later and talk to the nice lady behind the counter and opt to pay to pick it up in person, at which point she says that it will be ready the 23rd of December - Holy Christmas Gift! She hands me back my citizenship certificate and everything else except (obviously) the photos and the application. She hands me a receipt and tells me to show up on that date and that the receipt has attached to it my "appointment", although it's really not - she says I just show the guard that receipt and say I'm there for my passport and they should let me in.
I was out by 12:10 or so, so about 3-ish hours from in to out.
Moral of the story:
Best of luck to everyone. I'm almost done, but will be sticking around awhile as I know how frustrating this is (and continues to be) for many people,
I decided to show up around 09h00; I took the Orange Line and got off at Place D'Armes - fortunately, the path is completely sheltered to Guy Favreau from the metro, so that was a welcome relief.
You arrive and, after the escalators to go up to the Passport room, you stand in line and are given a number - mine was in the 40s. They tell you to check back in in 30 minutes, but it was really unnecessary. I walked around and got breakfast and was back in front of the Passport office in 25 minutes. In the meantime, they're very slow in calling the numbers initially and (obviously), people that have made prior appointments get to take priority over the walk-ins. Eventually my number gets called around 11:35 or so and I go in and hand the paperwork to the Welcome kiosk guy. He checks it over for completeness (thankfully, it was) and hands me the packet back with my number. I get called a few minutes later and talk to the nice lady behind the counter and opt to pay to pick it up in person, at which point she says that it will be ready the 23rd of December - Holy Christmas Gift! She hands me back my citizenship certificate and everything else except (obviously) the photos and the application. She hands me a receipt and tells me to show up on that date and that the receipt has attached to it my "appointment", although it's really not - she says I just show the guard that receipt and say I'm there for my passport and they should let me in.
I was out by 12:10 or so, so about 3-ish hours from in to out.
Moral of the story:
- If you can, make an appointment, unless you really feel like rolling the dice on getting your number called.
- Do your application on a printer at home, if at all possible - IRCC has the edit-able PDF version and it makes it WAY more legible than pretty much anyone's handwriting. I saw people filling out their form IN LINE (With poor handwriting to match!)
- Should probably go without saying, but block out your whole day - there's no telling how long the process will take
- GO EARLY, preferably before opening - fortune really favoured the first 10-15 in line and there was a good solid 1.5 hour wait between numbers 15 and 20, making people start to panic a little.
Best of luck to everyone. I'm almost done, but will be sticking around awhile as I know how frustrating this is (and continues to be) for many people,
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