Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced yesterday that Canadians living abroad will receive improved passport services. These improvements are effective as of December 9, 2013.

Moving forward, Canadians living and working outside of Canada may choose as a guarantor:

• An adult with a valid or recently expired Canadian passport (less than a year), or;
• A member of an expanded list of occupations

A guarantor will sign a ‘Declaration of Guarantor’ in an individual’s passport application form. He or she will also attest that passport photos are true likenesses of an individual. They should not assist the applicant in any other way.

Individuals in the following occupations may now be guarantors:

• Medical doctors;
• Deans/heads of universities or colleges;
• Dentists;
• Judges;
• Lawyers/notaries;
• Notary publics;
• Pharmacists;
• Police Officers;
• Signing officers of banks or trust companies, or of financial institutions that offer a full range of banking services; and
• Veterinarians.