Here’s the fast new way for you to track your passport application online
The federal government is offering you a new tool to track your passport application.
An online tracker has been launched to keep Canadians informed of the status of their applications, to avoid the kind of chaos experienced during the pandemic, as another rush for passports before the peak travel season in the summer is expected to begin.
All it takes is a few clicks on your keyboard and some basic information, Social Development Minister Karina Gould announced Tuesday.
The new checker shifts inquiries online and lets applicants get a response faster, especially during seasonal peaks, the government said.
The tool comes just as Service Canada is preparing for a surge of renewal applications for the first set of passports with 10-year validity, which were first issued 10 years ago, in July 2013.
We continue to work hard to modernize and improve our services to Canadians. The Passport Application Status Checker is a new, easy-to-use tool that allows Canadians to check the status of their passport applications online, 24 hours a day," Gould said in a statement.
During the pandemic, Canadians were denied non-essential foreign travel due to border and public health restrictions. But once people began to travel again, the demand for passports shot up, leading to massive backlogs at passport offices across the country, with front-line staff overwhelmed by inquiries.
Last summer, passport offices were besieged by frustrated applicants, who lined up overnight in lawn chairs to get in the queue for their documents before the summer holiday season. Would-be travellers complained about missing their trips because they couldn't get the passports in time.
Officials said the passport backlog has now been eliminated, with processing for in-person passport applications at a specialized passport office done within 10 days 96 per cent of the time. Applications received by mail or dropped off at a Service Canada Centre are done within 20 days, 98 per cent of the time.
Since April 1, 2022, Canada has issued more than three million passports and this fiscal year, the number is expected to go up to as many as 4.9 million.
Nicholas Keung is a Toronto-based reporter covering immigration for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @nkeung