All eligible Canadians can now renew their passports online, the federal government announced Tuesday, removing previous daily limits on how many people could apply online.
Immigration Minister Lena Diab spoke at a press conference in Vancouver.
“As of today, online passport renewal will be available to all eligible adult Canadians applying from within Canada. We are removing the limit on the number of people who can access this service,” Diab said.
“That means eligible Canadians will no longer have to wait for an online application spot to become available. They will be able to begin their renewal online whenever it is convenient for them to do so.”
The announcement comes after multiple reports in recent years of Canadians having to wait hours in person and online for passport renewal spots.
At the time, Service Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) cited a lack of resources to meet demand.
“Removing the limit on online passport renewals may sound like a small operational change, but for hundreds of thousands of Canadians, it will mean one less errand, one less line-up and one less thing to worry about before their next journey,” Diab said.
The changes come as the federal government says it expects demand for passport renewals to keep climbing.
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Annie Koutrakis, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of jobs and families, also spoke Tuesday and said an estimated 4.6 million passport applications will be made throughout 2026, up from 3.8 million last year.
She then said approximately two million of those passport applications are for people who could submit them online, and the changes mean they may be able to avoid waiting in person at Service Canada locations.
Diab was also asked by Global News whether the government’s online application portal can handle the influx of applications now that the caps have been removed.
“The system has been tested, and the IRCC and Service Canada have an expectation. They usually have an awareness of what they expect. And it was designed with that in mind and tested,” she said in response.
Canadian passport fees increased in March for the first time since 2013, but Diab said the new changes would not result in additional higher fees.
“We really need to keep up with the cost of the government providing services to Canadians. And so that’s why … there was an increase, and we don’t anticipate an increase now because of the announcement that I am making today,” she said.
Both in-person and mail-in services remain available for Canadians who are not able to renew their passports online or prefer traditional methods. This also includes express and urgent options for those who need quicker processing times.
Applying for a passport renewal online requires applicants to be located within Canada, use a valid online payment and submit a digital photo from a commercial photographer.
Applicants can also submit copies of supporting documents instead of mailing in the original versions.
Diab also said Canadians applying for a new passport may be able to do so even if theirs is expired or nearly expired, provided it was issued within the last 15 years.
Online passport renewals still follow a 20-business-day processing standard, and the government is maintaining its 30-business-day passport service guarantee for eligible complete applications to be processed or be free of charge.
So that opens the door for a lot of fraud to happen.
What’s the count on refugees this year so far BLINKY
More progress under the Carney government.
Globals comment section never fails to present the dumbest of the dumbfuchs in the land proudly showing their dumbfuchedness.
As a strong supporter of not only Mark Carney and the Liberal Government ,but Xi Jinping and the CCP as well,not to mention the fact that I am a card carrying Communist ,I gotta agree with Ben.Carney is the best thing to happen to Canada since Justin Trudeau. My superiors back in Beijing thought “Elbows Up ” was orders directed to the citizens on how to walk with their ankles chained together ,but once I explained the true meaning they still approved of Carney although somewhat slightly disappointed.
anything for immigrants .treated number 1 in the liberal world
I quit working at shoprite and now I make $65-85 per/h. How? I’m working online! My work didn’t exactly make me happy so I decided to take a chance on something new… after 4 years it was so hard to quit my day job but now I couldn’t be happier.
.
HERE →→→ Www.Jobathome1.Com
@Mike – YOU can’t even afford groceries. FTFY The majority of us who have a real job (not waving flags in a ditch) can. How do oligarch boots taste anyways?
Biggest Headline in the news across the world “Fauci Diaries”
Crickets from so called “news”
Liberals do not suck. They are contemptuous and deserving of being overthrown.
What has Carney done other than cause a trillion dollars in capital investment flee the country while stating a desire to restrict childrens rights to expression?
Anyone? Failed to take on Trump? Anything else? Failed to win any significant trade deals?
Please tell me when the senile supporters are awake to respond.
LMFAO. The Carney Liberal Government is out of it’s depth. Time to call the Life Guard.
Expedient, convenient passports do not benefit the overwhelming majority of Canadians, but worse than all of that…I renewed my Passport online a year ago. This is nothing new. This is a loser government so desperate for positive headlines it is literally living in the past.
Online passport renewals should have been available 10 years ago This country was too busy welcoming millions of criminals into the country to care about that.
A Canadian is a Canadian even returning ISIS fighters who will continue the battle in Canada… we are a dumb country.
Interesting. Wodnjcidsknsnciis
Travel? Canadians can’t even afford groceries, alone the currency conversion when you land. This government is a joke! Want Canada to succeed? Let the private market build things and get the government out of the way!
Great news and another example of how the Carney government is making things more convenient for Canadians! I’m sure some conservatives will complain though. They don’t want to seem to want Canada to succeed. Sad really.